#289 - Breaking the Ice

This week, we travel to the edge of the map with
Aleksandr Surtcev, an engineer who has crewed
Russian nuclear icebreakers along the Northern Sea Route. We
explore how Russia’s Arctic fleet keeps this strategic corridor
open, why floating nuclear plants are powering remote communities
and mines, and what life looks like in a place where polar bears
trail ships for fish and resupply markets pop up on the ice.
Beneath the stories lies a deeper discussion of geopolitics,
engineering, and the hard logistics of operating in one of the
most unforgiving regions on Earth.