The Mayday Podcast: Tales of Mystery and Misadventure

For our 15th episode we explore crimes in our favourite cold places: the poles! We answer the questions you never thought to ask, like: how does law operate outside national borders, and what happens if you kill someone? What’s it like living in the northernmost town in the world? Who has jurisdiction on an iceberg? And how do you deal with arson in Antarctica?

This episode will wrap season 1 for us, so thank you to all of our amazing listeners for joining us on the first leg of our podcasting adventure! Listen to the end of this episode to hear about our final tally of Mayday Moments and Mayday Rankings, a reflection on our topics this season, and a little teaser of what we’ll be covering when we return in season 2.

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Instagram and Twitter to say hello, give feedback, or suggest some future topics. Our amazing composer and producer Marlon Grunden can be found at his website marlongrunden.com

Sources & Further Reading

In 1896, Sweden had fallen far behind in the race for the North Pole. Out of the fray emerged Salomon August Andrée, who put forward a proposal so cutting edge it was immediately funded and flooded with national support. He would fly a balloon over the Arctic circle, sweeping ahead of Norwegian attempts and taking the glory for Sweden. Unfortunately, science and the weather were not on Andrée’s side.

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Instagram and Twitter to say hello. Our amazing composer and producer Marlon Grunden can be found at his website marlongrunden.com.

On December 7th 1951, a shocking photograph hit the front page of British newspapers. Taken half a world away, high on a glacier in the Himalayas, the image showed a footprint that defied belief. Huge, human-like, with round defined toes and an ice-axe next to it for scale. This footprint would propel the mysterious Yeti from mountaineering folklore into potential scientific reality.

From our last episode, we know how the myth first appeared in Western consciousness and the role it played in pre-WWII mountaineering. In this, our second and final episode on the history of the Yeti, we explore where our furry friend went from there. Expect dodgy scientific expeditions, Hollywood stars on artefact heists, high-flying Texan oil millionaires, and some adventurers so wild that they may just be Yeti themselves.

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Instagram and Twitter to say hello. Our amazing composer and producer Marlon Grunden can be found at his website marlongrunden.com

Sources & Further Reading

Western climbers have been trekking the Himalayas for over a hundred years, and through all that time they have been bringing back stories of a mysterious ape-like creature they called the Abominable Snowman, or the Yeti.

In this episode hosts Ana and Luca explore how the modern myth of the Yeti was created. What role has it played in the wild history of Himalayan mountaineering? What is the Yeti in the Western consciousness, and how does he differ from similar beings in Tibetan, Nepali and Bhutanese belief systems? Whether he's real or not is irrelevant: how did he first appear, and why did we keep 'meeting' him?

Part 2 of our Yeti episodes will follow in 2 weeks.

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Instagram and Twitter to say hello. Our amazing composer and producer Marlon Grunden can be found at his website marlongrunden.com

Sources & Further Reading

On 4th of June, 1629, the Dutch ship Batavia struck a reef off the coast of a then unknown land (now Western Australia). It took a week for the Batavia to sink, but the real tragedy had not even begun. 

CORRECTION: The Batavia was launched in 1628, not 1629 as stated in the episode. The wrecking of the ship and the events on Batavia’s Graveyard do take place in 1629. 

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Twitter and Instagram to say hello. Thanks as always to our composer and producer Marlon Grunden, who you can find at his website here.

Further Reading/Listening:

As a treat for the 10th episode, hosts Luca and Ana share some wholesome (and hilarious) stories about interesting animals in history. We meet epidemic-fighting sled dogs, unsinkable cats, war hero pigeons, beer-drinking bears, catstronauts (cat astronauts), and more!

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Twitter and Instagram to say hello. Thanks as always to our composer and producer Marlon Grunden, who you can find at his website here.

NOTE: We mention that the ship Bismarck was 9 days old – it had been through 8 months of training and sailing prior to that but had only just begun its first official mission 9 days prior to the events described.

Further reading:

In the Sicilian port city of Messina, Genoese ships began arriving from the East in 1347 sailed by crews either dead or dying. From there, a terrible and unknown disease swiftly spread through Europe. Whole families or towns could be decimated in a matter of weeks. For the people of the 14th century it looked like the end of the world had come.

In this episode, hosts Ana and Luca explore the myths and truths of the Great Mortality, known better as the Black Death – one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Twitter and Instagram to say hello.

Thanks as always to our composer and producer Marlon Grunden, who you can find at his website here.

Further reading:

On 16th December, 1860, explorer Robert O’hara Burke decided to begin his overland trek to the Gulf of Carpentaria, right as Australia was entering the summer months. What followed was a disastrous tale of irony and tragic coincidence, and so, the most expensive expedition of its kind comes to an end.

Hosts Luca and Ana explore a tale quite a bit closer to home, and learn about all the reasons Burke should never have been selected as leader of one of the most famous expeditions in Australian history.

Enjoy the holiday break! We’ll be taking the next off and coming back after the new year.

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Twitter and Instagram to say hello.

Many thanks to our composer and producer Marlon Grunden, who you can find at his website here.

Sources and further reading:

On 20 August 1860, after years of stalling and squabbling among organisers, the most expensive overland expedition of its kind left Royal Park, Melbourne, amid much fanfare. Over-equipped and severely lacking in experienced explorers, the Victorian Exploring Expedition was a disaster before it had even left the boundaries of the park.

Hosts Luca and Ana explore a tale quite a bit closer to home, and learn about all the reasons Burke should never have been selected as leader of one of the most famous expeditions in Australian history.

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Twitter and Instagram to say hello.

Many thanks to our composer and producer Marlon Grunden, who you can find at his website here.

Sources and further reading:

On the night of February 1st 1959, a group of 9 hikers in the Ural Mountains experienced an unknown disastrous event. By morning they were all dead. Join hosts Ana and Luca as they explore one of Soviet Russia’s greatest and most enduring mysteries.

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Twitter and Instagram to say hello.

Many thanks to our composer and producer Marlon Grunden, who you can find at his website here.

Sources/Further Reading: