Wait, Wait...

On this week’s ‘Not My Job’ segment of the NPR quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the guest is Dan Snow, a historian who was a part of the expedition that only weeks ago at last found Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which had been lost in the Antarctic Sea in 1915.  His enthusiasm for the 100-person expedition is almost overwhelming, as he explains how they were able to finally find the lost ship after 102 years.  And he has equal enthusiasm (as do the British people) for Shackleton who he says was a monumental failure, going on four expeditions, none of which succeeded – Snow’s point being that it’s easy to be a hero when you succeed, such people are amazing, he says, but “Shackleton? He messed up!  It all went wrong, all the time.  And when it went wrong, he showed greatness.  He showed toughness and spirit, he showed compassion, and that’s why we love him in the U.K.”
 
This the full Wait, Wait… broadcast, but you can jump directly to the “Not My Job” segment, it starts around the 18:20 mark.