1 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:27,250 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Off the coast of Helsingor, thirty miles north of Copenhagen, 2 00:00:27,650 --> 00:00:31,970 Speaker 1: a small boat sails up alongside a big one. On 3 00:00:32,050 --> 00:00:35,250 Speaker 1: the small boat are a few Danish journalists and one 4 00:00:35,570 --> 00:00:41,050 Speaker 1: English journalist. The englishman is feeling cold. In his excitement 5 00:00:41,130 --> 00:00:45,170 Speaker 1: at getting on board, he forgot his coat. It's chilly 6 00:00:45,650 --> 00:00:50,530 Speaker 1: early on a September morning. The year is nineteen oh nine. 7 00:00:52,090 --> 00:00:54,850 Speaker 1: Down from the deck of the large ship snakes a 8 00:00:54,970 --> 00:00:59,290 Speaker 1: rope ladder for Danish journalists leap confidently, grip the rope 9 00:00:59,370 --> 00:01:05,650 Speaker 1: ladder and shimmy up onto the deck. The English journalist gulps. 10 00:01:06,210 --> 00:01:08,930 Speaker 1: He's not used to this kind of thing. He stands 11 00:01:08,970 --> 00:01:11,290 Speaker 1: on the side of the small boat and tries not 12 00:01:11,410 --> 00:01:14,770 Speaker 1: to look down at the swirling sea. He screws up 13 00:01:14,810 --> 00:01:18,930 Speaker 1: his courage and jumps, grabs at the rope and dangles 14 00:01:18,970 --> 00:01:23,130 Speaker 1: his leg frantically searching for a wrung. At last, he 15 00:01:23,250 --> 00:01:30,610 Speaker 1: finds one and hauls himself up the ladder. On the 16 00:01:30,650 --> 00:01:33,650 Speaker 1: deck of the big ship, he's greeted by a big man, 17 00:01:34,170 --> 00:01:38,970 Speaker 1: an American in baggy, well worn clothes, with unkempt hair 18 00:01:39,290 --> 00:01:44,050 Speaker 1: and a warm smile. The man extends his hand. I 19 00:01:44,090 --> 00:01:47,050 Speaker 1: guess you're the first Englishman to give me a greeting, 20 00:01:47,410 --> 00:01:51,050 Speaker 1: he says. The big man on the big ship is 21 00:01:51,130 --> 00:01:56,010 Speaker 1: Frederick Cook, an explorer. He's just come back from the Arctic, 22 00:01:56,370 --> 00:01:59,690 Speaker 1: where he says he set foot on the very roof 23 00:01:59,770 --> 00:02:04,090 Speaker 1: of the world, the North Pole, the first person ever 24 00:02:04,170 --> 00:02:09,010 Speaker 1: to do so. It's a historic achievement and a huge 25 00:02:09,210 --> 00:02:12,810 Speaker 1: new story. Every journalist in the world would wish they 26 00:02:12,850 --> 00:02:16,130 Speaker 1: were on Cook's ship, getting an exclusive chat with the 27 00:02:16,210 --> 00:02:20,610 Speaker 1: explorer as he sails those last thirty miles into Copenhagen, 28 00:02:20,810 --> 00:02:26,290 Speaker 1: where Danes are preparing a hero's welcome. The English journalist 29 00:02:26,450 --> 00:02:31,370 Speaker 1: is called Philip Gibbs. Over the next five hectic days 30 00:02:31,370 --> 00:02:35,250 Speaker 1: in Copenhagen, a bitter divide is going to open up 31 00:02:35,690 --> 00:02:39,330 Speaker 1: between the enthusiasts and the doubters on the question of 32 00:02:39,410 --> 00:02:43,890 Speaker 1: whether or not Frederick Cook really did reach the North Pole. 33 00:02:44,930 --> 00:02:49,490 Speaker 1: Philip Gibbs is going to cause that divide. This is 34 00:02:49,530 --> 00:02:52,810 Speaker 1: a story if you'll forg of the pun about the 35 00:02:52,850 --> 00:02:59,930 Speaker 1: poll and polarization. I'm Tim Harford and you're listening to 36 00:03:00,090 --> 00:03:27,970 Speaker 1: cautionary tales. Philip Gibbs never really wanted to be a 37 00:03:28,050 --> 00:03:32,970 Speaker 1: news reporter. He preferred descriptive writing, he started his career 38 00:03:33,010 --> 00:03:35,930 Speaker 1: as a literary critic, and he took some time off 39 00:03:35,970 --> 00:03:39,450 Speaker 1: and rented a coastguard's cottage for the peace and quiet 40 00:03:39,810 --> 00:03:44,370 Speaker 1: to write a novel, his first The coastguard's cottage turned 41 00:03:44,370 --> 00:03:47,970 Speaker 1: out to be next to a funfair. Somehow, he still 42 00:03:48,010 --> 00:03:51,090 Speaker 1: managed to write the novel. But while he looked for 43 00:03:51,130 --> 00:03:54,570 Speaker 1: a publisher, he had a wife and newborn child to support. 44 00:03:56,130 --> 00:04:02,570 Speaker 1: London's Daily Chronicle needed a reporter. Gibbs was hardly a natural. 45 00:04:03,170 --> 00:04:09,330 Speaker 1: Newshounds should be confident. Gibbs was painfully shy, but the 46 00:04:09,410 --> 00:04:12,370 Speaker 1: job and now his editor told him to go to 47 00:04:12,450 --> 00:04:16,450 Speaker 1: Copenhagen because that's where Frederick Cook was about to arrive. 48 00:04:17,330 --> 00:04:20,930 Speaker 1: More than two years had passed since the American explorer 49 00:04:21,050 --> 00:04:23,810 Speaker 1: set off for the North Pole. He should have got 50 00:04:23,850 --> 00:04:27,050 Speaker 1: back a year ago. No one had heard from him. 51 00:04:27,210 --> 00:04:29,690 Speaker 1: People assumed he was dead if they thought of him 52 00:04:29,730 --> 00:04:34,370 Speaker 1: at all. But no in a tiny town on a 53 00:04:34,410 --> 00:04:38,570 Speaker 1: remote North Sea island, Cook had just turned up at 54 00:04:38,570 --> 00:04:43,090 Speaker 1: the telegraph office clutching a two thousand word draft about 55 00:04:43,090 --> 00:04:47,450 Speaker 1: his epic trek to the Pole. He telegraphed a newspaper 56 00:04:47,450 --> 00:04:50,730 Speaker 1: in New York would they like to pay him three 57 00:04:50,770 --> 00:04:56,170 Speaker 1: thousand dollars to print his article. They would. That's hundreds 58 00:04:56,210 --> 00:04:58,730 Speaker 1: of thousands of dollars in today's money, but it was 59 00:04:58,770 --> 00:05:03,570 Speaker 1: worth every cent. The news was sensational, and Frederick Cook 60 00:05:03,730 --> 00:05:09,050 Speaker 1: was a pretty good descriptive writer himself. With a single step, 61 00:05:09,330 --> 00:05:11,490 Speaker 1: we could pass from one side of the earth to 62 00:05:11,530 --> 00:05:15,810 Speaker 1: the other. From midday to midnight. A sentiment of intense 63 00:05:15,970 --> 00:05:22,650 Speaker 1: solitude penetrated us while we looked at the horizon. In London, 64 00:05:23,210 --> 00:05:26,450 Speaker 1: a rival newspaper, to the Daily Chronicle, brought the rights 65 00:05:26,490 --> 00:05:30,810 Speaker 1: to Cook's definitive account. The Chronicle would have to play 66 00:05:30,890 --> 00:05:34,810 Speaker 1: catch up. Go to Copenhagen, said the editor to Gibbs. 67 00:05:35,330 --> 00:05:38,290 Speaker 1: Maybe you can get an interview with Cook, find some 68 00:05:38,410 --> 00:05:43,530 Speaker 1: kind of fresh angle. Gibbs wasn't keen. He'd rather be 69 00:05:43,570 --> 00:05:46,690 Speaker 1: at home with his wife and child. He knew nothing 70 00:05:46,730 --> 00:05:51,970 Speaker 1: at all about Arctic exploration and cared even less. But 71 00:05:52,610 --> 00:05:55,330 Speaker 1: he was a news reporter. He had to go where 72 00:05:55,370 --> 00:06:02,090 Speaker 1: his editor told him. The story of Frederick Cook and 73 00:06:02,130 --> 00:06:05,170 Speaker 1: Philip Gibbs is told in a new book called The 74 00:06:05,330 --> 00:06:10,730 Speaker 1: Explorer and the Journalist by Richard Evans. The Chronicle's editor 75 00:06:10,810 --> 00:06:14,050 Speaker 1: gave Philip Gibbs a bag of gold coins for expenses. 76 00:06:14,490 --> 00:06:17,050 Speaker 1: Gibbs took the razor and toothbrush he kept in the 77 00:06:17,050 --> 00:06:21,450 Speaker 1: office and hurried to catch a boat to Copenhagen. He 78 00:06:21,610 --> 00:06:24,930 Speaker 1: arrived in the early evening and got in a taxi. 79 00:06:25,850 --> 00:06:28,050 Speaker 1: Take me somewhere I can get a coffee, he said. 80 00:06:28,810 --> 00:06:31,970 Speaker 1: In a smoke filled cafe, he found a waiter who 81 00:06:32,050 --> 00:06:37,330 Speaker 1: spoke English. I'm a journalist, he said. Ah, yes, said 82 00:06:37,330 --> 00:06:41,650 Speaker 1: the waiter. There are many journalists in Copenhagen today. Has 83 00:06:41,690 --> 00:06:45,730 Speaker 1: doctor Cook arrived yet? No? He hasn't. He should have, 84 00:06:45,970 --> 00:06:48,650 Speaker 1: but it's too foggy. His ship has moored for the 85 00:06:48,730 --> 00:06:52,450 Speaker 1: night near Helsingal, thirty miles away. He'll arrive in the morning. 86 00:06:53,330 --> 00:06:57,130 Speaker 1: Gibbs sipped his coffee and leafed through a Danish newspaper. 87 00:06:57,690 --> 00:07:03,850 Speaker 1: He didn't understand a word except for doctor Cook. Then 88 00:07:03,970 --> 00:07:08,370 Speaker 1: a glamorous looking woman walked into the cafe with two companions. 89 00:07:09,250 --> 00:07:13,770 Speaker 1: The waiter said to Gibbs, that's Dagmar Rasmussen, the wife 90 00:07:13,810 --> 00:07:21,290 Speaker 1: of Cnud Rasmussen. Cnud Rasmussen. Gibbs was baffled. Cnud Rasmussen 91 00:07:21,530 --> 00:07:25,970 Speaker 1: the famous Danish explorer. Everyone in Denmark knew all about 92 00:07:26,050 --> 00:07:29,490 Speaker 1: the dashing young Knud who had long dreamed of being 93 00:07:29,610 --> 00:07:34,090 Speaker 1: first to the North Pole himself. In his article for 94 00:07:34,130 --> 00:07:38,730 Speaker 1: the Chronicle, Gibbs later misidentified the woman as the wife 95 00:07:38,810 --> 00:07:43,450 Speaker 1: of Roald Amundson, the famous Norwegian explorer who would later 96 00:07:43,490 --> 00:07:47,090 Speaker 1: be first to the South Pole. We heard all about 97 00:07:47,130 --> 00:07:51,650 Speaker 1: Amuerson in our previous Cautionary Tales trilogy South Pole Race. 98 00:07:52,530 --> 00:07:57,290 Speaker 1: Rasmussen Amundsen Danish Norwegian. Close enough, as I said, Gibbs 99 00:07:57,370 --> 00:08:01,610 Speaker 1: knew nothing about explorers, but he knew enough about news 100 00:08:01,610 --> 00:08:04,930 Speaker 1: reporting to realize that he probably ought to try to 101 00:08:05,010 --> 00:08:08,530 Speaker 1: talk to this woman in the White Fox Fair, whoever's 102 00:08:08,530 --> 00:08:13,330 Speaker 1: wife she was. But the woman was so forbiddingly beautiful, 103 00:08:14,250 --> 00:08:19,210 Speaker 1: and Gibbs was very shy. He screwed up his courage 104 00:08:19,690 --> 00:08:24,610 Speaker 1: and went to introduce himself. My husband said, The woman 105 00:08:25,210 --> 00:08:27,330 Speaker 1: was the last man to see doctor Cook and his 106 00:08:27,490 --> 00:08:30,450 Speaker 1: Inuit guides before they set out for the Pole. I 107 00:08:30,490 --> 00:08:35,250 Speaker 1: wish I could be the first to welcome him to Denmark. Well, then, 108 00:08:35,530 --> 00:08:39,010 Speaker 1: said Gibbs, why don't we all go to helsingor we 109 00:08:39,090 --> 00:08:41,090 Speaker 1: can stay in a hotel and take a boat out 110 00:08:41,130 --> 00:08:44,690 Speaker 1: to meet his ship first thing in the morning. That's 111 00:08:44,730 --> 00:08:48,410 Speaker 1: a nice idea, said Dagmar Rasmussen. But we've missed the 112 00:08:48,490 --> 00:08:53,250 Speaker 1: last train. What about a taxi? No, that doesn't work. 113 00:08:53,770 --> 00:08:56,650 Speaker 1: You see, there's a law against driving outside the city 114 00:08:56,690 --> 00:09:00,250 Speaker 1: at night. You can be fined. Gibbs thought for a 115 00:09:00,290 --> 00:09:05,570 Speaker 1: moment and remembered his bag of gold coins. How much 116 00:09:06,090 --> 00:09:11,130 Speaker 1: is the fine? Found the taxi driver who was willing 117 00:09:11,170 --> 00:09:14,450 Speaker 1: to risk it for a price. He hurtled them at 118 00:09:14,490 --> 00:09:18,890 Speaker 1: breakneck speed along the dark road between Copenhagen and Helsingor. 119 00:09:19,450 --> 00:09:23,490 Speaker 1: They ran over a cyclist. Ah Luckily the man wasn't 120 00:09:23,490 --> 00:09:28,290 Speaker 1: badly hurt, and as dawn broke the next morning, Gibbs 121 00:09:28,290 --> 00:09:32,050 Speaker 1: got his reward for overcoming his diffidence. He stood on 122 00:09:32,090 --> 00:09:34,930 Speaker 1: a small boat with a couple of Danish journalists who'd 123 00:09:34,930 --> 00:09:38,530 Speaker 1: had the same idea, approaching the big ship that would 124 00:09:38,530 --> 00:09:46,050 Speaker 1: soon take Frederick Cook into Copenhagen. After the Danish journalists 125 00:09:46,050 --> 00:09:49,730 Speaker 1: and Gibbs had ascended the rope ladder, Cook invited them 126 00:09:49,850 --> 00:09:53,890 Speaker 1: into his ship's cabin for breakfast. The journalist sat and 127 00:09:53,970 --> 00:09:58,490 Speaker 1: listened as the American held court. It was always the same, 128 00:09:58,970 --> 00:10:02,290 Speaker 1: one day like another, going onwards to the north with 129 00:10:02,490 --> 00:10:07,050 Speaker 1: nothing in sight upon the great white desert, and then 130 00:10:07,210 --> 00:10:12,730 Speaker 1: the chance for questions, what evidence are you bringing? Asked Gibbs, 131 00:10:13,130 --> 00:10:16,850 Speaker 1: that you really reached the North Pole. I bring the 132 00:10:16,930 --> 00:10:21,570 Speaker 1: same proofs as every other explorer. I bring my story. 133 00:10:22,010 --> 00:10:28,130 Speaker 1: Do you doubt that? The ship steamed slowly into Copenhagen, 134 00:10:28,810 --> 00:10:34,010 Speaker 1: and there in the harbor was an incredible scene. Fifty 135 00:10:34,290 --> 00:10:38,970 Speaker 1: thousand people, hundreds of boats, including the royal boat on it, 136 00:10:39,290 --> 00:10:43,850 Speaker 1: the Crown Prince of Denmark, the American flag, flying horns 137 00:10:43,850 --> 00:10:48,410 Speaker 1: and whistles, a band playing See the Conquering Hero comes. 138 00:10:49,490 --> 00:10:54,850 Speaker 1: Gibbs watched Cook take in this incredible welcome. Was that 139 00:10:55,050 --> 00:11:00,970 Speaker 1: a nervous look in the explorer's eye? Philip Gibbs thought 140 00:11:01,010 --> 00:11:09,810 Speaker 1: it was. He decided that Frederick Cook was lying. Portionary 141 00:11:09,850 --> 00:11:18,730 Speaker 1: tales will be back after the break. Why had Philip 142 00:11:18,770 --> 00:11:22,410 Speaker 1: Gibbs decided that Frederick Cook was lying about his epic 143 00:11:22,530 --> 00:11:26,250 Speaker 1: journey to the North Pole. Gibbs himself later said it 144 00:11:26,330 --> 00:11:31,850 Speaker 1: was intuition, some quick instinct of facial expression, some sensibility 145 00:11:31,890 --> 00:11:36,850 Speaker 1: to mental and moral dishonesty. And maybe it was. But 146 00:11:36,930 --> 00:11:42,330 Speaker 1: there's another more prosaic explanation. Gibbs was a young, unknown 147 00:11:42,450 --> 00:11:45,730 Speaker 1: journalist with a novel to promote. If he filed the 148 00:11:45,770 --> 00:11:49,770 Speaker 1: same stories as every other journalist, waxing lyrical about the 149 00:11:49,810 --> 00:11:54,050 Speaker 1: waving flags and Cook's compelling story, he wouldn't stand out 150 00:11:54,090 --> 00:11:57,370 Speaker 1: from the crowd. Maybe it was worth the risk of 151 00:11:57,410 --> 00:12:01,890 Speaker 1: writing something different enough to get him noticed. Not too 152 00:12:01,970 --> 00:12:05,450 Speaker 1: much risk, though, Gibbs couldn't flat out accues Cook of 153 00:12:05,530 --> 00:12:09,090 Speaker 1: lying with no evidence at all. If Cook actually had 154 00:12:09,170 --> 00:12:11,450 Speaker 1: had been to the poll, he could sue the chronicle 155 00:12:11,490 --> 00:12:15,010 Speaker 1: for libel. So Gibbs wrote an article that would pass 156 00:12:15,130 --> 00:12:19,570 Speaker 1: the libel lawyers, but in a tone that dripped with disbelief. 157 00:12:21,650 --> 00:12:25,410 Speaker 1: His eyes would not look into mine. He smiles when 158 00:12:25,410 --> 00:12:28,050 Speaker 1: a man speaks to him for quite a long time 159 00:12:28,210 --> 00:12:33,570 Speaker 1: before he answers. He seems to be cautious with words. 160 00:12:35,170 --> 00:12:39,290 Speaker 1: Gibbs recalled Cook's answer to his question about evidence, I 161 00:12:39,410 --> 00:12:43,090 Speaker 1: bring my story. Do you doubt that? It seemed to 162 00:12:43,090 --> 00:12:46,850 Speaker 1: Gibbs that Cook had said that with a flash of anger. 163 00:12:47,850 --> 00:12:52,530 Speaker 1: I thought, Hello, what's wrong? This man protests too much? 164 00:12:54,050 --> 00:12:58,370 Speaker 1: Cook explained, wrote Gibbs, that he had, of course taken 165 00:12:58,570 --> 00:13:02,850 Speaker 1: scientific instruments with him and made observations, as every explorer does. 166 00:13:03,530 --> 00:13:07,210 Speaker 1: That's how it works. Explorers make records of their journeys, 167 00:13:07,650 --> 00:13:12,370 Speaker 1: and then some auga scientific institution forms a committee of 168 00:13:12,370 --> 00:13:16,010 Speaker 1: experts to check those records and say they're satisfied the 169 00:13:16,050 --> 00:13:19,970 Speaker 1: story stacks up that the evidence suggests the explorer is 170 00:13:20,010 --> 00:13:24,370 Speaker 1: telling the truth. Cook assured Gibbs that he would present 171 00:13:24,530 --> 00:13:28,570 Speaker 1: the usual kind of records to some appropriate scientific body 172 00:13:28,650 --> 00:13:32,770 Speaker 1: in due course, but he didn't have his instruments or 173 00:13:32,850 --> 00:13:36,050 Speaker 1: records with him now. He'd left them in a settlement 174 00:13:36,170 --> 00:13:40,530 Speaker 1: in northern Greenland, a kind of base camp for Arctic exploration. 175 00:13:41,610 --> 00:13:44,930 Speaker 1: Another explorer had promised to take them directly to New York. 176 00:13:46,170 --> 00:13:50,610 Speaker 1: To Gibbs, that didn't make sense. Surely he should have 177 00:13:50,650 --> 00:13:53,890 Speaker 1: retained the strongest proofs of his claim so that it 178 00:13:54,050 --> 00:14:02,490 Speaker 1: might be immediately established. That was a fair point. Some 179 00:14:02,730 --> 00:14:07,170 Speaker 1: other doubts Gibbs raised were not so fair. At one point, 180 00:14:07,370 --> 00:14:10,570 Speaker 1: Cook made a throwaway remark about not having worn a 181 00:14:10,610 --> 00:14:14,530 Speaker 1: beard for fifteen years. Gibbs picked him up on it. 182 00:14:15,970 --> 00:14:18,810 Speaker 1: Was he saying that he'd been able to shave while 183 00:14:18,810 --> 00:14:23,170 Speaker 1: at the pole, of course not. Cook laughed. He explained 184 00:14:23,170 --> 00:14:25,170 Speaker 1: that you don't want a beard in the Arctic because 185 00:14:25,410 --> 00:14:28,290 Speaker 1: icicles would form on it. You hack off your facial 186 00:14:28,330 --> 00:14:30,930 Speaker 1: hair as best you can with an eye for scissors. 187 00:14:32,250 --> 00:14:35,970 Speaker 1: Gibbs thought that sounded fishy. He might not know his 188 00:14:36,130 --> 00:14:39,570 Speaker 1: Rasmussens from his Ammunsons, but he had seen photographs of 189 00:14:39,610 --> 00:14:42,890 Speaker 1: explorers before, and he was sure that some of them 190 00:14:42,930 --> 00:14:49,010 Speaker 1: had beards. Something else Cook said made Gibbs suspicious too. 191 00:14:49,770 --> 00:14:53,530 Speaker 1: He'd been to the Pole with two Inuit companions, then 192 00:14:53,770 --> 00:14:58,530 Speaker 1: widely known as Eskimos, and he praised them wholeheartedly. The 193 00:14:58,650 --> 00:15:03,850 Speaker 1: Inuit are and intelligent and cultured people. He said. That 194 00:15:03,890 --> 00:15:08,010 Speaker 1: didn't sound right to Gibbs. I'd always thought the Eskimos 195 00:15:08,090 --> 00:15:12,690 Speaker 1: were the most primitive and ignorant race on Earth. The 196 00:15:12,770 --> 00:15:16,930 Speaker 1: primitive ignorance here was Gibbs's racism. But it all added 197 00:15:17,010 --> 00:15:21,210 Speaker 1: up to make Gibbs convinced that Cook was bluffing. He 198 00:15:21,250 --> 00:15:25,330 Speaker 1: didn't want to risk saying that explicitly, but he made 199 00:15:25,370 --> 00:15:31,730 Speaker 1: it clear enough. Whether his answers seem satisfactory, I will 200 00:15:31,810 --> 00:15:37,570 Speaker 1: leave my readers to judge. Gibbs wired his article to 201 00:15:37,610 --> 00:15:40,650 Speaker 1: the Chronicle, and news of what had written soon got 202 00:15:40,690 --> 00:15:43,450 Speaker 1: back to Denmark, where the Danes had taken Cook to 203 00:15:43,490 --> 00:15:49,250 Speaker 1: their hearts. It caused an uproar. The shy, retiring Gibbs 204 00:15:49,450 --> 00:15:54,810 Speaker 1: became instantly notorious. He ruefully described himself as the most 205 00:15:55,010 --> 00:15:59,770 Speaker 1: unpopular man in Copenhagen. Diners booed him in a restaurant. 206 00:16:00,210 --> 00:16:04,170 Speaker 1: A newspaper published a caricature depicting him with a darkened 207 00:16:04,290 --> 00:16:08,930 Speaker 1: face and a slyly evil look. He even got threats 208 00:16:09,170 --> 00:16:14,730 Speaker 1: of violence. Faced with this hostility, Gibbs felt there was 209 00:16:14,850 --> 00:16:19,250 Speaker 1: only one thing to do, double down. He sought out 210 00:16:19,450 --> 00:16:22,770 Speaker 1: any expert he could find who might help him pick 211 00:16:22,850 --> 00:16:27,370 Speaker 1: holes in Cook's story. He followed Cook to events, observing 212 00:16:27,450 --> 00:16:31,970 Speaker 1: him closely. This wasn't always easy. Some of those events 213 00:16:31,970 --> 00:16:35,330 Speaker 1: were black tie, and Gibbs hadn't brought his dress suit 214 00:16:35,370 --> 00:16:38,410 Speaker 1: with him. He borrowed one from the waiter he'd met 215 00:16:38,410 --> 00:16:41,890 Speaker 1: in the cafe. It was stained with grease and far 216 00:16:41,970 --> 00:16:44,570 Speaker 1: too big. He had to hold the trousers up as 217 00:16:44,610 --> 00:16:49,450 Speaker 1: he walked. When Cook gave speeches, Gibbs seemed to notice 218 00:16:49,530 --> 00:16:56,090 Speaker 1: things others didn't. There were many awkward pauses, he informed 219 00:16:56,130 --> 00:17:00,850 Speaker 1: his readers. Dr Cook stumbled badly, his face was flushed, 220 00:17:01,050 --> 00:17:06,770 Speaker 1: his forehead beaded with perspiration. Another journalist described the same 221 00:17:06,890 --> 00:17:12,170 Speaker 1: speech as given coolly and without hesitation. Cook struck most 222 00:17:12,250 --> 00:17:19,050 Speaker 1: people as charming, fluent, and plausible. But also Cook wasn't 223 00:17:19,170 --> 00:17:23,810 Speaker 1: just some random person who'd appeared from nowhere. Other explorers 224 00:17:23,890 --> 00:17:27,170 Speaker 1: knew him, and they mostly seemed to like him, none 225 00:17:27,290 --> 00:17:32,450 Speaker 1: more so than rolled Amundson. The famous Norwegian Frederick Cook 226 00:17:32,570 --> 00:17:36,370 Speaker 1: is the most honest man I've ever met, said Amundson. 227 00:17:36,970 --> 00:17:41,450 Speaker 1: If he says he's reached the Pole, I believe him. 228 00:17:42,490 --> 00:17:46,930 Speaker 1: Ten years earlier, Cook and Amundson had become firm friends 229 00:17:47,090 --> 00:17:51,170 Speaker 1: on an epic voyage to the Antarctic when their ship 230 00:17:51,250 --> 00:17:56,130 Speaker 1: got stuck in ice for an entire year. Amundson, then 231 00:17:56,290 --> 00:18:00,890 Speaker 1: young and unknown, Cook the ship's doctor. They'd saved each 232 00:18:00,890 --> 00:18:04,770 Speaker 1: other's lives roped together on a perilous trek across a 233 00:18:04,770 --> 00:18:10,010 Speaker 1: glacial crevasse. They'd discussed ideas to improve equipment for explorers. 234 00:18:10,490 --> 00:18:13,690 Speaker 1: When Amunson later reached the South Pole, it was with 235 00:18:13,970 --> 00:18:17,650 Speaker 1: snow goggles and a wind deflecting tent he'd made from 236 00:18:17,690 --> 00:18:22,130 Speaker 1: designs that Cook suggested. When some of the crew on 237 00:18:22,210 --> 00:18:26,930 Speaker 1: the ice bound ship got scurvy, Cook cured them. He 238 00:18:26,970 --> 00:18:30,290 Speaker 1: had noticed that the Inuit never got scurvy, and he 239 00:18:30,370 --> 00:18:33,770 Speaker 1: guessed that might be because they ate fresh seal meat. 240 00:18:34,490 --> 00:18:39,170 Speaker 1: He insisted the sailors did too. He was right. After 241 00:18:39,290 --> 00:18:42,290 Speaker 1: months stuck in the ice, when they started to fear 242 00:18:42,330 --> 00:18:45,450 Speaker 1: that they might never get free. It was Cook who 243 00:18:45,530 --> 00:18:49,810 Speaker 1: came up with a plan cutting out blocks of ice 244 00:18:49,890 --> 00:18:52,570 Speaker 1: between the ship and the open water, so when the 245 00:18:52,610 --> 00:18:57,090 Speaker 1: ice moved, it might crack and form a channel. Seemed 246 00:18:57,130 --> 00:19:01,250 Speaker 1: like a mad idea at first, but it worked. It 247 00:19:01,290 --> 00:19:06,650 Speaker 1: was like a miracle. Amunson said of Cook, he, of 248 00:19:06,690 --> 00:19:10,650 Speaker 1: all the ship's company, was the one man of unfaltering courage, 249 00:19:11,090 --> 00:19:18,370 Speaker 1: unfailing hope, endless cheerfulness, and unwearied kindness. His ingenuity and 250 00:19:18,610 --> 00:19:25,410 Speaker 1: enterprise were boundless. So yes, if Frederick Cook said he'd 251 00:19:25,410 --> 00:19:30,210 Speaker 1: been to the North Pole, Roald Amundsen believed him. And 252 00:19:30,250 --> 00:19:34,610 Speaker 1: what of Cnud Rasmussen, the famous Danish explorer, the husband 253 00:19:34,730 --> 00:19:37,290 Speaker 1: of the beautiful woman Philip Gibbs had met on his 254 00:19:37,370 --> 00:19:41,250 Speaker 1: first night in Copenhagen. Knud was still in the north 255 00:19:41,490 --> 00:19:46,090 Speaker 1: doing exploring of his own. Gibbs bumped into Knud's wife, 256 00:19:46,250 --> 00:19:49,850 Speaker 1: Dagmar Rasmussen. She pulled out a long letter she had 257 00:19:50,010 --> 00:19:53,450 Speaker 1: just received. She let Gibbs copy part of it and 258 00:19:53,610 --> 00:19:57,930 Speaker 1: have it translated. My first feeling when I heard about 259 00:19:58,050 --> 00:20:03,090 Speaker 1: Dr Cook was an immeasurable disappointment and sorrow. Everyone who 260 00:20:03,210 --> 00:20:07,850 Speaker 1: knew Knud Rasmussen would have understood the young Dane was 261 00:20:07,970 --> 00:20:11,490 Speaker 1: downcast because he had long dreamed of being the first 262 00:20:11,530 --> 00:20:15,410 Speaker 1: man to reach the pole himself. Cook had taken that 263 00:20:15,570 --> 00:20:20,250 Speaker 1: place in the history books, or so Rasmusen assumed, because 264 00:20:20,330 --> 00:20:24,650 Speaker 1: he liked and trusted Cook too. But Gibbs didn't know 265 00:20:24,850 --> 00:20:28,050 Speaker 1: Nud Rasmussen and didn't understand what he meant. He just 266 00:20:28,090 --> 00:20:33,010 Speaker 1: thought it sounded vaguely negative. He reported that Rasmussen was 267 00:20:33,090 --> 00:20:38,890 Speaker 1: not supporting Cook. Gibbs was jumping to some wrong conclusions, 268 00:20:39,610 --> 00:20:42,850 Speaker 1: but he was also asking the right questions of the 269 00:20:42,970 --> 00:20:47,450 Speaker 1: right people, when no other journalist would. When the University 270 00:20:47,490 --> 00:20:51,370 Speaker 1: of Copenhagen announced it would give Cook an honorary degree, 271 00:20:51,810 --> 00:20:55,210 Speaker 1: other newspapers reported that Cook had shown his records to 272 00:20:55,290 --> 00:21:01,370 Speaker 1: the university's top astronomer, Gibbs sought the man out. I 273 00:21:01,450 --> 00:21:06,450 Speaker 1: hear you've seen Cook's records. What no Cook told me. 274 00:21:06,490 --> 00:21:10,530 Speaker 1: They're in a box in Greenland. So you haven't seen 275 00:21:10,690 --> 00:21:16,330 Speaker 1: any astronomical observations from Cook, not at all. And without 276 00:21:16,370 --> 00:21:19,170 Speaker 1: those observations, there's no way to be sure that Cook's 277 00:21:19,170 --> 00:21:25,930 Speaker 1: story is true. That's right, said the astronomer. By now, 278 00:21:26,250 --> 00:21:30,130 Speaker 1: Gibbs was ready to throw caution to the wind. His 279 00:21:30,290 --> 00:21:33,930 Speaker 1: reporting for the Chronicle was no longer inviting readers to 280 00:21:34,090 --> 00:21:39,370 Speaker 1: judge for themselves. He flat out accused Cook of fraud. 281 00:21:39,970 --> 00:21:43,450 Speaker 1: If Gibbs had called this wrong, Cook would surely sue 282 00:21:43,450 --> 00:21:49,650 Speaker 1: for libel. One distinguished fellow journalist was horrified, young man. 283 00:21:50,290 --> 00:21:53,650 Speaker 1: He said to Gibbs, you have not only wouned yourself, 284 00:21:53,850 --> 00:21:56,770 Speaker 1: which does not matter very much, but you have also 285 00:21:57,250 --> 00:22:05,610 Speaker 1: wouned the Daily Chronicle. The Danes, meanwhile, were embracing Cook uncritically. 286 00:22:06,650 --> 00:22:09,850 Speaker 1: The mayor of Copenhagen threw him a bank quick, the 287 00:22:09,970 --> 00:22:14,050 Speaker 1: King of Denmark invited him to dinner. With every negative 288 00:22:14,170 --> 00:22:19,210 Speaker 1: article Gibbs published in London, his notoriety in Copenhagen grew. 289 00:22:20,930 --> 00:22:25,090 Speaker 1: It must have been disconcerting for Gibbs reading articles about 290 00:22:25,130 --> 00:22:29,530 Speaker 1: himself in the Danish newspapers. Mister Gibbs were the only 291 00:22:29,610 --> 00:22:35,650 Speaker 1: words he understood. He asked someone to translate. Dagmar Rasmussen says, 292 00:22:35,690 --> 00:22:39,290 Speaker 1: you're wrong, Knud does believe Cook. Oh, And the explorer 293 00:22:39,370 --> 00:22:43,290 Speaker 1: Norman Hanson says you've insulted Cook's honor. That means he's 294 00:22:43,370 --> 00:22:47,970 Speaker 1: challenging you to a duel. A duel Gibbs had seen 295 00:22:48,050 --> 00:22:52,250 Speaker 1: Norman Hanson. He's six foot three in his socks. I'm 296 00:22:52,330 --> 00:22:59,370 Speaker 1: five foot six in my boots. Cautionary tales will be 297 00:22:59,410 --> 00:23:12,570 Speaker 1: back in a moment. We think of polarization as a 298 00:23:12,690 --> 00:23:16,650 Speaker 1: very modern problem, and in some ways it is. To 299 00:23:16,690 --> 00:23:20,530 Speaker 1: study after study finds politics in the US and Europe 300 00:23:20,730 --> 00:23:24,610 Speaker 1: going further to extremes. And it's not just opinions that 301 00:23:24,650 --> 00:23:28,650 Speaker 1: divide us, it's what we believed to be true. Think 302 00:23:28,690 --> 00:23:32,010 Speaker 1: of the first few months of the COVID pandemic, when 303 00:23:32,010 --> 00:23:36,450 Speaker 1: we faced so many entirely new questions. How much worse 304 00:23:36,610 --> 00:23:40,810 Speaker 1: was covid than flu? How well did masks work, did 305 00:23:40,810 --> 00:23:44,290 Speaker 1: the virus come from the market or the lab these 306 00:23:44,330 --> 00:23:48,290 Speaker 1: new vaccines, how safe were they. The best response to 307 00:23:48,370 --> 00:23:52,170 Speaker 1: all these questions was let's be guided by the evidence. 308 00:23:53,170 --> 00:23:56,890 Speaker 1: But for many people that was hard. They committed early 309 00:23:57,010 --> 00:24:03,050 Speaker 1: to one belief or another. We divided into tribes. It's 310 00:24:03,130 --> 00:24:07,090 Speaker 1: easy to blame social media. You state of view. It 311 00:24:07,130 --> 00:24:12,090 Speaker 1: brings you followers, clicks, maybe even advertising revenue. You stop 312 00:24:12,130 --> 00:24:15,490 Speaker 1: being objective and start telling your new followers what they 313 00:24:15,570 --> 00:24:19,450 Speaker 1: want to hear. But the polarization of the pole debate 314 00:24:19,610 --> 00:24:23,890 Speaker 1: in Copenhagen in nineteen o nine suggests the problem may 315 00:24:23,930 --> 00:24:27,770 Speaker 1: be older than we think. Just as with COVID, here 316 00:24:27,890 --> 00:24:30,490 Speaker 1: was a brand new question nobody had ever had to 317 00:24:30,490 --> 00:24:34,210 Speaker 1: think about before had Frederick Cook set foot on the 318 00:24:34,250 --> 00:24:37,930 Speaker 1: North Pole. And just as with COVID, the best response 319 00:24:38,090 --> 00:24:42,490 Speaker 1: was let's be guided by the evidence. But that was hard, 320 00:24:43,090 --> 00:24:45,970 Speaker 1: especially if the evidence was supposedly in a box in 321 00:24:46,010 --> 00:24:49,090 Speaker 1: Greenland and Cook wouldn't send it to the University of 322 00:24:49,130 --> 00:24:54,210 Speaker 1: Copenhagen for months. Still, let's be guided by the evidence 323 00:24:54,530 --> 00:24:57,330 Speaker 1: was the best response, and it was the one Philip 324 00:24:57,370 --> 00:25:01,730 Speaker 1: Gibbs started out with. He declared, as one of the 325 00:25:01,850 --> 00:25:05,650 Speaker 1: reporters of the world's history, I must be skeptical until 326 00:25:05,730 --> 00:25:11,450 Speaker 1: the facts are proven. Quite right, but Gibbs shifted quickly 327 00:25:11,490 --> 00:25:18,730 Speaker 1: from skepticism to cynicism. Why we can see the same 328 00:25:18,850 --> 00:25:22,210 Speaker 1: dynamic at work on Gibbs that we see in today's 329 00:25:22,210 --> 00:25:27,130 Speaker 1: social media world. Gibbs had an initial incentive to be opinionated. 330 00:25:27,530 --> 00:25:30,730 Speaker 1: It was risky, but it got him noticed. Once he 331 00:25:30,770 --> 00:25:34,290 Speaker 1: had committed to a view. It colored his judgment right 332 00:25:34,290 --> 00:25:38,330 Speaker 1: from the start, when he unfairly dismissed the explorer's well 333 00:25:38,450 --> 00:25:42,530 Speaker 1: informed opinions about the intelligence of the Inuit and the 334 00:25:42,570 --> 00:25:47,970 Speaker 1: advisability of facial hair in the Arctic. Skeptical until the 335 00:25:48,050 --> 00:25:52,290 Speaker 1: facts are proven, but it would take months for the 336 00:25:52,330 --> 00:25:55,690 Speaker 1: facts to be proven. Gibbs lasted only a couple of 337 00:25:55,810 --> 00:26:00,930 Speaker 1: days before he had abandoned healthy skepticism for mocking stone 338 00:26:00,930 --> 00:26:05,770 Speaker 1: cold certainty. His claim to have reached the North Pole 339 00:26:06,050 --> 00:26:10,490 Speaker 1: belongs to the realm of fairy tales. But just as 340 00:26:10,530 --> 00:26:15,930 Speaker 1: Gibbs rushed to extremes, so did Cook's supporters. Gibbs was 341 00:26:16,010 --> 00:26:18,650 Speaker 1: right to keep pointing out that Cook had arrived in 342 00:26:18,730 --> 00:26:23,210 Speaker 1: Copenhagen with no scientific observations to back up his story. 343 00:26:24,250 --> 00:26:27,010 Speaker 1: Why was the king inviting him to dinner, Why was 344 00:26:27,050 --> 00:26:31,010 Speaker 1: the university rushing to give him an honorary degree. Why 345 00:26:31,050 --> 00:26:36,690 Speaker 1: weren't they being skeptical until the facts were known? To 346 00:26:36,730 --> 00:26:40,850 Speaker 1: start with, Danes must have been flattered. Cook could have 347 00:26:40,970 --> 00:26:44,050 Speaker 1: chosen to go straight back home to America after all, 348 00:26:44,730 --> 00:26:48,290 Speaker 1: But there he was in Copenhagen, bringing the city the 349 00:26:48,330 --> 00:26:52,010 Speaker 1: attention of the world, and saying lovely things about how 350 00:26:52,050 --> 00:26:57,210 Speaker 1: the Danish had always supported Arctic explorers. Of course, they 351 00:26:57,290 --> 00:27:03,890 Speaker 1: wanted to believe Richard Evans, the author of The Explorer 352 00:27:04,130 --> 00:27:07,570 Speaker 1: and the journalist says the reaction of the Danes reminds 353 00:27:07,650 --> 00:27:11,170 Speaker 1: him of a line from the great psychologist Daniel Carneman. 354 00:27:11,970 --> 00:27:15,690 Speaker 1: When faced with a difficult question, we sometimes answer an 355 00:27:15,810 --> 00:27:21,650 Speaker 1: easier question without noticing the hard question. Had Cook really 356 00:27:21,690 --> 00:27:26,490 Speaker 1: been to the pole? The easier question? Did Cook seem nice? 357 00:27:28,450 --> 00:27:32,490 Speaker 1: But there's another reason Cook's supporters doubled down, As one 358 00:27:32,490 --> 00:27:36,530 Speaker 1: of them later explained, the attacks on him were both 359 00:27:36,650 --> 00:27:42,970 Speaker 1: indecent and ill founded. Isn't that how polarization works. Philip 360 00:27:43,010 --> 00:27:47,330 Speaker 1: Gibbs pushes further than the facts, yet strictly justify. Cook's 361 00:27:47,370 --> 00:27:51,330 Speaker 1: affronted friends push back harder than is justified too. The 362 00:27:51,370 --> 00:27:56,130 Speaker 1: cycle continues. The two sides get further and further apart. 363 00:27:57,330 --> 00:28:02,370 Speaker 1: In just five days, the world had divided into tribes 364 00:28:02,850 --> 00:28:08,210 Speaker 1: Cookites and anti Cookites. A handful of journalists held the 365 00:28:08,250 --> 00:28:11,690 Speaker 1: line that we should wait for Cook's evidence, but it 366 00:28:11,770 --> 00:28:15,530 Speaker 1: was hard to hold that line. The task of forming 367 00:28:15,610 --> 00:28:19,490 Speaker 1: a sane opinion, wrote The Times of London is more 368 00:28:19,530 --> 00:28:28,330 Speaker 1: than usually embarrassing. One thousand people attended Cook's honorary degree 369 00:28:28,370 --> 00:28:33,170 Speaker 1: ceremony at the University of Copenhagen. Royals the Great and 370 00:28:33,250 --> 00:28:38,050 Speaker 1: the Good of Danish science. In his acceptance speech, Cook 371 00:28:38,130 --> 00:28:42,690 Speaker 1: promised yet again to send the university his observations just 372 00:28:42,770 --> 00:28:47,690 Speaker 1: as soon as he could. Then he got emotional. I 373 00:28:47,690 --> 00:28:50,770 Speaker 1: can say no more, I can do no more. I'll 374 00:28:50,810 --> 00:28:55,090 Speaker 1: show you my hands, and then it was over. After 375 00:28:55,170 --> 00:29:01,490 Speaker 1: five days in Copenhagen, Cook set sail for home. Thousands 376 00:29:01,530 --> 00:29:03,850 Speaker 1: of people came to the harbor to wave him off. 377 00:29:04,530 --> 00:29:08,890 Speaker 1: A dignitary gave a farewell speech, We in Denmark believe 378 00:29:08,930 --> 00:29:14,890 Speaker 1: in you absolutely. As Philip Gibbs watched Frederick Cook's boat depart, 379 00:29:15,410 --> 00:29:19,250 Speaker 1: he had no idea if he'd ruined himself and the 380 00:29:19,370 --> 00:29:24,330 Speaker 1: Daily Chronicle where they're really compelling scientific observations in a 381 00:29:24,370 --> 00:29:29,010 Speaker 1: box in Greenland, that would confirm Cook's story. Gibbs could 382 00:29:29,010 --> 00:29:32,570 Speaker 1: only wait until Cook sent his papers to the expert 383 00:29:32,610 --> 00:29:38,250 Speaker 1: committee assembled by the University of Copenhagen. Gibbs turned from 384 00:29:38,250 --> 00:29:41,930 Speaker 1: the harbor and ran straight into the one man he 385 00:29:42,170 --> 00:29:45,210 Speaker 1: didn't want to see, the man who challenged him to 386 00:29:45,250 --> 00:29:51,330 Speaker 1: a duel, the six foot three explorer Norman Hanson. Gibbs 387 00:29:51,450 --> 00:29:56,210 Speaker 1: must have looked terrified, because Hanson roared with laughter and 388 00:29:56,330 --> 00:29:59,610 Speaker 1: held out his hand. We will fight with our pens, 389 00:29:59,970 --> 00:30:04,290 Speaker 1: he said. There was only one thing left for Gibbs 390 00:30:04,330 --> 00:30:07,770 Speaker 1: to do. He visited the office of the newspaper that 391 00:30:07,850 --> 00:30:10,810 Speaker 1: had published the challenge the duel, and gave them a 392 00:30:10,890 --> 00:30:16,170 Speaker 1: quote tell Norman Hanson that I am ready. He need 393 00:30:16,210 --> 00:30:21,370 Speaker 1: only name his weapon. The shy and retiring Gibbs had 394 00:30:21,410 --> 00:30:25,450 Speaker 1: found his confidence, but just in case Hanson might change 395 00:30:25,450 --> 00:30:28,970 Speaker 1: his mind, Gibbs got straight on the first boat back 396 00:30:29,090 --> 00:30:38,010 Speaker 1: for London. Three and a half months later, Frederick Cook 397 00:30:38,250 --> 00:30:43,250 Speaker 1: sent some papers to the University of Copenhagen. Expert committees 398 00:30:43,570 --> 00:30:47,250 Speaker 1: usually take their time to pour over evidence from explorers, 399 00:30:48,050 --> 00:30:51,530 Speaker 1: but after just four days word got around that the 400 00:30:51,610 --> 00:30:56,770 Speaker 1: verdict was ready. Danish journalists rushed to gather in a 401 00:30:56,890 --> 00:31:01,610 Speaker 1: high ceilinged wood paneled room at the university. In walked 402 00:31:01,730 --> 00:31:06,210 Speaker 1: a functionary carrying a pile of reports. He handed each 403 00:31:06,330 --> 00:31:11,050 Speaker 1: journalist a copy. They avid least arted to read. The 404 00:31:11,130 --> 00:31:16,410 Speaker 1: records submitted said the expert's report were completely valueless for 405 00:31:16,450 --> 00:31:19,370 Speaker 1: the determination of the question whether doctor Cook had reached 406 00:31:19,370 --> 00:31:25,290 Speaker 1: the North Pole? Right, what does that mean exactly? He 407 00:31:25,330 --> 00:31:29,570 Speaker 1: didn't get to the pole? He might have the journalists 408 00:31:29,690 --> 00:31:33,890 Speaker 1: seek out the experts and ask them to explain. Remember 409 00:31:33,970 --> 00:31:37,530 Speaker 1: the university's astronomer who told Philip Gibbs he needed to 410 00:31:37,570 --> 00:31:40,890 Speaker 1: see Cook's records to be sure of his story. Well 411 00:31:41,610 --> 00:31:47,130 Speaker 1: he's seen them now. There is not a single astronomical observation, 412 00:31:47,810 --> 00:31:52,330 Speaker 1: the astronomer tells the Danish journalists, just remarks on weather 413 00:31:52,530 --> 00:31:58,210 Speaker 1: and wind and ice and snow. That's not proof. Also 414 00:31:58,370 --> 00:32:03,410 Speaker 1: on the expert committee, the famous young Danish explorer Knud Rasmussen, 415 00:32:03,690 --> 00:32:10,570 Speaker 1: who'd initially assumed Cook was telling the Truthnud escaped such 416 00:32:10,730 --> 00:32:14,930 Speaker 1: a pathetic submission, he says, has probably never before been 417 00:32:14,970 --> 00:32:19,290 Speaker 1: submitted to a scientific society for investigation. I have completely 418 00:32:19,290 --> 00:32:21,290 Speaker 1: lost faith in his claim to be the discoverer of 419 00:32:21,330 --> 00:32:26,610 Speaker 1: the North Pole. Another expert on the committee likens Cook's 420 00:32:26,610 --> 00:32:30,170 Speaker 1: submission to a student handing in an answer without showing 421 00:32:30,170 --> 00:32:34,210 Speaker 1: his calculations. The professor, he says, would give the student 422 00:32:34,770 --> 00:32:41,730 Speaker 1: a zero, and we have done the same. The news 423 00:32:41,770 --> 00:32:45,370 Speaker 1: gets back to London. At the office of the Daily Chronicle, 424 00:32:45,930 --> 00:32:50,850 Speaker 1: Philip Gibbs breathes a sigh of relief. He knows things 425 00:32:50,930 --> 00:32:55,410 Speaker 1: might have turned out very differently. I took a big chance, 426 00:32:55,890 --> 00:32:59,250 Speaker 1: Gibbs later recalled, looking back on it, one which was 427 00:32:59,450 --> 00:33:04,410 Speaker 1: too dangerous and not quite justified. Gibbs's reporting on Frederick 428 00:33:04,490 --> 00:33:09,490 Speaker 1: Cook became a legend of the British news industry. Gibbs 429 00:33:09,490 --> 00:33:13,650 Speaker 1: became a well known war correspondent, a modestly successful novelist, 430 00:33:14,130 --> 00:33:17,410 Speaker 1: a campaigner for peace, and a knight of the realm. 431 00:33:18,490 --> 00:33:24,610 Speaker 1: Sir Philip Gibbs had gambled and won, and what of 432 00:33:24,690 --> 00:33:28,090 Speaker 1: Frederick Cook? He made some money on the lecture circuit. 433 00:33:28,410 --> 00:33:31,890 Speaker 1: While enough people still believed him, he checked into a 434 00:33:31,930 --> 00:33:37,650 Speaker 1: sanatorium with nervous exhaustion. He disappeared for months. He returned 435 00:33:37,650 --> 00:33:41,410 Speaker 1: to Copenhagen to give a lecture. It was interrupted by 436 00:33:41,410 --> 00:33:46,690 Speaker 1: a six foot three heckler. You scoundrel, shouted the explorer, 437 00:33:46,730 --> 00:33:50,650 Speaker 1: Norman Hanson. You betrayed the trust of the Danish people. 438 00:33:52,290 --> 00:33:57,090 Speaker 1: Cook moved to Texas and reinvented himself as an oil man. 439 00:33:58,130 --> 00:34:02,130 Speaker 1: His promises to investors never seemed to come good. He 440 00:34:02,170 --> 00:34:06,610 Speaker 1: was arrested and charged with fraud. I've done nothing wrong, 441 00:34:07,090 --> 00:34:12,570 Speaker 1: Cook told the police. To the Danes, they said. Cook 442 00:34:12,890 --> 00:34:16,970 Speaker 1: served seven years in prison. He was visited by his 443 00:34:17,090 --> 00:34:22,810 Speaker 1: loyal old friend Roald Amonson, who spoke to reporters afterwards. 444 00:34:23,450 --> 00:34:27,610 Speaker 1: Cook is a genius, said Amonson. The finest traveler I 445 00:34:27,850 --> 00:34:33,450 Speaker 1: ever saw. I still find his story plausible. Cook himself 446 00:34:34,010 --> 00:34:38,330 Speaker 1: never stopped making his case. I'm getting old. I want 447 00:34:38,370 --> 00:34:41,530 Speaker 1: you to believe that I told the truth. Our children's 448 00:34:41,650 --> 00:34:46,210 Speaker 1: children will give me a fair verdict. We're a generation 449 00:34:46,370 --> 00:34:51,290 Speaker 1: or two on from that. So did Frederick Cook reach 450 00:34:51,410 --> 00:34:56,090 Speaker 1: the North Pole? He never produced convincing evidence that he did, 451 00:34:56,810 --> 00:35:00,770 Speaker 1: but then nobody proved he didn't. He went somewhere for 452 00:35:00,890 --> 00:35:04,850 Speaker 1: months with his Inuit friends. He maintained that he had 453 00:35:04,970 --> 00:35:08,290 Speaker 1: proof in a box in Greenland, but the box never 454 00:35:08,330 --> 00:35:12,290 Speaker 1: got to America and never could be found. Did he 455 00:35:12,410 --> 00:35:16,450 Speaker 1: genuinely believe that he'd made the poll? Did he naively 456 00:35:16,530 --> 00:35:19,410 Speaker 1: expect to be trusted or did he know he was 457 00:35:19,410 --> 00:35:22,690 Speaker 1: bluffing and hoped to get away with a winning manner 458 00:35:22,730 --> 00:35:28,330 Speaker 1: and a gripping story. As Philip Gibbs wants wisely advised, 459 00:35:29,170 --> 00:35:35,050 Speaker 1: we must be skeptical until the facts are proven. The 460 00:35:35,130 --> 00:35:50,810 Speaker 1: facts aren't proven yet, perhaps they never will be. Thanks 461 00:35:50,810 --> 00:35:53,730 Speaker 1: to Richard Evans for giving us permission to base this 462 00:35:53,850 --> 00:35:58,370 Speaker 1: cautionary tale on his new book, The Explorer and the Journalist. 463 00:35:58,890 --> 00:36:02,570 Speaker 1: It's already available in the UK and elsewhere, and will 464 00:36:02,570 --> 00:36:06,370 Speaker 1: be published in the US in November twenty twenty three. 465 00:36:08,170 --> 00:36:12,050 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tale is written by me Tim Harford with Andrew Wright. 466 00:36:12,570 --> 00:36:16,010 Speaker 1: It's produced by Alice Fines with support from Edith Russlow. 467 00:36:16,610 --> 00:36:19,530 Speaker 1: The sound design and original music is the work of 468 00:36:19,610 --> 00:36:24,730 Speaker 1: Pascal Wise. Julia Barton edited the scripts. It features the 469 00:36:24,810 --> 00:36:28,850 Speaker 1: voice talents of Ben Crowe, Melanie Gushridge, Jemma Saunders and 470 00:36:28,970 --> 00:36:32,650 Speaker 1: Rufus Wright. The show wouldn't have been possible without the 471 00:36:32,690 --> 00:36:37,570 Speaker 1: work of Jacob Weisberg, Ryan Dilly, Greta Cohne, let Al Millard, 472 00:36:37,930 --> 00:36:45,530 Speaker 1: John Schnaz, Carlie mcgliori and Eric Sandler. Cautionary Tales is 473 00:36:45,570 --> 00:36:49,290 Speaker 1: a production of Pushkin Industries. It was recorded in Wardall 474 00:36:49,370 --> 00:36:52,690 Speaker 1: Studios in London by Tom Berry. If you like the show, 475 00:36:52,890 --> 00:36:56,010 Speaker 1: please remember to share, rate and review go on you 476 00:36:56,170 --> 00:36:58,410 Speaker 1: know it helps us and if you want to hear 477 00:36:58,450 --> 00:37:02,050 Speaker 1: the show ad free, sign up for Pushkin Plus on 478 00:37:02,130 --> 00:37:06,170 Speaker 1: the show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin dot fm, 479 00:37:06,450 --> 00:37:07,490 Speaker 1: slash plus