Podcasts · Science · Society & Culture

Overheard at National Geographic

National Geographic

160 episodes

Come dive into one of the curiously delightful conversations overheard at National Geographic’s headquarters, as we follow explorers, photographers, and scientists to the edges of our big, weird, beautiful world. Hosted by Peter Gwin and Amy Briggs.

Episodes page 1 of 4

  1. Trapped in the icy waters of the Northwest Passage

    · 34 min

    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 isn’t guaranteed.…

  2. Playback: Modern Lives, Ancient Caves

    · 29 min

    There’s a lost continent waiting to be explored, and it’s right below our feet. We’ll dig into the deep human relationship to the underground—and why we understand it from an instinctive point of view, but not so much…

  3. Playback: This Indigenous Practice Fights Fire with Fire

    · 29 min

    For decades, the U.S. government evangelized fire suppression, most famously through Smokey Bear’s wildfire prevention campaign. But as climate change continues to exacerbate wildfire seasons and a growing body of…

  4. Playback: Rooting, from Into the Depths

    · 45 min

    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 vessel—a community that still…

  5. Playback: Ancient Orchestra

    · 29 min

    Sound on! From conch shells to bone flutes, humans have been making musical instruments for tens of thousands of years. What did prehistoric music sound like? In an episode originally published in November 2021, follow…

  6. Playback: A Skeptic's Guide to Loving Bats

    · 26 min

    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 Medellín, aka the Bat Man of Mexico. For decades,…

  7. How queer identity shapes Nat Geo Explorers

    · 34 min

    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 humans’ connection to the natural world? And how does queer identity shape…

  8. A Mexican Wolf Pup’s Journey into the Wild

    · 25 min

    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…

  9. Playback: Deep Inside the First Wilderness

    · 25 min

    On assignment in the canyons of the Gila Wilderness, Nat Geo photographer Katie Orlinsky has a fireside chat with Overheard host Peter Gwin about telling stories through pictures. She chronicles how she found her…

  10. She Sails the Seas Without Maps or Compasses

    · 37 min

    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 Ocean—without maps and modern instruments,…

  11. How Anne Frank’s Diary Survived

    · 32 min

    Most people have heard the name Anne Frank, and many have read her diary, which details her and her family’s time spent in hiding during the German occupation of Amsterdam in World War II. Less known are Miep and Jan…

  12. The Dark Reality Behind India’s Festival Elephants

    · 21 min

    Asian elephants have been captured and tamed by people in Southern Asia for thousands of years as war machines, beasts of burden, and part of religious festivals. It’s a practice that continues to this day, but some…

  13. What Will it Take to Save the Savanna Elephant?

    · 30 min

    As the CEO of WildlifeDirect, Paula Kahumbu has dedicated her life to saving space for wildlife to thrive in Africa and building healthy relationships between humans and wild elephants. Paula got her start in wildlife…

  14. The Woman Who Knows What Elephants Are Saying

    · 28 min

    For almost 50 years, National Geographic Explorer Joyce Poole has been carefully watching the elephants of Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. Over that time she’s gotten to know them by name and has started decoding their…

  15. Exploring Ramadan and Earthlike Exoplanets

    · 33 min

    Follow a day in the life of an astronomer searching for planets beyond our solar system as she explains how she observes Ramadan and celebrates her family’s traditions. Astronomer, astrophysicist, and National…

  16. From the Frontlines to the Shorelines

    · 30 min

    National Geographic photographer David Guttenfelder is no stranger to dangerous situations. After graduating from college, he left his life in rural Iowa to cover the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an experience that kicked…

  17. Can You Picture That? This Photographer Can and Does

    · 29 min

    Photographer Mark Thiessen, who’s worked on staff at National Geographic for over 30 years, likens his job to a Swiss army knife—versatile enough to tackle many kinds of assignments. Even when the subject is…

  18. Scenes from Nigeria's Baby Boom

    · 25 min

    With 224 million people, Nigeria is Africa's most populous country. By 2050, it could crack the global top three with some 375 million people. In the second of our two-part series on the global population passing eight…

  19. What Women in China Want

    · 29 min

    There are more than 8 billion humans on Earth, according to the United Nations. And for decades, China has had more people than any other country. But now, China’s population is declining. As soon as this year, it…

  20. The Soul of Music: Meklit Hadero tells stories of migration

    · 40 min

    This episode is part four of The Soul of Music—Overheard’s four-part series focusing on music, exploration, and Black history. Our guest this week is Meklit Hadero, a Nat Geo Explorer and Ethio-jazz musician. Meklit is…

  21. The Soul of Music: Exploring Chief Xian's ancestral memory

    · 37 min

    This episode is part three of The Soul of Music—Overheard’s four-part series focusing on music, exploration, and Black history. Our guest this week is Grammy-nominated trumpeter Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, formerly known…

  22. The Soul of Music: Sampa The Great returns to her roots

    · 37 min

    This episode is part two of The Soul of Music—Overheard’s four-part series focusing on music, exploration, and Black history. Our guest this week is Sampa The Great, a Zambian-born rapper, singer, and songwriter. Sampa…

  23. The Soul of Music: Rhiannon Giddens excavates the past

    · 35 min

    This episode is part one of The Soul of Music—Overheard’s four-part series focusing on music, exploration, and Black history. Our guest this week is two-time Grammy award winner Rhiannon Giddens, a singer, songwriter,…

  24. Introducing: The Soul of Music

    · 1:00

    National Geographic turns 135 in 2023. In February 2023, to celebrate exploration and commemorate Black History Month, National Geographic’s flagship podcast, Overheard, will feature musicians and National Geographic…

  25. Unfolding the Future of Origami

    · 27 min

    The future is bright for origami, the centuries-old art of paper folding. In recent decades, scientists, engineers, and designers have pushed origami beyond its traditional roots and applied its patterns to fascinating…

  26. What Happens After You Uncover Buried History?

    · 29 min

    The 1619 Project was a New York Times Magazine endeavor that explored the ways the legacy of slavery still shapes American society. The story exploded into cultural consciousness in 2019, and has since become a book, a…

  27. The People and Tech That Power Nat Geo

    · 34 min

    Cameras that drop miles beneath the ocean surface. Handmade art that reveals the secrets of archeological sites and extinct animals. For 135 years, National Geographic has pioneered new ways of exploring and…

  28. Meet an Imagineer Who Built a Wish

    · 20 min

    Last summer, Disney Cruise Line released its fifth and most technologically advanced cruise ship yet: Disney Wish. We’ll meet Laura Cabo, a creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, who shares the excitement and…

  29. How Sharks Devoured My Career

    · 28 min

    When Nat Geo Explorer Gibbs Kuguru was in college, he found himself trying to choose between two terrifying futures: going free diving with sharks off the coast of South Africa or, even scarier, studying for the MCAT.…

  30. The Nurse Keeping Explorers Alive

    · 26 min

    For 17 years, nurse Karen Barry’s office at National Geographic headquarters has served as an important stop for journalists, photographers, and explorers in need of vaccines and medical advice before they set out on…

  31. What Science Tells Us About Living Longer

    · 30 min

    Scientists are hard at work trying to understand what causes aging and how to help people stay healthy for longer. Biologist Matt Kaeberlein breaks down the science of longevity and tells us how he’s using a robot to…

  32. Presenting: ESPN's "Pink Card"

    · 23 min

    Today we bring you a high-stakes story from ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcasts—a tale of women’s rights, history, and soccer. As Iranian women took to the streets in fall 2022 to fight gender inequality, they also targeted…

  33. The People Behind the Photography

    · 26 min

    National Geographic photographers seldom do their work alone, especially those who journey out to far-flung places. This week, we’re shining a light on local collaborators—people whose names don’t show up in the credit…

  34. There’s a Bear in My Backyard

    · 34 min

    Sure, we love bears when they show up in books or cartoons. But what if one is outside our window? Human-bear encounters are becoming far more frequent as development continues to spread and people and bears seek…

  35. Playback: The Real-Life MacGyver in Nat Geo's Basement

    · 30 min

    In the basement of National Geographic’s headquarters, there’s a lab holding a secret tech weapon: Tom O’Brien. As Nat Geo’s photo engineer, O’Brien adapts new technologies to capture sights and sounds previously never…

  36. Pictures of the Year

    · 33 min

    Every year, National Geographic rolls the year into a collection of photos for its “Pictures of the Year” issue. It’s a mysterious process, and we’re about to share it with you. We’ll see what baby carriages are like…

  37. Who Inspired Wakanda's Warrior Women?

    · 30 min

    The fictional, fearsome, and all-female Dora Milaje in the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever were inspired by a real group of African warriors: the Agojie. Nat Geo contributing writer Rachel Jones shares the history…

  38. Wayfinding Through the Human Genome

    · 34 min

    National Geographic Explorer Keolu Fox grew up hearing stories about his ancestors, Polynesian navigators, and the men who in the late 1970s led the first Hōkūleʻa voyage to Tahiti. As the first Native Hawaiian with a…

  39. Presenting: Greeking Out by National Geographic Kids

    · 26 min

    National Geographic Kids' Greeking Out is a kid-friendly retelling of some of the best stories from Greek mythology. This episode, "Akhenaten The Heretic King," is all about King Tut's father and how he attempted to…

  40. The Hole Where King Tut’s Heart Used to Be

    · 29 min

    One hundred years since the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, archaeologists are still puzzling over the mysteries of his mummy. Why was he covered in “black goo” and buried without a heart? And how did his tomb…

  41. Exploring Pristine Seas

    · 29 min

    National Geographic Explorer in Residence Enric Sala quit academia to explore and protect the sea. On his journey to keep the ocean pristine, he has swam with jellyfish in Palau, gone diving in the Arctic, and got…

  42. What the Ice Gets, the Ice Keeps

    · 27 min

    In 1915 Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, sank off the coast of Antarctica, stranding the crew on drifting sea ice. Shackleton’s desperate rescue mission saved all 28 men. But for more than a century afterward, the…

  43. What You Do Counts

    · 29 min

    Some of the most crucial countries in the global fight against climate change are in Latin America, and yet there are few resources on the crisis for Spanish speakers. Eyal Weintraub, a 22-year-old National Geographic…

  44. Searching for a Butterfly in a Conflict Zone

    · 30 min

    Photographer Rena Effendi’s father, a Soviet entomologist, collected 90,000 butterflies in his lifetime. But there was one species he couldn’t capture—Satyrus effendi. Effendi takes on the quest to track down the…

  45. A Man of the World

    · 28 min

    Go behind the yellow border to meet the family that made National Geographic an American institution. Gilbert M. Grosvenor’s 60-year career followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather—but he learned that…

  46. Inside the Epic World of Bertie Gregory

    · 25 min

    In a collaboration with National Geographic television, we follow 29-year-old adventurer and filmmaker Bertie Gregory on a nail-biting journey to some of the harshest, most spectacular corners of the world. Join guest…

  47. Playback: Why War Zones Need Science Too

    · 28 min

    It’s a jewel of biodiversity, the so-called Galápagos of the Indian Ocean, and might also hold traces of the earliest humans to leave Africa. No wonder scientists want to explore Socotra. But it’s also part of Yemen, a…

  48. The Problem With Superchickens

    · 32 min

    Scientists recently discovered a fascinating paradox: when they bred together superproductive, egg-laying hens, they found the chickens produced fewer eggs. We examine what went wrong with these so-called…

  49. What It Takes to Keep America Beautiful

    · 33 min

    The U.S. is home to some of the most beautiful, incomparable places on the planet, from the pristine Shi Shi Beach at the Makah Reservation in Washington State to the Couturie Forest in New Orleans. But as climate…

  50. The Triumph and Tragedy of Indian Independence

    · 33 min

    When India and Pakistan gained their independence from Britain, a border was drawn between the two new countries. The split started a chain reaction of violence that led to one of the largest forced migrations in human…

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