National Geographic’s ‘Overheard at National Geographic’ Podcast Returns for Season Six

Launching May 4, New Episodes Will Air Weekly

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–National Geographic’s podcast, Overheard at National Geographic will return for its sixth season Tuesday, May 4. Each weekly episode takes listeners behind the conversations overheard at Nat Geo headquarters, Zooms and Slack chats, as editors plan stories with explorers and scientists, photographers and journalists all over the world.

This season, listeners will meet more of the Overheard team as senior editor Eli Chen and producers Brian Gutierrez and Jacob Pinter step up to the mic and join co-hosts Peter Gwin, National Geographic editor at large, and Amy Briggs, executive editor of History magazine, to bring listeners on new journeys into this big, weird, beautiful world.

The podcasts will showcase the first AI-generated music score, dive with killer whales to observe their surprising cultures; venture into the world of artificial intelligence to see how scientists are teaching machines to recognize human diversity; examine the love songs of 17-year cicadas; and visit National Geographic’s legendary technology lab where engineers have dreamed up super cameras to hunt for the Loch Ness monster and float above Machu Picchu. Also found by digging into Nat Geo’s vaults were some forgotten bits of audio from names like Jacques Cousteau and Jane Goodall.

Check out the season six trailer HERE. The first episode will be available May 4 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever podcasts are found.

Overheard’s bonus episode about the culture of killer whales, featuring National Geographic Explorer photographer Brian Skerry, released on April 13 and is available now.

Season six episodes include the following (all episodes subject to change):

• 5/4: EP1: The Battle for the Soul of Artificial Intelligence: Studies show that machines demonstrate similar biases to humans. Now, scientists are working to remedy that and teach them fairness.
• 5/11: EP2: Camping on Sea Ice with Whale Hunters: In celebration of Asian American heritage month, National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yuyan recounts his time living on the Arctic sea ice with Inupiat whale hunters as he documented how climate change threatens their way of life.
• 5/18: EP3: A Reckoning in Tulsa: On the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, a look back at one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history—as the search for mass graves of the victims continues.
• 5/25: EP4: How Cicadas Become Flying Salt Shakers of Death: When Brood X cicadas emerge this year in the eastern U.S., National Geographic Explorer Matt Kasson will be on the lookout for a fungus that destroys these noisy insects — but not before it sends them on a wild trip.
• 6/1: EP5: Giraffes on a Boat: A scientist attempts the impossible: moving eight giraffes off an island on a boat. Follow conservationist David O’Connor on an epic (and awkward) journey to save these endangered animals.
• 6/8: EP6: The Real-Life MacGyver in Nat Geo’s Basement: How do you photograph beavers under ice—something no one’s ever done before? You enlist the help of Nat Geo’s gadget guru, aka Tom O’Brien, whose job is to figure out to capture images and sounds that have never been seen or heard.
• 6/15: EP7: The Next Generation’s Champion of Chimps: Amid war and famine, one woman is fighting to protect a unique group of endangered chimpanzees in Nigeria.
• 6/22: EP8: Olympic Training During a Pandemic (produced in collaboration with ESPN): In collaboration with ESPN, we follow an Olympic high jumper dead set on making it to the Tokyo Games this year—while also battling long-haul symptoms of COVID-19.

For more information on the podcast and to dive in deeper, visit www.natgeo.com/overheard.

Download key art for the podcast HERE.

Download trailer for the podcast HERE.

Contacts

Chandler Hueth, chandler.hueth@natgeo.com
Caitlin Holbrook, caitlin.holbrook@natgeo.com