How to find a billion-dollar shipwreck

16 Apr 2026 · 36 min · Episode 2520

Episode How to find a billion-dollar shipwreck

0:00 36:19

In 1708, the Spanish galleon San José was sunk by a British warship off the coast of Colombia, vanishing beneath the waves with a treasure trove of unimaginable riches. The wreck's exact location remained a mystery for centuries – until a maritime archaeologist named Roger Dooley made it his life’s mission to find it. In this episode, Julian Sancton tells Jon Bauckham about Dooley’s incredible search, set against a backdrop of secrecy, sacrifice and Cold War tensions.

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Don't miss our alternate history feature on the War of the Spanish Succession, and what might have happened had Charles II produced an heir: https://bit.ly/4lUL7h1

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