🎧 Explorers: Marco Polo
🎧 Dan Snow's History Hit
•
28m
You may have heard the many myths about the life and exploits of Marco Polo- was he really the one who brought ice cream and spaghetti from his travels on the Silk Road from the court of Kublai Khan, where he served as a diplomat? Almost as soon as he wrote his memoir, people doubted his wild stories of his travels across Europe and Asia.
His life and myth are unravelled on today's podcast with Laurence Bergreen, historian and author of 'Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu' who followed in the footsteps of Polo, travelling the old silk road all the way to China, to see for himself if the stories of the great Venetian merchant were true…
This is the first episode in our subscriber-exclusive series unravelling the well-known, the unknown and the should-be-known stories of great explorers who traversed uncharted territory to push the limits of human knowledge and understanding. From the first Polynesian Wayfinders who used the stars to make their way across the dark Pacific to James Beckwourth who conquered the American Frontier by embedding himself in the Native American Crow Nation and Nellie Bly, the investigative journalist who travelled the world in less than 80 days…
Produced by Mariana Des Forges, sound design and editing by Dougal Patmore.
Up Next in 🎧 Dan Snow's History Hit
-
🎧 History's Greatest Commanders
In war, leadership matters. Poorly trained or outnumbered armies have often been led to victory by the sheer brilliance of their leaders. Celebrated or criticised, loved or hated, those who forged their legacies on the battlefield are some of the most famous people in human history. But what make...
-
🎧 Good King Wenceslaus
Who was the real good King Wenceslas? The Duke of Bohemia who was made famous by the Christmas carol was also a pivotal figure of European history. He was the first modern Christian Czech ruler who brought the region into being and established it within a developing Europe. He is revered as an Ar...
-
🎧 North vs South: How Korea Was Divided
The divided Korean peninsula is the last remnant of the Cold War: South Korea is a vibrant democracy, a strong market economy, and home to a world-renowned culture. North Korea is ruled by the most authoritarian regime in the world, plagued by famine and poverty, best known for its nuclear weapon...
