Season 2 of Thin Ice begins by revisiting the past to gain a new perspective on the future. 

Forty years after one of the most defining and disruptive moments of his life, polar explorer Robert Swan returns to the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. This time, not as a young man chasing history, but as a witness revisiting Cape Evans, the site of his original South Pole expedition, and the waters where his ship, Southern Quest, was lost beneath the ice. 

In this powerful and reflective conversation with filmmaker Oli Wheeldon, Robert shares what it means to finally close a deeply emotional chapter, and how that closure is fueling a new phase of purposeful exploration and adventure. 

You’ll hear: 

• What it felt like to return to Capt. Robert Scott’s Hut at Cape Evans after 40 years
• The emotional impact of revisiting the site where Southern Quest sank and the pristine site where the “In the Footsteps of Scott” base camp once stood.
• Why the Footsteps expedition’s hardships now evoke a sense of pride
• How Robert’s motivation evolved from adventure and history to a life mission of protecting Antarctica
• The role of his son, Barney Swan, and the next generation of climate leadership
• What’s next, including the final Antarctic voyage Robert himself will lead, a trans-Australia cycling expedition and more.

In a follow-up conversation with co-host Dan Smith, Robert reflects on how the loss of the ship reshaped his life’s direction, and why, now more than ever, we must “turn into the storm” if we want a sustainable future.
 
This episode also marks a turning point for Thin Ice itself. What began as a podcast is evolving into something bigger: a platform for exploring “The Next Great Adventure—learning to live sustainably on Earth.”

Key Themes
 

• Closure, resilience, and earned perspective
• Exploration as a path to meaning
• Stewardship of Antarctica as a shared human responsibility
• The shift from personal ambition to collective purpose
• Turning toward the challenge, not away from it

Get Involved

We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment, share your thoughts, or reach out directly: [email protected]. And visit our website — ThinIce.earth — to see pictures and learn more.

Credits

Thin Ice is a production of Robert Swan and Dan Smith.
Special thanks to Jason Fletcher and Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours for enabling Robert’s return to the Ross Sea, and to Bernadette Desiato for making the impossible scheduling possible.
 
As always: Keep Earth wild. Be Kind. And chill out.

Recorded December 11 from Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica, this episode explores one of the biggest, and least discussed, climate challenges: heating and cooling the world's buildings. This source emits an estimated 15% or more of global greenhouse gas emissions, including the impact of leaked refrigerant gases, which have much higher Global Warming Potential than C02. And the problem is accelerating fast: The world is expected to grow from about 2 billion air-conditioning systems today to more than 5 billion within the next decade.

For this episode, Robert Swan and Exergyn engineer Richard Blackburn were in Antarctica, while co-host Dan Smith was in North Texas as usual. Their conversation traces the story from the ozone crisis and the Montreal Protocol in the 1980s to the more recent Kigali Amendment and Exergyn’s new solid-state cooling technologies that could eliminate the need for climate-damaging refrigerant gases altogether.

This is the sixth and final episode of the 2025 season, and it’s been a soft launch as Thin Ice finds its path. Our purpose, though, is clear: to help preserve Antarctica as a reserve land for science and peace, and to show that protecting wild places begins with building a more sustainable world.

Solutions are out there, friends. Let's get together and get this snowball rolling!

In this episode of Thin Ice, co-hosts Robert Swan, OBE, and Dan Smith, OJ (Ordinary Joe) explore the fascinating intersection of exploration, technology and sustainability. Robert reflects on the 40th anniversary of his historic South Pole expedition, when he and his team navigated to the South Pole with just a sextant, a watch and sheer determination. No GPS, no radio and no backup. Robert reminisced (and recorded this episode) while taking a break in Tokyo, where he was exploring cutting-edge R&D to understand how advanced technologies including AI can help solve the planet’s most pressing challenges. Robert also shares his plans for returning to Antarctica’s Union Glacier in December 2025 with an international team that will test and demonstrate renewable energy and sustainable HVAC. He’s also going to speak live from Antarctica via Starlink to more than 500,000 schoolchildren, inspiring the next generation of champions for Antarctica’s preservation.

Listen to hear how Robert Swan is trading his sextant for Starlink, and why the future of Antarctica and our planet depends on courage, caring and innovation.

Where does a 5-ton elephant eat? Anywhere it wants to, including the fields of small farmers. Elephant incursions on small farms have often provoked violent attacks by humans protecting their livelihood, which often spurs counterattacks by elephants fighting for their own lives and families. The result: death all around.

This episode looks at creative actions in Assam, India, where violent blows between species are being replaced with a pragmatic intentional balance that allows elephants and humans to both thrive.

In the competitive process of being alive on Earth (even plants compete), it’s easy to lose sight of the competitive advantages that come from simple caring and cooperation. The preponderance of evidence shows that applied empathy can yield a form of wealth that neither gold nor Bitcoin can buy. It’s certainly making a positive difference in northeast India.

“The Good Seed” tells the story of 30-year-old Barney Swan, who launched an effort several years ago to regenerate 527 razed acres of Australia’s Daintree Rainforest. Born in London but reared among the wild things of the world’s oldest rainforest, a young Barney also accompanied his father – Robert Swan, OBE – on numerous Antarctic expeditions and ocean voyages before he turned 20. 

As an adult, Barney had a mad idea (his words) to devote his life to land that was once rainforest, then cattle pasture, then banana farm, then meth-head haven – and restore it by combining modern digital technology with the ancient knowledge of indigenous peoples and more recent legacy family farmers. His ClimateForce team is creating an open-source model and template that can help restore other rainforests around the world.

In “The Sinking of Southern Quest: May Day M’aider Part 2,” Robert Swan and William Fenton share what happened after their ship was trapped in Antarctic pack ice in 1986 (the title is a bit of a spoiler). They also recount the James Bond-style resistance from government agencies that opposed the first private expedition to the South Pole in the modern era. 

In spite of all obstacles, the “In the Footsteps of Scott” expedition lived up to the promises made to the sons of Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott as well as Jacques Cousteau. It’s a tale of incredible perseverance that continues to encourage and inspire people to this day.

It’s May Day — a time to honor the bounty of nature and hard work, and a distress call derived from French, m’aider ("help me"). So, this is a perfect day to launch Thin Ice, which celebrates nature and the hard work of preserving wild spaces while sounding an international plea for action. 

Co-hosts Robert Swan (the first person to walk to both the South and North Poles) and Dan Smith share stories from the wild in hopes of inspiring people to appreciate and protect the remaining wild places on Earth, especially Antarctica. 

Episode 1 features William Fenton, the first person to volunteer to help Robert ultimately raise (US) $5 million in the early 1980s to fund the first private expedition to the South Pole in the modern era. 

Together, Robert and William didn’t make London Bridge fall down, but Southern Quest, their expedition ship, did bash into London’s Tower Bridge. And that was just the start of their entertaining yet death-defying adventure.

You can learn more and read our blog online and on Substack at thinice.earth. Thanks for tuning in!

The water is frosty but fine in this teaser episode introducing Thin Ice. Wet your whistle and jump on in!