The Cougar Comeback: Cats vs. Dogs in Wyoming - Mark Elbroch

Cougars are on the comeback. The big cats are quietly reclaiming many areas of their parts of their original range. But Mark Elbroch, Panthera researcher, message for anybody who encounters a cougar in their neighborhood: "Grab your camera," because he explains, "it's very, very, very rare" for a mountain lion to decide they want to try to attack a human. "They're just huge house cats," which he says are on the rise through much of their historical range across North America, but he's quick to clarify that despite their curious nature, he wouldn't encourage anybody to try to pet one they might encounter. He studies how they interact with wolves in Wyoming.

Curing Cancer in High School - Jack Andraka

When a close family friend of Jack Andraka's passed away from pancreatic cancer, he turned from an intelligent teenager who created explosions in his family's garage, to a focused biological innovator. Current pancreatic cancer tests leave little to be desired: 85% of pancreatic cancers are detected when there is less than a 2% chance of survival. But Andraka, with the help of labs and professorial oversight at Johns Hopkins University, has developed a test that is much more accurate and costs only cents.

Paddling Nonstop for 24 Hours: How a World Record is Made - Brandon Nelson

Driving 151.3 miles in a car would often take approximately two and a half hours, depending on traffic and speed limits. But for Brandon Nelson's most recent 151.3 mile trip, it took exactly 24 hours. He paddled around Lake Padden, near Bellingham, Washington 87 times in the allotted window, setting a new world record for the event. Nelson fell off his kayak three times in the process, and tells Boyd that his body didn't feel pain, but it began to break down toward the end of the 24-hour window, landing him in the hospital afterwards.

Dying Herding Culture - Aleksei Vakhrushev

The life of a reindeer-herder is difficult. Their commitment to the animals that rely upon them is a difficult relationship that requires living away from people, on the frozen Russian tundra. Russian director Aleksei Vakhrushev provides a glimpse into the life of these nomads who struggle to get their children interested in following in their reindeer skins. His new movie The Tundra Book: A Tale of Vukvukai, the Little Rock shares their struggle.

With Matters of the Heart, Trust Your Nose - Tristram Wyatt

The science of human attraction is inexact. Scientists know that when dogs smell each other, their powerful noses pick up on molecules that our less potent human sniffers don’t detect. But pheromone expert and animal behaviorist Dr. Tristram Wyatt says that humans, too, may make decisions on partner-selection based on pheromones that our bodies react to without being aware of it. But Wyatt laments that it’s easy to study a mouse or a moth, human modesty has so far prevented science from following our physical chemistry into the bedroom and decoding the mysteries of love. Wyatt also says that while perfumes may make popular gifts, each person’s subtle smells comingle differently with the potions, making perfume selection difficult unless it can be smelled on the person who will wear it.

Jerusalem: The Movie - Daniel Ferguson

Jerusalem is a city revered by religions who stand for peace, but has begat unimaginable bloodshed throughout history: it has been conquered 44 times by armies representing one culture or another, transferred from a center of one religion to another 11 times, and it has been totally razed twice. The ancient city is the subject of a new film, Jerusalem the Movie, directed by Daniel Ferguson. Ferguson tells Boyd about his difficulties in getting permission to capture some of the city’s most beautiful neighborhoods and buildings, which are also areas of distrust and conflict between Israeli army and the Palestinian populations who live there.

Stranded in Sea World - Blackfish, the Documentary

Watching orcas in person can be an amazing experience, but questions about whales in captivity abounded when SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau died after being attacked by one of the captive whales in 2010. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary, BLACKFISH, tells the story of Tilikum, a large bull orca who has been connected with three human deaths since being forcefully separated from his family. The film uncovers some of the industry’s secrets of just how ill-suited the orcas are for life in a small pool, with little opportunity for socialization with their own kind.

Honey Bees vs. Native Bees: Understanding Colony Collapse - Gordon Frankie

Colony collapse is a threat facing the planet’s very important honey bee populations. In an effort to respond and potentially replace the pollination benefits that honeybees provide, National Geographic explorer Gordon Frankie has been studying native bee populations in California and Costa Rica. Frankie notes that very little is known about native bees, but he’s learned that urban areas can potentially provide a haven for native bees populations that might be threatened by rural and suburban development and habitat loss.

Caffeine: America's Drug of Choice - Murray Carpenter

The United States government regulates so many drugs, but Murray Carpenter points out that one drug is often overlooked. Caffeine is sold over the counter in many regular grocery items we don't think twice about purchasing. Carpenter points out that its use is regulated in drugs by pharmaceutical companies, but has no limits when put in food. He examined the caffeine industry in his new book, Caffeinated and shares surprising secrets about the drug's use in coffee, energy drinks and why it is so hard to regulate.

American Catch: The Truth Behind Our Seafood Industry - Paul Greenberg

Early European settlers in the United States were so gob-smacked by the scale of the continent’s wealth of biomass that could be processed into food, they could never imagine an end to the abundance. Early Americans relied so heavily on the oceans to provide nourishment that prisoners were known to riot, they were so sick of eating lobster. Paul Greenberg, author of American Catch, examines the current state of American seafood, pointing out that New York’s once wealthy oyster beds are now inedible; 90% of our shrimp, the country’s favorite seafood is imported from Asia; and even the salmon and calamari that are caught here are often first shipped to China to be prepared for the American markets.

The Science Behind the Firefly's Fire - Sara Lewis

Fireflies are magnanimous insects. They initially developed the lights that helped earn them their popular nickname out of concern for nighttime predators' diets - a warning that says "don't eat me, I taste bad." At least, that's how Tufts biologist and firefly expert Sara Lewis explains it. She also says that the firefly is actually one of 2,000 related beetles that use their lights for a wide variety of reasons, in a broad array of ways; some only have lights when they're larvas, others use it as a warning symbol, and many use their lights to identify potential mates. Lewis is currently writing a book about fireflies, slated for publication in 2015 titled Silent Sparks.

Wild Chronicles - Dancing Queen: Sing Along in Sweden

In this week's Wild Chronicles segment, Boyd recommends his favorite landmarks to visit in Stockholm, Sweden, including a tour of the city from its Old Parliament rooftop, a monument to the world's most impressive and least successful warship. But all of these historic jewels were trumped by ABBA: The Museum.

Chasing Sneaky Wild Hogs - Rafael Reyna

Pigs aren't particularly subtle animals. They're often huge, they squeal loudly, and they like to wallow in the mud. Yet, they proved elusive to National Geographic explorer and hog researcher Rafael Reyna, who has been trying to radio collar wild hogs in Uganda's Kibale National Park. Reyna explains that they're very smart and very afraid of people, as they're being aggressively hunted by locals for food. Reyna says that it's tough to tell hungry people not to poach wild animals, but he's working to create a program that could help feed families and let the hogs live in harmony.

Vaccines: Calling the Shots - Alison Singer

Vaccines don't cause autism. That's the message from Alison Singer, President of the Autism Science Foundation. She explains that vaccines are "a victim of their own success," because they've proven so effective to prevent many illnesses and diseases that people used to fear like measles, polio and whooping cough. And because of a lively anti-vaccination movement in the United States, many of these diseases that were once nearly extinct in the country are back. Singer, and other specialists are featured in NOVA's documentary, Vaccines: Calling the Shots, to explain the science behind and the importance of vaccines.

"Tourism on the Mountains" - Messner on Everest's Consumerism

In the second segment of Reinhold Messner's interview, he explains the philosophy behind building five Messner Mountain Museum locations, each dedicated to a different facet of man's experience of living in the mountains. He also describes the camaraderie that used to exist among the climbing community that he doesn't see at Everest, where the mountain guides are taking unqualified climbers to the top. Previously, climbers would quit their ascent in order to save climbers in danger, but because of "tourism in the mountains," that culture doesn't exist anymore. And, as Messner ages, he says that although "the mountains are becoming higher for me," he still hikes and climbs, not to suffer as he once did when he was younger, but to enjoy his time in nature.

High Altitude Resilience - Mountain Legend Reinhold Messner

Mountain climbing legend Reinhold Messner grew up climbing with his siblings in the Italian Alps around Bolzano. Unlike 7 of his 8 siblings, he kept climbing even higher mountains throughout his life, until, he summited all of the world's tallest peaks without supplemental oxygen. At the time, scientists proclaimed it impossible to climb above 8,500 meters without breathing through an oxygen tank. Messner describes his personal journey to keep climbing the tallest mountains despite losing his brother, as well as fingers and toes to high altitude climbing.

Evolution of the Human Diet - Ann Gibbons

An epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related ailments currently afflicts the Western world at unprecedented rates. To try to cure our dependence on processed foods high in salt and sugar, Ann Gibbons looked to our human ancestors to try to learn of the ideal daily sustenance for humans. Some of her lessons include too much or a complete lack of meat might not be ideal; a more diverse "hunter-gatherer" style of diet is better than a less diverse wheat-centric diet; and an active lifestyle is necessary to maintain a healthy body. Gibbons' article "The Evolution of Diet" appears in the September 2014 issue of National Geographic magazine.

Preserving a Dying Language - Marie Wilcox & Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee

The United States, a country covers a landmass that was once home to a wide diversity of native languages, primarily communicates in just a handful of tongues now. But to try to stave off the extinction of yet another native language, Marie Wilcox, a Wukchumni Native American in Northern California, has taken to writing down all of the words she can recall from her childhood language and creating her own dictionary, which has now grown to over 145 pages in length. Documentarian Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee learned about Wilcox's efforts to save her language and told her story in the short film "Marie's Dictionary".

This Weekend in History - Abbey Road & The Queen Mary

In our This Weekend in History segment, National Geographic Library research manager Maggie Turqman shares reasons to toast this weekend, including: the launch of the cruise ship RMS Queen Mary on September 26, 1934; the release of the Beatles' album "Abbey Road" on September 26, 1969; and the conclusion of the Warren Commission that officially ended conspiracy theories surrounding President John Kennedy's assassination.

2014 Google Science Fair Grand Prize: An Agricultural Revolution?

When Sophie Healy Thow, Emer Hickey and Ciara Judge were told that their science fair experiment had "no point" because "it wouldn't work," the three budding scientists figured they would just find out for themselves. The result: a scientific breakthrough that could help wheat, barley and other "cereal crops" produce a dramatically higher yield. For their intellectual curiosity and perseverance, the three Irish teenagers were also the Grand Prize winners at the 2014 Google Science Fair. Healy Thow explains their project to Boyd and what it could mean for agriculture in the developing world.

Skiing Greenland's Mountains... For Science - Nat Segal & Kt Miller

Professional skiers venture far and wide around the world to get the most beautiful lines and the rarest turns. National Geographic teamed up with big mountain skier Natalie Segal and adventurer, photographer and occasional climate scientist Kt Miller to venture to Greenland with an all-woman team. The objective of the adventure was to climb up and ski down mountains, in the hope of skiing peaks that have never been skied before, as well as gathering data about the water and sea ice surrounding the world's largest island. They explained that they had more encounters with humans than polar bears, and while the bears are having a harder time surviving with reduced sea ice, the humans find that their crops have a slightly longer growing season.

Wild Chronicles - Lion Love Saves Boyd

In this week's Wild Chronicles segment, Boyd looks forward to celebrating the 20th anniversary of his first trip to Africa when tested the desire of a male lion: did he want to eat Boyd or increase the odds of his genes surviving into the future. Lucky for Boyd, he chose the latter.

Re-Introducing Our Children to the Wild - David Bond

Computers, touch-screen phones, and i-gadgets conspire to keep people constantly engaged and "connected" to the world around them. But the issue with this was observed by David Bond in his own children -- they often spent as much time outside as they did in the bathroom each week. Hoping to get his own children outside, he created an ad campaign on behalf of Mother Nature that would compete with the largest tech companies for the hearts and minds of children everywhere. His campaign, documented in the film Project Wild Thing, hoped to remind children and their parents of what we've known for centuries - getting dirty in the wild world around us is fun.

The Secret Lives of Cats - Bernadine Cruz

Cats are the most popular family pet in the United States. As Boyd knows, loving felines is often a one-way relationship, as they tend to show their affection on their own time. But there is a physiological benefit to petting a cat: veterinarian Bernadine Cruz, explains that petting cat relaxes the body in a healthier way than having a drink. Cruz stars in Nat Geo WILD's one-hour special, "The Secret Life of Cats". Cruz also gives tips on training a cat, and shares some facts that makes cats amazing predators, in addition to being loving* family pets. *(Affection given at each cat's discretion)

DamNation: Freeing America's Rivers - Matt Stoecker

Coal and oil are often the focus of environmentally savvy lawmakers and campaigners seeking to reduce our country's carbon footprint. But one power-source is often overlooked as a polluter: hydroelectricity. DamNation is a film that documents the rise and fall of American dams, which producer Matt Stoecker says have outlived their usefulness. While dam power helped the United States quickly arm itself during World War II, they fill up with silt, evaporate water, emit methane, kill fisheries and produce energy less efficiently than other methods we have available. DamNation documents the rise and, hopeful, fall of dams in the country.

Spinosaurus: The World's Biggest Carnivore - Nizar Ibrahim

Over 95 million years ago, there was a 50-foot long, 20-foot high, 6-ton carnivore that haunted prey both on land and in water. The spinosaurus, for all of its size, has eluded paleontologists for decades. After the first specimen was collected in the early 1900's and was subsequently bombed by the Allies in World War II, National Geographic Emerging Explorer Nizar Ibrahim finally tracked down another skeleton after scouring Morocco's deserts for years. Ibrahim's skeleton has led to a better understanding of the semi-aquatic creature, as well as a life sized model, which is now on display in the Washington D.C.'s National Geographic museum.

Finding Italy's Best Pizza - Katie Parla

In the United States, there is an ongoing battle between New York and Chicago for pizza supremacy, neither side ever acknowledging that the other's pizza culture has any merit. Food blogger and author of National Geographic's Walking Rome Katie Parla says that there is a large diversity of pizza inside of Italy as well, from Naples' thick-crusted mozzarella clad pizza to Rome's thinner pies. The only way to know which you prefer? Eat them all.

Protecting Power Grids from Hackers - Sean McGurk

As threats to national security increasingly become digital as well as physical, power grids and nuclear reactors are extremely important strategic points to protect. Centripetal Networks VP Sean McGurk discusses precautions that corporations and governments must take to protect their networks from having data stolen or tampered with. NOVA's show Rise of the Hackers airs Wednesday, September 24 at 9 pm ET.

Cruising Route 66 in 2014 - Andrew Evans

In the dying days of summer, it isn't too late for one last "Cannonball Run" road trip across the country. Digital Nomad Andrew Evans suggests Route 66, the iconic highway that shaped the country's music and culture for the back half of the 20th Century.

Protecting 300,000 Miles of Ocean - Paul Rose

Pitcairn Island, once notorious as home of the HMS Bounty's crew post-mutiny, may soon have a more positive connotation: if Paul Rose and his Pristine Seas team have their way, it sits inside of a proposed 300,000 square mile no-take marine reserve. Rose, who also works alongside National Geographic Explorer in Residence Enric Sala, explains that the reserve would be targeted at the large factory-fishing ships that deplete the oceans of their diverse marine life, rather than the few residents of Pitcairn who fish for subsistence. Rose believes a marine reserve would allow the sea life to rebound in a way that would ultimately make fishing better in the future, with a focus on sustainability in the future.

Living 1,152 Days at Sea - Reid Stowe

Russia's Valeri Polyakov holds the record for a single space flight, setting it in 1995 after staying aboard the Mir space station for 437 days. Reid Stowe nearly tripled that mark when he spent 1,152 days aboard his schooner, many of them alone. Unlike Polyakov, Stowe didn't have to deal with the physical impacts of living prolonged periods in weightlessness. But Polyakov may have had it better, as Stowe's ship flipped off of Cape Horn, endured freezing temperatures in the Southern Ocean, and had to dodge hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the South Pacific. Stowe says that he came home to be with his family, but he was provisioned enough to spend another year at sea.

Rhino Attacks Elephant - Steve Winter

National Geographic magazine features the world's most stunning images, delivered every month and enjoyed by readers in the comfort of their homes. But Steve Winter, who photographed the August 2010 cover story "Grassland Kingdom," tells Boyd that photographers endure significant risk to capture images. He shares a story from his time in India's Kaziranga National Park, where a rhino attacked an elephant that he was riding while trying to photograph tigers.

Saving Rhinos with Poison - Phil Biden

During the current War on Wildlife in Africa, rangers and game managers have gotten creative in their attempts to protect rhinos. Rhino horn is consumed in Asia as a folk-cure for everything from headaches to cancer, so Phil Biden, owner of Royal Malewane Resorts has started coating the horn with a poison that won't kill those who consume it, but with luck, will make them feel ill. Biden hopes this will dissuade the consumer from turning to rhino horn as a "cure" for ailments.

Creating a Pro-Wildlife Army - Damien Mander

Damien Mander is a former Australian military sniper who served 12 tours of duty in Iraq, protecting Australian diplomats, training Iraqi security forces and engaging in direct combat to stabilize the country. Since leaving the military, Mander has applied the skills he acquired in war to protect animals to start the International Anti-Poaching Foundation. He explains to Boyd that he sees the poaching epidemic as a “war on wildlife.” He now lives in South Africa, where he trains park rangers to track and engage poachers, and advocates for the protection of “high target species,” like elephants, rhinos and gorillas.

Wild Chronicles - Southern Musical Odyssey

In this week's Wild Chronicles segment, Boyd shares his own musical odyssey through the south, which brought him from Louisiana's Cajun bayous, to the saddest country songs ever written in Nashville and the Carter Family Fold's roots music in western Virginia.

The Explorers - Martin Dugard

During the "Golden Age" of Exploration, the blank spaces on the map were targeted for Western understanding and eventual resource extraction, it took a very specific type of person to go to these unknown places and suffer mysterious indignities. Martin Dugard's new book, The Explorers, tells the story of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke as they hunted for the elusive source of the Nile River. Braggadocious Burton and  "celibate loner" Speke couldn't have been more different, but Dugard points out that they both shared the qualities of true explorers, which he identifies as "curiosity, hope, courage, passion, independence, self discipline, and perseverance." Dugard also tells other stories of exploration and survival in the book.

Southern Highway Ramble - Andrew Evans

Digital Nomad Andrew Evans has traveled the world several times and, most recently, has done some classic American road trips. He recently ventured to the southern states and returns with some tips on how best to enjoy New Orleans and avoid the tourist traps in the French Quarter, and also reflects on why he enjoyed learning about Atlanta's Civil War history shared at the city's Cyclorama, which features 360° view of the Battle of Atlanta.

Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation - Gregg Treinish

Gregg Treinish is an outdoorsman with a curious streak. After hiking the length of South America, the 2013 National Geographic Emerging Explorer founded Adventure Science in order to help regular citizens like himself gather data useful to scientists. He discusses his organization's most recent partnership with the American Prairie Reserve to put fellows on the ground for up to three months to spot wildlife, map prairie dog towns, or collect scat. Treinish also discusses Adventure Science's upcoming project in the newest UNESCO World Heritage Site in Botsawana's Okavango Delta.

A Life of Risk-Taking - Cory Richards

The life of a National Geographic photographer is punctuated by travel to faraway lands and adventure; it's also dotted with regular doses of danger. Cory Richards, who started as a climbing photographer, is no stranger to flirtations with eternity. He reflects on his most recent scuba diving trip to the Russian Arctic: running out of oxygen 100 feet below the surface, and bobbing in the water next to cracking ice bergs. But Richards says he wouldn't change his relationship with danger: "It's a good part of the job. If we're not pushing boundaries, we're not learning."

Elephant Ivory DNA Test - Benezeth Mutayoba

Once ivory is removed from a poached elephant, it all tends to look the same. There is no way to tell if it came from a forest elephant in Gabon or a towering Kenyan tusker. But 2014 Buffett Award winner for leadership in conservation, Benezeth Mutayoba helped develop DNA tests that can help identify an elephant's area of origin. In addition, he helped initiate a national anti-poaching campaign in Tanzania and an effort to stop the sale of seized ivory stockpiles, in order to pressure wealthier countries to do the same.

The Beautiful Game - Alex Bellos

Brazil is known for soccer players (which is henceforth to be known as "football") in the same way that Tibet is known for its Buddhist monks or France is known for its pastry chefs. But those Brazilian phenoms are products of a cultural tapestry that has been evolving the sport from its staid British roots for nearly a century. Alex Bellos, author of Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life, explains some of Brazil's football foibles, such as having nicknames like "Hulk" and "Fred" on the backs of their national team jerseys, to the protests surrounding this year's World Cup and Neymar's national icon status for his cheeky, acrobatic and improvisational way of playing football.

A World Without Koalas - Dr. Rebecca Johnson

Koalas are cute marsupials that are found only on the Australian continent, that are "vulnerable" to extinction, but not entirely endangered. The Australian Museum's Centre for Wildlife Genomics team manager Dr. Rebecca Johnson sequenced the koala's genome to better understand the biological threats facing koalas, which include chlamydia and a newly discovered koala retrovirus that can be passed genetically, from mother to baby, as well as socially from koalas who simply interact on a eucalyptus branch. Dr. Johnson points to the koala's genetic diversity as reason to be optimistic for their ongoing survival and vows to continue to work to unlock the secrets in their DNA, "because I don't think anybody can imagine a world without koalas."

First American Female Space Walk - Dr. Kathryn Sullivan

In the second part of her interview, NOAA Administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan shares a story from her time as an astronaut when she became the first American woman to walk in space. Her mission: to refuel a satellite propellant tank in space, using a toxic gas that could be the demise of all astronauts on the shuttle. Dr. Sullivan also debunks many space walk myths created by George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in Gravity, and shares some tips for traveling in orbit at 17,500 miles per hour.

Head of NOAA: Earth Has "Planetary Fever" - Dr. Kathryn Sullivan

Dr. Kathryn Sullivan a former space-walking astronaut with a background in geology and a present studying oceans has a lifetime's worth of experiences that leave her uniquely qualified to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dr. Sullivan points to acidification as a threat to oceans that could damage the global food chain's foundations, which prevent oysters, coral and many other organisms from forming their protective calcium shells. Sullivan compares the warming climate to a planetary fever that needs treatment, but agrees that motivating humans to act for the greater global good can be difficult.

Wild Chronicles - A Peephole to Three States

In this week's Wild Chronicles segment, Boyd shares the tales of a recent trip to Italy where, in the search for something new, he discovered a peephole in downtown Rome from which he could see three sovereign states.

Coywolf: A "Canine Soup" - Brad White

In the American west, coyotes have had the run of the place for decades, after wolves were essentially eradicated from the landscape. But as coyotes loped eastward they finally encountered wolves. And coyotes, being the great survivors that they are, they mated with them. This has caused a new "entity" that isn't completely coyote, isn't a human-shy wolf, and has some domestic dog DNA as well. Brad White, chair of biology at Trent University, explains that the "canine soup" is a byproduct of human caused selection, but wouldn't proclaim the "coywolf" a separate species.

Wilderness Act - Jordan Fisher-Smith

Fifty years after the Wilderness Act was implemented, park rangers now find themselves having to weigh the pros and cons of intervening on the behalf of the nature that lives in their parks. Some disasters are natural, and nature will rebound, while other apparently innocuous invasive species spread through a landscape like a figurative wildfire. Jordan Fisher-Smith explains in the article "The Wilderness Paradox"  featured in the September/October 2014 issue of Orion Magazine that wilderness management is now a product of natural curation by man to outweigh the negative impacts of the human world around parks.

Wild Chronicles - Road Trips Gone Wrong

What do a grieving woman, a French-speaking basketball player, forest elephants, and a dead, wet monkey have in common? They all feature prominently in this week's Wild Chronicles segment of road trips gone wrong.

Massive Whale Stranding - Joshua Horwitz

In March of 2000, 16 whales and one dolphin washed up on shore in the Bahamas. This stranding, in which living, uninjured animals apparently chose to beach themselves, started the unlikely series of events in which a marine biologist and an environmental lawyer took the United States Navy to the Supreme Court to advocate for the whales that were being chased from the ocean. In his new book, War of the Whales, Joshua Horwitz explains the fallout from that stranding that continues to impact the Navy and whales to this day.

Racing the Clock With Strawberries - Dan Stone

The moment a strawberry is picked, a race against heat, moisture and rot begins. The berries are hustled into trucks which hurry to all corners of the country to provide strawberries to a grocery store near you. This race happens multiple times each day. Dan Stone tells the story of the cross-country cannonball strawberry run, which he completed for National Geographic's Onward blog in its continuing focus on food.

Crazy 8's: Father-Son Climbing Duo - Matt & Mike Moniz

Father-son mountaineering duo Mike and Matt Moniz planned a triple-8,000 meter peak visit to Nepal this spring, but Mount Everest had other plans. Following the avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas, the pair climbed Cho Oyu, but Mike left 16-year old Matt to summit Makalu, the world's 6th tallest mountain, while he tried to negotiate a way to Everest through China. Having missed out on Makalu, Mike doesn't feel the need to go back and summit the peak, saying, "one Moniz on the summit of Makalu is enough."

Visiting Every Country on the Planet - Graham Hughes

Many people consider themselves avid travelers, but Graham Hughes took globe-trotting to a new level when he spent four years and visited every country on the planet without using an airplane. Some of his methods of transportation included hitching a boat ride with Portuguese fishermen into Cape Verde (which landed him in jail), to hitching a truck ride into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (which landed him in jail). Hughes also explains how he visited North Korea and Somalia without incident.

Newest Adventure Gear - Steve Casimiro

Gear guru Steve Casimiro shares some of the best new modifications that can make outdoors adventures more comfortable: a zipperless sleeping bag, a headlamp that looks where you do, and a versatile flashlight that can help illuminate everything from cycling to scuba diving.

Discovering Ebola - Peter Piot

As West Africa struggles with the largest known outbreak of Ebola, Dr. Peter Piot shares how he helped discover and describe the virus' first known outbreak in 1976 Zaire. He's optimistic the current West African Ebola outbreaks won't reach pandemic-level as he describes humans as an "accidental host" to Ebola: it kills us too quickly to propagate successfully. Piot explains that Ebola is a virus that preys on poverty, because in the developed world, hospitals are well-equipped enough to contain its spread once the outbreak is recognized.

Putting a Clock on Evolution - Gil McVean

In a recent study that pushed back the human-chimp common ancestor back to approximately 13 million years ago, Oxford geneticist Gil McVean looked at the rates of genetic mutation in chimpanzees and humans. He learned that when a chimp father ages, the DNA it passes on contains more mutations that could potentially harm the offspring. Using these types of mutations, McVean was able to better study the rates of evolution of humans, chimpanzees and a common ancestor that once walked among us as well.

Reversing an Ancient Curse - Lale Labuko

In his ongoing fight against deadly tribal taboos, National Geographic Emerging Explorer Lale Labuko shares successes he's had in convincing Ethiopian tribal chiefs and elders to end the practice of "Mingi," whereby they kill children who aren't considered "normal" at birth. His organization, Omo Child, has been advocating for Mingi children, and also providing for them while the practice still persists in certain regions.

Operation: Flying Rhinos - Dereck and Beverley Joubert

If Africa's savannas represent the front lines of the war on wildlife, Dereck and Beverley Joubert are some of conservation's most decorated veterans. The couple tell about the time they saw poachers shooting into an elephant herd, and the unarmed pair chased them off. They're also working to diversify South Africa's rhino holdings by shipping 100 on a cargo jet to Botswana, which is currently the safest place in the rhino's range, due to the low level of government corruption.

Civil War's Second Bloodiest Battle Remembered

September 20th, 2013 marked the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War's second bloodiest battle, in Chickamauga, Georgia. Here, the Confederate Army baited the Union into a fight in hopes of recovering Chattanooga for the South. Just last month, 6,400 men, women and horses met on that battlefield to fight it out all over again - this time using blanks. National Geographic Weekend producer Justin O'Neill attended the reenactment to learn about our need to relive these painful memories.

Wild Chronicles - Working at Night

Inspired by Annie Agnone's "America By Night" stories, Boyd shares his various night time activities, including night-scuba diving, pumping gas in his uncle's gas station and working the overnight shift early in his broadcast career.

Exercise for a Healthy Brain - Lyl Tomlinson

Healthy bodies house happy brains is the message from Lyl Tomlinson, a PhD neuroscience student who recently won FameLab. Tomlinson said that frequent aerobic exercise, particularly running, encourages healthy stem-cells in one of the brain's memory regions. Tomlinson also says that running helps reduce stress, which will cause a slower growth of stem cells. Fame Lab is a competition co-hosted by NASA and National Geographic, looking for the next generation of science communicators.

America by Night - Annie Agnone

When the sun goes down and everything is shrouded in darkness, the most mundane daily activities can seem romantic and mysterious. To better understand the landscape of night, National Geographic Young Explorer Annie Agnone set out to participate and photograph Americans' evening activities. She shares her experiences in Las Vegas' nighttime wedding chapels, looking for Sasquatch in the Pacific Northwest's deepest woods, and treeing raccoons down with some southern hound dogs.

Tipping Tips - Tim Urban

Americans who travel abroad are often left in the uncomfortable position of being uncertain of who to tip and how much to tip them. At home, it's much less ambiguous: tip smart. That's the message from Tim Urban who created very clearly defined guide to tipping. He stresses that waiters should always get tipped, even if they do a mediocre job; delivery people are like waiters who have to drive across the city; and every tip is appreciated by service industry workers.

Mountaineering Tragedy in Pakistan - Raphael Slawinski

Mountain climbing in Pakistan is fraught with difficulties. Western climbers who try to tackle the Himalayan peaks found in that country's northern reaches have to confront high altitude, falling ice, and long waits for the perfect weather windows to open up. But when other elements like unfamiliar foods and well-armed Taliban-affiliated militants are factored into the equation understandable that many Westerners don't seek out the country's beautiful peaks. But against this backdrop, Raphael Slawinski and Ian Welsted completed the first-ascent of K6. Slawinski explains the difficulties, but the pleasures of climbing such an elusive peak. For their efforts, the pair were named as two of National Geographic's Adventurers of the Year for 2014.

The Country is Life - Bridget Besaw

The solitary cowboy riding off in the sunset isn't likely to stop to "like" a photo on Facebook. But as Chile's ranchers and horsemen adapt to life in the 21st Century, they've learned to balance living ruggedly off the land with environmental stewardship and tourism. Bridget Besaw visited such a ranch in Chile where she found one such modern cowboy: a 21-year old named Javier living that precarious balance between the past and the future. Javier is featured in her film "El Campo Es Vida."

Beer and Food Pairing Tips - Garrett Oliver

Award-winning beer aficionado and brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery Garrett Oliver loves both wine and music, but he says that neither has as much versatility and potential as a well-crafted beer. Oliver explains that "real beer," can be anything from "light, bright and lemony" all the way to having "flavors of chocolate and coffee." Oliver stresses the fact that, when done properly, beers pair with different foods elegantly. He explains how to pair beer with dinner perfectly in The Brewmaster's Table and lets Boyd in on the secret of which is the perfect beer to bring to nearly any occasion from a summer barbecue to a Christmas party.

Frozen Tears at the South Pole - Cas & Jonesy

For some adventurers, the thrill of discovery propels them to the unknown with as little preparation as possible. But Australian adventurers James Castrissian and Justin Jones, also known as Cas and Jonsey, find that their expeditions are most successful when they prepare meticulously. Despite careful planning, things still manage to go wrong. While completing a 1,400 mile unsupported crossing of Antarctica, Castrissian lost over 60 pounds and while paddling 2,000 miles unsupported from Australia to New Zealand, blisters and wet seats proved problematic. The friends are tight-lipped about the next adventure but they say whatever it is, they'll be ready for their challenge.

Malaria - Sonia Shah

Malaria is a longtime scourge of the developing world. An average child in Malawi could have as many as 12 episodes of malaria before they turn two years old. And Sonia Shah says that until recently, it was a problem in the United States as well. The disease kills nearly a million people annually, despite being treatable and preventable. Shah explains that malaria is a disease that afflicts those who don't have screens, doors, and windows to prevent mosquitoes from biting them - namely, the poorest people on the planet. Shah has written "The Fever," which details the 500,000 year long relationship humans have with malaria.

52 Blue - Leslie Jamison

Lonely. Strong. Sad. Deaf. These are all assumptions that humans put on a solo blue whale that swims up and down the North American Pacific Coast. The whale regularly called out, but as far as scientific researchers could tell, no whale ever answered. The whale, that calls at 52 hertz, approximately 35 hertz higher than other blue whales communicate, was immortalized in Leslie Jamison's e-book 52 Blue. The book tells the story of the whale, but is also about the community of humans who were inspired and given hope by the whale's isolation.

Okavango Extravangaza - Shah Selbe & Gregg Treinish

For scientists, there are many metrics and data points that they can study to estimate the health of an ecosystem. But there is no better way than to visit the location and to experience the landscape inch by inch, which is what National Geographic Emerging Explorers Shah Selbe and Gregg Treinish just did in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. The expedition, arranged by Steve Boyes, another Emerging Explorer, is an annual exploration of the waterways to document birds and wildlife. This year’s expedition added the collection and analysis of water and soil samples. But this year’s expedition was special: Selbe, a engineer who works with Engineers Without Borders installed permanent digital sensors to feed real-time data to scientists, while Treinish, who leads Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, will train fellows in the field to maintain these sensors. They survived crocs, hippos, and elephants in this pristine wilderness to help ensure the ecosystem’s health in the future.

This Weekend in History - Roald Dahl & The Star Spangled Banner

To recap the events of This Weekend in History, National Geographic Library research manager Maggie Turqman announces Roald Dahl's birthday, the creation of Canyonlands National Park, and the penning of the Star Spangled Banner as reasons to celebrate this weekend. Choose wisely.

Allan Butler - Experimental Cancer Treatment Success

When cancerous cells and tumors are detected late in their development, they can be hard to treat. But Allan Butler, a VP at the National Geographic Channel who is living with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, explains that traditional chemotherapy treatments aren't the only recourse that patients have. In Butler's message for the Stand Up To Cancer telethon, he explains that he participated in a medical trial, which has given him hope and a better outlook on living with the disease.

Cedar Wright - Sufferfest with Alex Honnold

Cedar Wright and Alex Honnold set out on what they thought would be an easy three week, 750-mile bike ride and mountain climb adventure. But their "Type 2" fun turned into a complete ", which turned out to be the name of the film that Wright made of their adventure. They rode from Mount Shasta south to Mount Langley, climbing a 15 of California's 14,000-foot mountains. Wright shares their most suffer-worthy moments in his conversation with Boyd.

Edward Chamberlin - Islands

Islands are seen as a relaxing, and occasionally mysterious, landscape that rise up from the ocean's depths in the middle of the ocean. But for an isolated spit of land, how do vegetation, animals and humans come to call them home? J. Edward Chamberlin examines the impact on islands and how they came to influence the the continents in his new book Islands: How Islands Transform the World. He also recommends a few of his own favorite islands to visit.

Greta Mentzel - Prehistoric Murder Mystery

Otzi, a 5,000 year old mummy found partially buried in an ice field in the Italian Alps, is one of the oldest cold-cases known to crime. The body had an arrowhead lodged in his back, and he was carrying a quiver of unfinished arrows. Italian scientists have used his possessions and cobbled together his last panic-stricken hours, running from at least one assailant who, it seems, got away with murder. Greta Mentzel also shares what Otzi's possessions tell us about his last few hours.

Asher Jay - The United Flotsam of Garbagea

South Sudan is officially the world's newest country, but artist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer Asher Jay has created a more recent, if purely theoretical, country that has a foreign policy predicated on the spread of garbage. The United Flotsam of Garbagea's borders, Jay explains, extend wherever garbage goes, which would make it the world's largest country, as oceanographers have found plastics everywhere from the bottom of the sea to the inside of the animals that live in very remote regions.

Wild Chronicles - A Life Being Walter Mitty

"Puppy biscuit." In this week's Wild Chronicles segment, Boyd reflects on his years of getting to try other people's jobs, in the spirit of Walter Mitty. He's been able to drive race cars over ice, dirt and finally, on a NASCAR track.

Hungry in America - Tracie McMillan

In National Geographic magazine's ongoing look at the realities of growing an ever-increasing global population, Tracie McMillan explores the demographics of hunger in the United States. Inside such a wealthy country, there are many people who don't know where their next meal is coming from. McMillan explains that 59% of people who are food-insecure work at full-time jobs, while another 15% work part-time. Her story "The New Face of Hunger," appears in the August 2014 issue of National Geographic magazine.

Future of Tech: Phones With No Batteries - Shyam Gollakota

Game-changing technological advances often represent a major leap beyond any existing product on the market. And that's precisely what the MIT Technology Review is anticipating when they nominate their 35 Innovators Under 35. Shyam Gollakota, a 28 year old computer engineer at the University of Washington has one such advance in mind, when he anticipates that he'll be able to help develop wireless devices like cellular phones that don't rely on battery power. MIT Technology Review editor Brian Bergstein also explains what they look for when they compile the list, and what some of the other innovations involve.

Top Gear - Sam Hornish Jr.

On a recent trip to the Charlottesville Motor Speedway, Boyd was driven around the course by NASCAR racer Sam Hornish Jr. at 175 miles per hour. Hornish later explained that he was taking it easy on Boyd. Hornish, who started racing when he was 10 years old, shares some tricks from the track, of how to balance speed and control, while staying focused on driving the same track for four straight hours.

Rowing to Hawaii - Angela Madsen

Not many ocean lovers are as versatile as Angela Madsen when it comes to devotion to their sports: she is a surfier; she is a member of the U.S. Paralympic rowing team; and, along with her partner, they became the first women to row from California to Hawai'i. Madsen explains the indignities of getting hit with flying fish and falling asleep while rowing, and how she modifies sports to fit her needs.

Extremophiles: Weird Life - David Toomey

When movies imagine life in deep space, their creatures generally look hominid - George Lucas' Chewbacca the Wookie and James Cameron's Na'vi people aren't dissimilar enough from humans that we can't recognize them as other beings. But David Toomey says that Douglas Adams may have been closer to reality in his book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when he described hyper intelligent shades of the color blue: they're strange beings that, unless scientists look carefully, might not be carbon-based, like most of the other life on our planet. Toomey's book Weird Life explain that unless we look very carefully and broadly for life out in space, we might not recognize it when we see it.

Children on America's Doorstep - Jason DeLeon

America's attention shifted earlier this summer to a border crisis years in the making. Thousands of children from Central America streamed across the border, overwhelming border patrol agents and straining the resources of a child welfare system already working overtime. But National Geographic Emerging Explorer Jason De Leon, Director of the Undocumented Migration Project, explains that this has been happening in large numbers for the past 4 years. De Leon provides cameras to migrants preparing to cross into the United States from Mexico so he can better understand the challenges that they face, but points out that the most dangerous part of the journey for the vulnerable Nicaraguan and Honduran children come well before they reach their point of entry into the United States.

South Sudan's War on Wildlife - Paul Elkan

In the world's newest country, South Sudan's national pride and excitement over the ability to determine their own nation's direction devolved into a bloody power struggle. While this is bad news for the people, it is a potential disaster for the country's elephants, antelope and other game animals. WCS South Sudan director Paul Elkan says that the combating armies are poor and ill-equipped, so they see the animals as a walking food-pantry. But Elkan says that there is reason for hope: wildlife rangers have successfully arrested soldiers for poaching animals in the past, and the elephants managed to survive a 25-year civil war in the late 20th Century - maybe they still remember where to hide.

Walking out of Eden - Paul Salopek

While Berger looks for our ancestral roots, National Geographic Fellow Paul Salopek is fleeing the birthplace of the human species, on his Out of Eden Walk. He is tracing our route from Africa, across the Middle East, Asia and ultimately to the tip of South America. He walked out of Israel and Palestine shortly before the current conflict, allowing him to get a very personal and intimate understanding of the motivations and fears of both groups of people involved. Salopek explains that he learned that just a few decades ago, Palestinians and Israelis regularly encountered each other in their daily lives, thus allowing more understanding and empathy to grow in that space; but today, children are so segregated that the flower of mutual respect and sympathy is struggling to grow in the West Bank and Israel, which doesn't foster much optimism for the future.

The Evolution of Modern Man - Lee Berger

Few people understand the where we, as a species, fit into the animal world better than National Geographic Explorer in Residence Lee Berger. The paleoanthropologist has been excavating a historic site that features a trove of thousands of bones that have been elusive to scientists in the past. Berger explains, "the creatures we're finding are non-human animals, but the features they carry features that are more closely related to us than any other animal." Berger explains that human evolution didn't happen all of a sudden across Africa. He "guarantees" Boyd that similar features were appearing slowly across the continent - some evolutionary experiments yielded better offspring, ultimately culminating in homo sapiens, while others faded away.

Wild Chronicles - Rhino Snap Shots

On a visit to South Africa, Boyd took a tracking lesson. For thousands of years, people in Africa used these techniques to kill animals on Africa's grasslands. But today, the tracking techniques are more commonly used to hunt those who are trying to illegally poach rhinos and elephants. Boyd also tells the story of one of the easiest animals to track, whose vision is so poor that you can get within 15 feet of them without them knowing.