Episode
'Iceberg Right Ahead!' A Titanic Lookout's Story
- Podcast
- Beastly History
- Published
- May 12, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2111
- Processing state
not_requested- Audio
- https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6990df73d6c27a06bbc07e61/e/6a02e75c5c981a35733b0046/media.mp3
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Summary
(Content warning: please be aware this episode includes discussion of suicide). It's 1140pm in the North Atlantic Ocean, April 14 1912, when Titanic lookout Fred Fleet first glimpses a hulking great mass of ice looming out of the darkness. He desperately warns the crew with the famous words "Iceberg! Right Ahead!" But it's already too late. Many things went wrong in the build up to one of history's most famous disasters and the loss of around 1500 lives. And in this episode we're focusing on the Titanic story through the point of view of 24-year-old lookout Fred Fleet. Why didn't Fleet see the iceberg in time? How come crew apparently ignored ice field warnings? And what does the catastrophe tell us about the Edwardian attitude towards the natural world in the name of progress? Michelle's joined by Titanic expert Paul Lee for an epic Beastly History. More Beastly: Follow Beastly History on Instagram @beastlyhistory Discover More: Explore Paul Lee's Titanic research: https://www.paullee.com/titanic/ Read Fred Fleet and others' testimony at the Titanic inquest in 1912: https://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTInq15Fleet01.php Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.