Photo, above: Roald Amunsdsen en route to the South Pole; see Hour 2, The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen, by Stephen R. Bown.

"The weather had improved more and more, and the sun was in the process of breaking through in dead earnest. My snow goggles bothered me from time to time. Light airs from the S. made them cloud over, making it difficult to see. Then suddenly I heard a stout, hearty cheer behind me. I turned around. In the light breeze from the S., the brave, well-known colors were flying from the first sledge, we have passed and put behind us the Englishman's record. It was a splendid sight … My goggles clouded over again, but this time it was not the south wind's fault."—Roald Amundsen

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Hour One

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 1, Block A: Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It by Lawrence Lessig  (2 of 2)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 1, Block B: Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It by Lawrence Lessig  (2 of 2)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 1, Block C: Finding Camlann: A Novel by Sean Pidgeon (1 of 2)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 1, Block D: Finding Camlann: A Novel by Sean Pidgeon (2 of 2)

Hour Two

Halristinger, ancient stone carvings, are thought to be precursors to the development of runic symbols. These are from Borge, which is south of Oslo on the east side of the Oslofjord, just north of Sweden and birthplace of Roald Amundsen (see The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen, by Stephen R. Bown).

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 2, Block A: The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) by Stephen R. Bown  (1 of 4)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 2, Block B: The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) by Stephen R. Bown  (2 of 4)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 2, Block C: The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) by Stephen R. Bown  (3 of 4)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 2, Block D: The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) by Stephen R. Bown  (4 of 4)

Hour Three

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 3, Block A: Lost Decades: The Making of America's Debt Crisis and the Long Recovery by Menzie D. Chinn and Jeffry A. A. Frieden (1 of 2)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 3, Block B: Lost Decades: The Making of America's Debt Crisis and the Long Recovery by Menzie D. Chinn and Jeffry A. A. Frieden (2 of 2)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 3, Block C: Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father by Alysia Abbott (1 of 2)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 3, Block D: Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father by Alysia Abbott (2 of 2)

Hour Four

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 4, Block A: The Sugar Season: A Year in the Life of Maple Syrup, and One Family's Quest for the Sweetest Harvest by Douglas Whynott (1 of 2)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 4, Block B: The Sugar Season: A Year in the Life of Maple Syrup, and One Family's Quest for the Sweetest Harvest by Douglas Whynott (2 of 2)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 4, Block C: Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It by Lawrence Lessig (1 of 2)

Sunday 18  May  2014 / Hour 4, Block D: Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It by Lawrence Lessig (2 of 2)