Suffering Unseen: The Dark Truth Behind Wildlife Tourism
Hey, woke American tourist in Thailand: the same organization running that cruelty-free elephant viewing experience at the eco-lodge also owns the cruelty-infused elephant show down the road, and the elephants are the same.
How Rats Became an Inescapable Part of City Living
Where there are people, there are rats: they’re smart, hardy, and empathetic, and we can’t really complain about them when it’s our trash that feeds them.
Susan Potter Will Live Forever
When Susan Potter died of pneumonia at the age of 87, she donated her body to the Visible Human Project so it could be sliced and photographed. The images would be digitized and used to create a virtual cadaver that medical students could use to dissect and reassemble with the stroke of a few keys.
How a Transplanted Face Transformed a Young Woman’s Life
This feature about an advancement in medicine that allows for face transplantation tells the story of a young woman getting a second chance after blowing her face off with a gun in a suicide attempt at 18. It also examines just what our faces mean to us and do for us as humans.
We Depend on Plastic. Now We’re Drowning In it.
The miracle material has made modern life possible. But more than 40 percent of it is used just once, and it’s choking our waterways.
Inside the Black Market Hummingbird Love Charm Trade
“Catch a hummingbird. Kill it. Wrap it in underwear, cover it with honey—and sell it to arouse passion in a lover.” On the booming black market for dead hummingbirds to be made into Latin love charms called chuparosas.
For Decades, Our Coverage Was Racist. To Rise Above Our Past, We Must Acknowledge It
In her introduction to National Geographic‘s “Race Issue,” Editor-in-Chief Susan Goldberg looks back on the ways in which the magazine’s coverage, since its inception in 1888, has participated in othering of people of color, and used racial slurs.
After Summiting Mt. Everest, He Returned Home to Face His Demons
Outdoor explorer and photographer Cory Richards describes his personal struggles with PTSD, alcoholism, and infidelity.
Does An Octopus Have A Soul? This Author Thinks So
In this interview, Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, reflects on the uncanny intelligence, intuition, and surprising sex lives of octopuses.
Our 9,000-Year Love Affair With Booze
Alcohol isn’t just a mind-altering drink: It has been a prime mover of human culture from the beginning, fueling the development of arts, language, and religion.
