Voyages of Discovery

Latest Episodes

• Season 1 Episode 5: Hanging By a Thread

  Paul Rose recounts the story of how American submarine USS Squalus became stranded in the Atlantic in 1939 after a fault caused a partial flooding of the vessel and the deaths of 26 men. The surviving 33 crew members were rescued by divers under the direction of maverick inventor Charles Momsen, employing his pioneering underwater escape apparatus. Last in the series

• Season 1 Episode 4: The Figure of The Earth

  Paul Rose visits Ecuador to examine the tale of an 18th-century expedition in which a group of French intellectuals set out to determine the shape of the Earth. The mission was beset by problems from the start as disease, disputes and affairs set the explorers on separate paths and, while great discoveries were made, the team were still to face theft, murder and despair. Part of the Journeys of Discovery strand

• Season 1 Episode 3: The Ice King

  Paul Rose investigates Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen's Arctic expedition to reach the North Pole in 1892. Despite not being able to persuade any scientists to join him, Nansen became a pioneer of polar exploration techniques when he allowed his ship to get stuck in pack ice, hoping it would drift toward his destination