Robert Smith

speaker

2,515 appearances 7 recordings 1 series first heard Jul 2026 last heard 26 Aug

Robert Smith’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 7 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 4.

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After the break.

Okay class, you have been issued a parka, boots, face covering, and protective goggles.

Do not forget to sign the waiver forms, because we are going to the South Pole.

As I mentioned, Planet Money has never been there.

But I did remember that back in the 1970s, NPR sent a reporter to Antarctica, and it was a really big deal at the time.

NPR was just starting out as a national broadcaster in the 1970s.

The theme song for our news program, you're gonna love this, had this Cynthia vibe.

So 70s, they should bring it back.

NPR did not have a lot of money or access at the time, but science reporter Ira Flato managed to score an invite to visit the South Pole.

There's this famous photo of him standing on the ice, holding a microphone out to a bunch of penguins.

I think it's one of the things that inspired me to become a radio reporter.

Let's hear a little bit of Ira talking to NPR host Barbara Hocktar Lynch.

after he returned from the South Pole.

This is just a little taste of what the Antarctic Treaty is trying to protect.

So let me just break in here, Robert Smith here.

That is the natural side of Antarctica.

That's what the treaty is there to protect.

But there's also the man-made part of the continent, McMurdo Station.

That is the US-operated base for scientific research.

And it's also essentially a small company town of 2,000 people who come and go throughout the year.

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