Come dive into one of the curiously delightful conversations overheard at National Geographicβs headquarters, as we follow explorers, photographers, and scientists to the edges of our big, weird, beautiful world. Hosted by Peter Gwin and Amy Briggs.
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Trapped in the icy waters of the Northwest Passage
Tuesday, July 11, 2023 β’ Duration 34:16
For centuries, the Northwest Passage, the long-sought sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through northern Canada, was a holy grail of Arctic exploration. Even now, sailing through it isnβt guaranteed. Mark Synnott, a National Geographic Explorer, writer, and adventurer, attempted to sail his own boat through the Northwest Passage to retrace the doomed 1845 expedition of British explorer Sir John Franklin. None of the Franklin expeditionβs 129 men made it home, but what exactly happened remains a mystery.Β Β
For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard.
Want more?
Get the inside scoop on Markβs Northwest Passage voyage and see gorgeous photos in the August issue of National Geographic.
Watch Explorer: Lost in the Arctic, premiering August 24 on National Geographic and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
And to go even deeper, Mark will tell the full story in his book Into the Ice, coming fall 2024 from Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group.
Also explore:
On paper, Sir John Franklinβs expedition seemed to lack for little. There were ironclad ships, steam engines, libraries totaling 2,900 books, and even animal companionsβtwo dogs and a monkey. Hereβs how it all went wrong.
Explore another polar expedition gone wrongβShackletonβs expedition to Antarctica aboard Enduranceβin the Overheard episode βWhat the Ice Gets, the Ice Keeps.β
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Playback: Modern Lives, Ancient Caves
Tuesday, July 4, 2023 β’ Duration 28:39
Thereβs a lost continent waiting to be explored, and itβs right below our feet. Weβll dig into the deep human relationship to the undergroundβand why we understand it from an instinctive point of view, but not so much from a physical one. (Hint: Weβre afraid of the dark.) In an episode originally published November 2021, National Geographic photographer Tamara Merino will take us subterranean in Utah, Australia, and Spain, where modern-day cave dwellers teach us how to escape the heat.
For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard.
Want more?
Go below ground with National Geographic Explorer Tamara Merino to see how these communities have been livingβquite comfortablyβfor a very long time.
In Vietnam photojournalist and National Geographic Explorer Martin EdstrΓΆm created 360 images of the worldβs largest cave, Son Doong. Itβs so big that a forest grows inside of it.
Ever zip-line to a remote island? Cartographers did, 30 miles west of San Francisco. What did they see when they mapped the hard-to-reach landform known as the Farallon Islands? Caves.
China is home to some of the most intricate cave systems on the planet. These explorers used a laser scanner to capture never before seen images of undocumented caves.
Also explore:
South Dakota is famous among cavers for its web of cave mazes. Take a look at what theyβve found under the Black Hills.
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Playback: This Indigenous Practice Fights Fire with Fire
Tuesday, June 27, 2023 β’ Duration 29:08
For decades, the U.S. government evangelized fire suppression, most famously through Smokey Bearβs wildfire prevention campaign. But as climate change continues to exacerbate wildfire seasons and a growing body of scientific research supports using fire to fight fire, Indigenous groups in the Klamath Basin are reviving cultural burning practices that effectively controlled forest fires for centuries. In an episode originally published June 2022, National Geographic photographer Kiliii YΓΌyan introduces us to people bringing back this cultural practice and teaching the next generation how to use fire.
For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard.
Want more?
If you want to hear more from Kiliii, you can also listen to a previous Overheard episode where he shares stories from the many weeks he spent camping on sea ice with Native Alaskan whale hunters.
And if youβre dying to see his photography, check out his website to see portraits of Indigenous people, Arctic wildlife, and more.
Also explore:
To learn more about Margo Robbins and her efforts to revive cultural burns, check out our article on the subject.
The practice of cultural burning is just one of many subjects that Kiliii and writer Charles Mann covered about the ways Indigenous groups are trying to reclaim sovereignty. Read that cover story here.Β
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Playback: Rooting, from Into the Depths
Tuesday, June 20, 2023 β’ Duration 44:52
National Geographic Explorer Tara Roberts is inspired by the stories of the Clotilda, a ship that illegally arrived in Mobile, Alabama, in 1860, and of Africatown, created by those on the vesselβa community that still exists today. The archaeologists and divers leading the search for the Clotilda lay out the steps it took to find it. In this last episode of the Into the Depths podcast, which published in March 2022, Tara talks to the living descendants of those aboard the ship. She admires their enormous pride in knowing their ancestry, and wonders if she can trace her own ancestors back to a ship. She hires a genealogist and visits her familyβs small hometown in North Carolina. The surprising results bring a sense of belonging to a place that she never could have imagined.
ο»ΏWant more?
Check out our Into the Depths hub to listen to all six episodes, learn more about Taraβs journey following Black scuba divers, find previous Nat Geo coverage on the search for slave shipwrecks, and read the March 2022 cover story.
And download a tool kit for hosting an Into the Depths listening party to spark conversation and journey deeper into the material.
Also explore:Β
Dive into more of National Geographicβs coverage of the Clotilda with articles looking at scientistsβ ongoing archaeological work, the story that broke the discovery of the ship, and the documentary Clotilda: Last American Slave Ship.
Meet more of the descendants of the Africans trafficked to the U.S. aboard the Clotilda, and find out what theyβre doing to save Mobileβs Africatown community in the face of difficult economic and environmental challenges.Β
Read the story of Kossola, who later received the name Cudjo Lewis, in the book Barracoon: The Story of the Last βBlack Cargo,β by author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston.
Learn more about the life of abolitionist Harriet Jacobs, author of βIncidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,β who escaped Edenton, N.C., through the Maritime Underground Railroad.
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Blood-sucking villains. Spooky specters of the night. Our views of bats are often based more on fiction than fact. Enter National Geographic Explorer at Large Rodrigo MedellΓn, aka the Bat Man of Mexico. For decades, heβs waged a charm offensive to show the world how much we need bats, from the clothes we wear to a sip of tequila at the end of a long day. The COVID-19 pandemic caused even more harmful bat myths and gave MedellΓn the biggest challenge of his career. In this episode originally published in 2021, learn why the world must once again realize that bats may not be the hero everyone wantsβbut theyβre the hero we need.
For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard.
Want more?
See how Rodrigo uses a multi-pronged approachβinvolving field research, conservation, and tequilaβto help protect bats.Β
In a Nat Geo short film, Rodrigo ventures into an ancient Mayan ruin to find two rare species of vampire bat.
Curious about the connection between bats and Covid-19? Explore why itβs so tricky to trace the diseaseβs origins.Β Β
Also explore:
Learn more about bats: They can be found nearly everywhere on Earth and range in size from lighter than a penny to a six-foot wingspan.Β Β Β
Why do bats get a bad rap? See how Spanish conquistadors and Dracula convinced us bats are more fright than friend.Β
Bat myths have real-world consequences. In Mauritius, a government campaign culled tens of thousands of endangered fruit bats.Β
For more bat info, follow Rodrigo on Instagram @batmanmedellin.
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How queer identity shapes Nat Geo Explorers
Tuesday, May 30, 2023 β’ Duration 33:47
Why would a scientist brave the stench of a car full of rotting meat on a 120-degree day? What can a unique whistling language teach us about humansβ connection to the natural world? And how does queer identity shape the research of National Geographic Explorers? In this episode celebrating Pride, we hand the mic to two Explorers: Christine Wilkinson, who studies hyenas and other large carnivores and created the TikTok series βQueer is Natural,β and RΓΌdiger Ortiz-Γlvarez, whose soundscapes from the Canary Islands encourage us to slow down and listen to the world around us.
For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard.
Want more?
Why do some people prefer LGBTQIA+ instead of LGBT? See how societyβs understanding of diverse sexual identities and gender expressions has grown more inclusiveβand so has the acronym used to describe them.
Before the Nazis rose to power, a German institute cemented itself as gay liberationβs epicenter. Discover the great hunt for the world's first LGBTQ archive.
Although a large group of LGBTQ people celebrating their sexual orientation in public had been unthinkable just a few years before, the first Pride parades began in 1970 as marchesΒ commemorating the 1969 Stonewall uprising.
See more National Geographic coverage of Pride at natgeo.com/Pride.Β
Also explore:
Learn more about spotted hyenas, which live in female-led clans of up to 80 individuals.
Practice your whistling and head to La Gomera in the Canary Islands, home to the Silbo Gomero whistling language and Garajonay National Park.
Find Christine Wilkinsonβs βQueer is Naturalβ series on her TikTok, @scrappynaturalist. And follow along with RΓΌdiger Ortiz-Γlvarez on his Instagram, @rudigerortiz.
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A Mexican Wolf Pupβs Journey into the Wild
Tuesday, May 23, 2023 β’ Duration 25:26
For centuries, Mexican gray wolves roamed the Southwest. But as cattle ranches spread, wolves became enemy number one, and by the 1970s the subspecies was nearly extinct. But after the Endangered Species Act was passed, the U.S. embarked on an ambitious plan to save the iconic predators. Weβll meet the Texas trapper who switched from killing wolves to catching them to breed. And weβll follow a team of biologists into the Gila Wilderness to introduce captive-born wolf pups into the wild.
For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard.
Want more?
Check out Peter Gwin's feature article on the Gila wilderness.
Thinking of visiting the Gila yourself? We've put together a travel guide for you.
Also Explore
In 2021, a Mexican wolf named Mr. Goodbar crossed the border from Mexico into the United States, raising questions about how the border wall will affect animal migration.
The Gila wilderness is also famous for one of the only venomous lizards in the world, the Gila monster. But climate change and human activity is threatening this charismatic reptile.
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Playback: Deep Inside the First Wilderness
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 β’ Duration 24:52
On assignment in the canyons of the Gila Wilderness, Nat Geo photographer Katie Orlinsky has a fireside chatΒ with Overheard host Peter Gwin about telling stories through pictures. She chronicles how she found her wayβfrom growing up in New York City to covering workers' rights in rural Mexico to the worldβs most grueling dogsled race in Alaska.Β
For more information on this episode, visit nationalgeographic.com/overheard.
Want more?
To see some of Katie's photos from the Gila, take a look at Peter Gwin's article How to visit the Gila Wilderness.
In her work on the Yukon Quest sled dog race, you can see what it looks like to cross 1,000 miles of Alaska on dog power.
On Katieβs personal website, you can see more images,Β including from her time in JuΓ‘rez.
Also explore:
And magazine subscribers can see Katieβs photos in our recent story about thawing permafrost. Sometimes that thaw creates pockets of methane under frozen lakes that scientists test by setting on fire. That story was also featured in our podcast episode about how beavers are changing the Arctic.
If you like what you hear and want to support more content like this, please consider a National Geographic subscription. Go toΒ natgeo.com/exploremoreΒ to subscribe today.Β
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She Sails the Seas Without Maps or Compasses
Tuesday, May 9, 2023 β’ Duration 36:48
For nearly 50 years, a group of Hawaiians have been sailing on traditional voyaging canoes using the methods that early Polynesian explorers relied on to navigate the Pacific Oceanβwithout maps and modern instruments, and relying on the stars, ocean waves, birds, and other natural elements to guide them. We meet National Geographic Explorer Lehua Kamalu, the first woman to captain a long-distance voyage on HΕkΕ«leΚ»a, a double-hulled Polynesian canoe that was built in Hawaii in the 1970s. She describes what itβs like to navigate in incredibly rough waters, what it means to keep Polynesian navigation alive in the 21st century, and about her next big adventure: a four-year circumnavigation of the Pacific Ocean.
For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard.
Want more?
Learn about the Polynesian Voyaging Society and their upcoming voyage, MoananuiΔkea, a 47-month circumnavigation of the Pacific.Β
Read about HΕkΕ«leΚ»aβs 2022 journey to Tahiti, which involved traveling 3,000 miles over three weeks.Β
Also explore:Β
A small number of people speak βΕlelo, Hawaiiβs native language, which teetered on extinctionΒ during the mid-20th century. Learn about how some young Hawaiians are using TikTok and Instagram to make the language more accessible.Β
Hear Nat Geo Explorer Keolu Fox on a previous Overheard episode share how heβs working with Polynesian and Indigenous communities to study how their genomes have been shaped by history and colonialism, and how that data can help them reclaim land and improve health outcomes for their communities.Β
Visit National Geographic for more stories throughout Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
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