National Geographic Weekend, hosted by Boyd Matson, is a weekly talk show featuring interviews with some of the most fascinating explorers and scientists on the planet.
"When Dogs Fly": Dean Potter on Life and BASE Jumping With Whisper
Dean Potter died today doing what he loved in Yosemite National Park. Here is a rerun of an interview we did with Dean last June:
Dogs are loyal, brave and love to go wherever their owners do. Climber, BASE jumper and wingsuit flyer Dean Potter took truism to its logical conclusion when he would bring his faithful companion Whisper, an Australian cattle dog, climbing with him throughout Yosemite National Park, which is Potter's backyard playground. For the past decade, he's been perfecting his wingsuit flying abilities and decided to share his love of flying with Whisper, sharing their gravity-defying activities in his new film, "When Dogs Fly".
5/17/2015 • 0
Swim From Cuba to Florida, Go Camel Shopping in Yemen, Dance with Roadkill, and Race Wild Horses
This week, we swim from Cuba to Florida, then we dodge danger in Yemen on top of a camel, race on wild horses in North Dakota, and learn the secrets of Australia's roadkill.
4/13/2015 • 0
Understand Science Deniers, Eat Vietnam, Rescue Mexican Big Cats, Swim in the Coral Triangle, and Search for Atlantis
This week we understand science deniers, search for Atlantis, eat our way through Vietnam, dive in beautiful coral reefs, and rescue big cats from Mexican circuses.
3/30/2015 • 0
Hitch-Hike the World, Learn Why We Sleep, Hike 2,600+ Miles in Winter, Scuba Dive in Greenland, and Start (Controlled) Forest Fires
This week, we hitchhike from Tasmania to London, get a good night's sleep, protect a 300,000 miles of ocean, hike 2,600 miles in winter, and stop forests from burning down.
3/23/2015 • 0
Shed Tears at the South Pole, Choose the Perfect Beer For All Occasions, Diagnose The World's Most Lethal Zoonotic Disease, And Photograph America By Night
This week two adventurers shed tears at the South Pole and paddle from Australia to New Zealand; then we learn about eradicating malaria, which is responsible for "one half of human deaths since the Stone Age"; pick the perfect beer for all occasions; and learn about the secrets of America by night.
3/16/2015 • 0
Run Into a Moose With a Team of Dogs, Eat Moths With Bears, Visit China's Secret Tiger Farms, and Learn Sunrise Color Science
This week, we have a close encounter with a moose with a team of dogs; eat moths with bears and salmon brains with wolves; visit China's secret tiger farms; learn the science behind the sunrise; examine the promise of "clean coal".
3/9/2015 • 0
Climb Up & Ski Down Alaskan Peaks, Find the Bacteria of NYC's Subway, Photograph the Egyptian Revolution, Glowing Sharks, Banana Recipes
This week, we find out what is the tallest mountain in Alaska's Brooks Range; swab New York City's subway system to see what bacteria we find; photograph Egypt's revolution and try not to get hurt; discover glow in the dark sharks; and learn about the new fungus that's eating our bananas.
3/1/2015 • 0
Hang From a Hot Air Balloon to Get the Shot, Walk From Russia to Australia, Learn the Chimps' Lingo, Get the Real Story Behind HIV, and Visit Morocco's Bazaars
This week, we see the world through the eyes of one of Nat Geo's top photographers and hang from a balloon to get the shot; learn that 3 mph is the perfect speed for humans and find the love of foot power; translate chimpanzee's language and learn what they're really talking about (it's food); and learn the real history of the HIV pandemic.
2/23/2015 • 0
Climb North America's Tallest Mountain Alone in January, Photo Lessons From Nat Geo's Finest, The World's Largest Gathering of Snakes, Carnevale in Italy
This week, we summit North America's tallest mountain alone in January; take photo lessons from one of National Geographic's top photographers; find the world's largest gathering of snakes in an unexpected place; know when to turn around on South Asia's tallest mountain; and celebrate "Carnevale" like an Italian.
2/18/2015 • 0
Ice Climbing Up Niagara Falls, Scuba Diving With Orcas, Exploring Mexico's "Snot Caves", Diagnosing the Invisible Impacts of War,
This week, we dodge humpbacks and killer whales in a feeding frenzy, climb up a frozen Niagara Falls, explore Mexico's poisonous "snot caves", diagnose the invisible injuries of American war veterans, and visit Iraq and Syria's frigid refugee camps.
2/9/2015 • 0
Motorcycle From Tibet to Paris, Photograph Sharks and Models, Get Abandoned Near the Summit of Ararat, And More
This week we adventure without preparation on a motorcycle ride from Katmandu to Paris; learn the perks of a photographer's life from the comforts of Los Angeles to the hardships of Mongolia; get abandoned on the summit of Turkey's tallest mountain with a conservation biologist; choose family over glamor and reassess mountaineering risks; and learn about cultures in transition from a nomadic lifestyle to the modern world.
2/3/2015 • 0
Kayaking Off 50 Foot Waterfalls, Photo Tips on Shooting Tiny Insects, Fight Pet Personality Disorders, A Monkey-Wolf Partnership, and The Best of Botswana
This week, we learn whether or not you have to hold your breath while going off a 50-foot waterfall in a kayak, then we talk with a photographer who insists on not visiting exotic locations (and still gets published in Nat Geo Magazine), we learn how to recognize whether your pet is happy or could benefit from some Prozac, and we meet a herd of monkeys who act like horses and have befriended wolves.
1/19/2015 • 0
Biking To & Falling From Iconic Utah Towers, Raising Turtles in Prison, Digging In Iraq, and Keeping Green New Year Resolutions
This week, we climb sandstone towers in the picturesque southwestern United States with Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright for Sufferfest 2, then we mine data to save human & animal lives, make New Year's resolutions worth keeping, save prisoners by teaching them to raise frogs and turtles, and dig in some of the world's most war-torn dirt for hints of our human past.
1/12/2015 • 0
Jane Goodall Reflects on Conservation and Her Legacy, Garrett Oliver Talks Beer, And Others Talk Ebola, Tigers & the Sounds of Ice Melting
Before we jump into 2015, we wanted to celebrate the year that was 2014 by revisiting some of our favorite moments including Boyd's sit-down with Jane Goodall on her 80th birthday, a lesson on beer do's and beer don'ts, we meet the scientist who "discovered" Ebola, and why this tiger conservationist sometimes advocates killing the cats.
1/6/2015 • 0
Sea World's Sad Orcas, World Champ Lumberjack, Save Man-Eating Crocs, and Meet a Seal that Served in the Navy
Join us for a best-of some of our previous segments: searching for man-eating
crocs in Africa, meet Sea World's sad orcas, learn to throw an axe with a world champ lumberjack, meet a seal that served in the Navy,
and a how-to guide to building your own canoe from scratch.
12/29/2014 • 0
Life in a Himalayan Buddhist Monastery, Life Above 8,000 Meters at 50, and Building a Mammoth using DNA and an Asian Elephant
This week, we bring our family to a Buddhist monastery in India in search for enlightenment, then we reflect on the limitations of life at 50 above 8,000 meters, build a mammoth with the help of DNA and an Asian elephant and learn back country skiing safety tips.
12/22/2014 • 0
Talk Heroism, Torture, and Salvation with the Hero of "Unbroken", Turn Down A Summit to Survive, Chase Water Down the Colorado River and More
This week, we turn around near the summit of a mountain in Myanmar in the name of survival, then we learn the secrets of delicious Southern cookin', chase water down the Colorado River into the dry delta, chat with the hero of "Unbroken," and visit the legacy of communism and a decade of war in Sarajevo.
12/15/2014 • 0
Climb El Capitan with Your Adolescent Child, Stop Wildlife Smuggling in Brazil, Learn the Secrets of Stonehenge, Protect the Last Tigers, and Bottle Feed Cheetahs
This week, we lead an ascent of el Capitan in Yosemite with a 13-year old, a blind climber and a paraplegic climber; we fight to stop the stealing of 38 million animals each year from Brazil's forests; we learn the secrets of Stonehenge and ponder how the 35-ton stones were arranged; we fight to protect the last remaining populations of the world's 3,000 wild tigers; and we bottle feed a baby cheetah.
12/8/2014 • 0
Fly Off Cliffs, Cross the Largest Glaciers, Eat Stinky Cheese, Paddle the Longest River on Every Continent, and Scuba Dive in Iceland
This week, we fly under human power in the name of "living beautifully"; cross the world's 20 biggest glaciers; learn to appreciate stinky cheese; paddle the longest river on every continent; and scuba dive deep inside Iceland's fissures.
12/3/2014 • 0
Ride a Horse from Canada to Brazil, Pick the Perfect Holiday Wine, Come Back From the Dead, Protect Gorillas, & Cycle Throught the Winter
This week on Nat Geo Weekend Radio, we take the adventure of a lifetime, riding a trio of horses from Canada to Brazil; we learn to pick the perfect wine for all occasions; peer behind the divide that separates the living from the dead, scientifically; protect the last 800 mountain gorillas with our lives; and learn the secret to comfortable bike riding year-round.
11/24/2014 • 0
Nat Geo Radio - Set a Big Wall Climbing Speed Record, Prosecute a Poaching Kingpin, Scuba Dive in Ancient Poop, & Map NYC's Rat Colonies
This week, we set a speed record on El Capitan's nose route; make wildlife poachers famous by treating them like Al Capone & Pablo Escobar; swim in an ancient sewer to learn about tsunami risk; hold our breath after a big wave surf crash; and create a map of New York City by studying the differences in its rodents.
11/17/2014 • 0
Nat Geo Radio - Get Trapped Near the Top of Everest, Take an Orangutan Family Photo, Test an Elephant's Memory and Witness Chimpanzee War
This week we rescue climbers trapped in a blizzard on the top of Mount Everest, then we snap an orangutan family photo, test an elephant's memory and get caught in the middle of a chimpanzee war.
11/10/2014 • 0
Nat Geo Radio - Cycle Around the World, Ski Down "Pretty Faces," Dive in Underwater Caves, Tell Stories With a Musical Raconteur, and Preserve Islamic Monuments
This week, we cycle 11,000 miles through 22 countries in 365 days, ski down pretty steep mountain faces for an all-woman ski film, dive 300 feet below sea level into an underwater cave in the Bahamas to learn about our island past, sing along with a storytelling musician who is fixated on the past but is hopeful for the future, and finally, we try to preserve Islamic monuments before ISIS can destroy them.
11/3/2014 • 0
Nat Geo Radio - Survive K2, Valley Uprising, Best American Travel Writing, Give a Turtle CPR, and More
This week, we summit K2 on our 7th tent (but not without cramming four people into a two person tent to outlast a snowstorm), then we talk the Best American Travel Writing with icon Paul Theroux, give a turtle CPR, learn about "Valley Uprising" and the birth of Yosemite National Park's climbing culture, and learn how National Geographic makes their maps.
10/27/2014 • 0
Nat Geo Radio - Create Power from Food Waste, Visit Radioactive Ruins, Prosecute Poachers and More
This week, we visit the prehistoric "deadliest place on the planet," turn last night's dinner scraps into tomorrow's cell phone battery power, visit the radioactive ruins that surround Chernobyl's nuclear disaster site, learn about how empathetic elephants can be, and arrest poachers.