Greetings from the Arctic Circle, where an icebreaker ship drew polar bears' attention

Greetings from the Arctic Circle, where an icebreaker ship drew polar bears' attention

Jackie Northam

November 12, 2025 / 8:35 am

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

Growing up in Canada, I always considered the Arctic part of my backyard, a part of the country's identity and history. So I was overjoyed several years ago when I got what I considered a dream assignment: a week-long voyage through the fabled Northwest Passage , a series of waterways high above the Arctic Circle.

I was aboard the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, a hulking Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker affectionately known by the crew as simply the Louis.

Ahead of that excursion, I had been doing month-long reporting rotation