You may have heard the many myths about the life and exploits of Marco Polo- was he really the one who brought ice cream and spaghetti from his travels on the Silk Road from the court of Kublai Khan, where he served as a diplomat? Almost as soon as he wrote his memoir, people doubted the wild stories of his travels across Europe and Asia.

His life and myth are unravelled on today's podcast with Laurence Bergreen, historian and author of 'Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu' who followed in the footsteps of Polo, travelling the old Silk Road all the way to China, to see for himself if the stories of the great Venetian merchant were true…

Produced by Mariana Des Forges, sound design and editing by Dougal Patmore.

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