Thin Ice.earth
Thin Ice.earth invites you to join The Next Great Adventure: Learning to Live Sustainably on Earth. Feedspot ranks this as #9 among "45 Best Antarctica Podcasts" in their March 2026 rankings. Our mission is to help protect Antarctica through sustainable practices in the civilized world, and we share stories of people who are helping lead the way. Co-hosts Robert Swan, OBE, (the first person to walk to the South and North Poles) and Dan Smith, (Ordinary American Joe), pick up where their "Undaunted" podcast left off. So, jump on in -- the water's icy but fine -- and join us on the journey to protect what's left of the wild and restore what's been lost. You can also follow the story online at https://thinice.earth.
Thin Ice.earth
Latest Episodes
Return to Ross: Closing the Loop, Opening the Future
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 r...
Global Cooling is a Problem, Too
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 globa...
Sextant vs. Starlink: Robert Swan explores tech and returns to Antarctica
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 expe...
Dancing with Elephants and Finding Balance
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 elep...
The Good Seed: Regeneration in the Daintree Rainforest
“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 rainfor...