To the Best of Our Knowledge: Polar Stories

In this hour, After a bit of DJ Spooky's "Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica," we hear geo-political expert Charles Emmerson talk with Steve Paulson about the future prospects for the Arctic. Emmerson is a former Director at the World Economics Forum and the author of The Future History of the Arctic.

Next, Richard Ellis talks with Jim Fleming about how the melting of the Polar Ice cap in the Arctic is destroying the habitat for polar bears and the seals they eat. Ellis is the author of On Thin Ice: The Changing World of the Polar Bear.

Then, Douglas Quin is an award-winning sound designer, naturalist and composer. His latest project is called Fathom. It's an album of underwater field recordings from the Polar regions of the earth. Quin plays some of his favorites for Anne Strainchamps and talks about them with her.

After that, Lucy Jane Bledsoe is a novelist who's made three trips to Antarctica as part of the National Science Foundation's Artists and Writers in Antarctica Program. She tells Anne Strainchamps that the place is addictive. Her most recent novel, set in Antarctica, is The Big Bang Symphony: A Novel of Antarctica.

And finally, biologist Bill Streever is a cryophile - someone who loves the cold. He talks with Steve Paulson about his book, Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places. [Broadcast Date: March 31, 2010]