Advertise on podcast: Once Upon a True Time

In January 1925, a deadly disease was spreading among the children of Nome, Alaska, and the medicine that could stop it was far away. Flying in the dead of an Alaskan winter was judged too risky, so about twenty mushers and more than 150 sled dogs carried it by relay across 674 miles of frozen wilderness in about five and a half days, through blizzards, fifty-below cold, and cracking sea ice. One dog, Balto, became famous and got a statue. Another, Togo, ran the farthest and most dangerous stretch and was nearly forgotten. So who was the real hero? The point: big things take everybody, and every part matters (1 Corinthians 12:21). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com

Wilbur and Orville Wright were two bicycle mechanics from Ohio with no college degrees and not much money. The famous scientist Samuel Langley had government funding and a big reputation, and his flying machine crashed into a river twice. The Wrights failed too: their gliders crashed, their numbers didn't work, and Wilbur once predicted nobody would fly for fifty years. But instead of quitting, they built a wind tunnel in their shop, discovered the experts were wrong, and figured it out themselves. On a freezing morning in 1903, they flew for twelve seconds and changed the world. Today, pieces of their plane have been to the moon and to Mars. The point: failure is a teacher, but only if you're willing to learn from it (Proverbs 24:16). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com

Mary Anning grew up poor on the English coast, hunting for "curiosities" in crumbling cliffs to help feed her family. After her brother found a strange skull, twelve-year-old Mary found the rest of the skeleton, a creature no scientist had ever seen. She became one of the greatest fossil hunters in history, discovering sea monsters and a flying reptile, and even helping figure out fossilized poop. But again and again, men bought her discoveries, wrote about them, and left her name out. This episode covers her remarkable life, her faithful dog Tray, and the few friends who spoke up for her. The point: keep doing good work, even when somebody else gets the credit (Colossians 3:23). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com

In 1914, Ernest Shackleton set out to become the first person to walk across Antarctica. Instead, his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and crushed by sea ice, leaving twenty-eight men stranded at the bottom of the world. What followed was one of the greatest survival stories ever told: months on floating ice, a desperate lifeboat voyage, an 800-mile crossing of the roughest ocean on earth, and a climb over uncharted mountains. Shackleton never reached his goal, but every man of the Endurance crew came home alive. Along the way we hear about a stowaway, a torn-out page from Job, and a leader who gave away his own mittens. The point: good leaders take care of their people (Mark 10:43). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com