The Race to the South Pole wasn’t won by luck — it was won by understanding one invisible killer: scurvy.
In this episode, we follow Roald Amundsen’s triumph and Robert Falcon Scott’s tragic death, revealing how Amundsen’s lessons from the Inuit — fresh seal meat, dogs, and skis — defeated the disease that destroyed Scott’s team.
From medieval sailors bleeding from the gums to the horrors of being stranded in the Arctic for years, polar bear attacks, and the defeat of the Franco-Spanish armada, we trace scurvy’s bloody history. Discover Lind’s citrus trial, James Cook’s use of lemon juice, the discovery of Vitamin C, and why fresh meat (including eating sled dogs) prevented scurvy and opened the path to glory. A gripping tale of science, survival, and one crucial molecule.