Historian of science Jeffery Mathias talks about scientific experiments in isolation during the Cold War. Mathias is the author of the Ph.D dissertation, "An Empire of Solitude: Isolation and the Cold War Sciences of the Mind.”

Alexandre Simon-Ekeland talks about explorers, the Polar Regions, and the French imagination. Simon-Ekeland recently completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of Oslo. He is the author of Making French Polar Exploration, 1860s-1930s.

Felipe Fernandez-Armesto talks about the life and work of Ferdinand Magellan. Fernandez-Armesto is the William P. Reynolds Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices