last call lectures: the frozen frontier: glory, disaster, and the race for the north pole

before astronauts raced to the moon, another kind of adventurer captured the world's imagination: the explorer. during the golden age of exploration, these daring, ambitious, and occasionally unhinged individuals became international celebrities, chasing fame and national glory into the most dangerous corners of the planet. but one prize stood above all others: the north pole.

why were men willing to risk starvation, frostbite, shipwreck, and almost certain death just to be the first to stand on an invisible point in a frozen ocean?

from vanished expeditions and extraordinary feats of survival to bitter rivalries, accusations of fraud, and some of history's most spectacular disasters, historian dr. john j. murphy explores the personalities and obsessions behind humanity's race to the top of the world.

along the way, we'll discover how exploration became a spectator sport, how nations turned adventurers into heroes, and why the greatest prize in exploration may have been less about discovery than the desperate desire to be remembered.

from the frozen arctic to the modern space race, it's a story of courage, ego, ambition, and the question that has driven explorers for centuries: how far would you go to be first?

here's how the night runs: dr. murphy opens with a 45 minute lecture, followed by 15 minutes of live q&a. then we break into small groups for 45 minutes of guided discussion. stick around after for mingling, this crowd always has more to say.