After qualifying from medical school in Edinburgh, Gavin Francis spent ten years travelling, visiting all seven continents. He has worked in Africa and India, made several trips to the Arctic, and crossed Eurasia and Australasia by motorcycle. His first book, True North: Travels in Arctic Europe was published in 2008. He has lectured at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, the Edinburgh Book Festival, and is a regular speaker at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Gavin's latest book, which was shortlisted for the 2013 RSL Ondaatje prize, is Empire Antarctica: Ice, Silence and Emperor Penguins.

First broadcast on 28th June 2013.