S1-E57: Vanuatu: Measured Curiosity

On Tanna, knowledge does not lie at the summit. It lies in knowing when to stop.

In August 1774, Cook’s expedition ventures inland on the island of Tanna, drawn by steam rising from a quiet volcano. Thermometers sink into white clay, hot springs are measured to near boiling, and every step promises scientific insight. Yet the landscape resists simple exploration.

Paths twist. Guides mislead. Triton shells sound across the mountain as numbers are counted and intentions weighed. What could escalate into violence dissolves instead into cautious hospitality—fruit offered, weapons lowered, trust slowly rebuilt.

**On Tanna, knowledge does not lie at the summit. It lies in knowing when to stop. - Click on the image to listen to this episode on YouTube.**

Along the coast, the work of science continues. Hot springs defy tidal logic. Strange fish walk on rocks. Birds carry nutmeg from unseen trees, while human informants bend the truth. Even authority takes an unfamiliar form: an elderly Eriki whose power lies not in command, but in age and counsel.

Again and again, the expedition confronts a choice between curiosity and consequence. The volcano remains unreachable—not by force of nature alone, but by human boundaries.

This episode is not about what was discovered, but about what was deliberately left unexplored—and why true understanding sometimes begins with restraint.