At 5.44am on May 15th, 17-year-old Emma Schwerin from Montana reached the summit of Mount Everest with her dad, Sam, and earned not one, but three world records!

She’s the youngest American female ever to summit Everest, as well as Mount Vinson in Antarctica, and the youngest woman in the world to conquer the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent.

Emma – who describes herself as ‘a fierce 4ft 11’ – says climbing the notoriously dangerous Icefall on Everest, she repeated the quote 'if it wasn't scary, it wouldn't be big enough' to conquer her fear. Her aim is to inspire other young girls and women to dream big and show that anything is possible with grit, hard work and determination.

Cian Adams and his brother Jordan have a gene mutation which means they will almost certainly develop devastating symptoms of a rare form of frontotemporal dementia in their 40s. The same gene robbed them of their mum, Geraldine, when she was just 52, as well as their aunt, nana and other relatives.

Known as the FTD Brothers, Cian and Jordan take on epic running challenges – including a 903-mile run from John o’ Groats to Land’s End in 2024 - to raise £1 million for Alzheimer’s Research UK of which they’re ambassadors.

Helen talks to 24-year-old Cian about the family turmoil of seeing his mum suffering when he was a young boy and how he copes with the knowledge of what the future likely holds for him. He’s joined on the podcast by his girlfriend, Helen Jolly, who’s studying for a PhD in Dementia at Oxford University and gives an insight into the science behind this cruel disease.

Cian & Jordan’s mum, Geraldine.

There’s a small square of the Arctic – 3 metres by 3 metres - behind the UK Research Station in Svalbard, which Encounter Edu Founder & former teacher Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop calls his own.

Huddled in sub-zero temperatures on the ice, he’s spent hours there, broadcasting to more than 150,000 children from 57 countries, sharing the magical northernmost region of the Earth with them, bringing scientists’ work to life and inspiring young minds to understand our planet.

Encounter Edu produces live lessons for schools on some of our most pressing global issues - climate change, ocean health, the refugee crisis, Ai, and unites students living with conflict with classrooms around the world. The Encounter Edu team has reached more than 24 million youngsters in 91 countries.

UK Arctic Research Station, Svalbard