Futility Closet

Beryl Markham managed to fit three extraordinary careers into one lifetime: She was a champion racehorse trainer, a pioneering bush pilot, and a best-selling author. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review her eventful life, including her historic solo flight across the Atlantic in 1936. We'll also portray some Canadian snakes and puzzle over a deadly car. Intro: In 1974, Stewart Coffin devised a topological puzzle without a solution. In August 1972, Applied Optics determined that Heaven is hotter than Hell. Sources for our feature on Beryl Markham: Mary S. Lovell, Straight on Till Morning: The Life of Beryl Markham, 2011. Beryl Markham, West With the Night, 1942. Derek O'Connor, "The Remarkable Mrs. Markham," Aviation History 28:2 (November 2017), 54-59. Paula McLain, "An Insanely Glamorous Love Triangle," Town & Country, Sept. 2, 2015. Nate Pederson, "West With the Night," Aviation History 20:1 (September 2009), 62-62. Diana Ketcham, "Bad Girl," Nation 245:17 (Nov. 21, 1987)