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Episode 5: Arctic Eats

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

John explores the Polar Permaculture lab in Svalbard where Ben, an entrepreneur and chef, is trying to make local cuisine more sustainable. Next, John and Chavala head to the world’s farthest north five-star restaurant, Huset, where head chef Filip Gemzell turns the areas limited resources like reindeer, seal and whale into epicurean masterpieces.

17 minutes

True North Episode 11: Chasing Light

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

What is it like to live where it doesn’t get dark or light for months of the year? And what exactly causes the beautiful phenomenon of the Northern Lights that draws thousands of visitors to the arctic every year? Chavala explores the science and practicalities of the the Midnight Sun and Northern Lights and chases the Aurora with expert Torsten Aslaksen.

16 minutes

True North Episode 14: Don't Mind The Polar Bear Tracks (Part 1)

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

Svalbard was established by adventurers - people who weren’t phased by the idea of encountering polar bears or frigid temperatures - and many people today come north to carry on that tradition. John and Chavala venture into the Arctic wilderness with two local guides, Magnus and Harry, to put their survival skills to the test on their own mini polar expedition.

18 minutes

True North Episode 3: Coal Town

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

John explores the island’s fossils and coal deposits from its prehistoric past as a tropical forest, and examines the history of mining on Svalbard.

16 minutes

Episode 4: The Big Thaw

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

Mark, editor of the local newspaper Ice People, shows Chavala around Longyearyben and uncovers how changes in the climate are impacting the worlds northernmost town.

15 minutes

True North Episode 7: Ghost Town

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

Chavala spends the night in Pyramiden, a once vibrant Soviet-Era ghost town that was abandoned after a tragic plane crash killed 141 of its few hundred residents. With the help of our Russian guide Victoria and our polar bear guard Renee, we explore this piece of polar history and the haunting tale it tells about the town’s former inhabitants.

16 minutes

True North Episode 8: The Tides, They Are A Changin' (Expedition Pt 2)

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

The North Atlantic water that flows into the Arctic is warming, melting the sea ice and changing the delicate Arctic ecosystem. In part 2 of our journey with NPI's A-Twain Mission, John follows oceanographer Arild Sundfjord, the leader of the A-TWAIN expedition, and sea ice physicist Angelika Renner as they track the changes in Arctic water temperatures over time by recovering and deploying a series of deep water moorings he’s been monitoring over the course of several years.

19 minutes

True North Episode 10: Climate Models (Expedition Pt 3)

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

In part 3 of our journey with NPI's A-Twain Mission, John follows oceanographers Amelie Meyer, Morven Muilwijk and biologist Sigrid Øygarden as they tirelessly collect thousands of water samples to improve climate modeling and track biological changes in the Arctic ecosystem.

18 minutes

True North Episode 12: Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (Expedition Pt 4)

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

We follow oceanographer Amelie Meyer and a team of French and Norwegian researchers aboard the RV Lance as they send out an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to collect data from hundreds of miles away.

23 minutes

True North Episode 13: Arctic Hospitality

Hosts: John IadarolaChavala Madlena

Wanting to avoid human traffickers, difficult border crossings, and dangerous seas of the southern European migrant route - refugees have been crossing in the thousands through Russia’s Arctic region into Norway. We will look at the Arctic’s history of championing the rights of refugees, speak with Merete and Randi who are refugee resettlement workers in the border town of Kirkenes, and meet Rana and her family from Syria who have made this polar region their home.

17 minutes

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