Before landing on the North Pole, Elizabeth Arnold and her fellow plane
travelers were warned that there was a crack on the ice. The plane, and
Elizabeth, made it. Photo: Elizabeth Arnold
All of us—even those who never leave the backyard—can clearly picture distant locales. (Quick! Imagine the Amazon!) Why is that? In this hour we try to answer.
We peer into habitats frozen in time at the American Museum of Natural History. We watch nature documentaries with David Attenborough. We travel to the North Pole—really—to see what there is to see. And, finally, we visit a place where imagination will just have to do: Mt. Kailash
in Western Tibet, whose summit is home to the gods and – naturally – off
limits to humans.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Arnold
90 Degrees North North Pole ~ At the top of the planet, unmoored ice speeds over the North Pole. Elizabeth Arnold heads north and tries to set foot on it. Produced by Elizabeth Arnold.
Nature Junkies United States ~ Seeing nature is a need, like eating or sleeping. But a lot of people can't go out and sit in the woods once a week. No time. No woods nearby. So what do you do? Ariel has 75 wildlife documentaries in her Netflix queue. Dave and Melissa unwind with Animal Planet. Donal visits far flung jungles in Hi Def from his family room. The revolution will
not be televised. But nature will be. And it's a big hit. Produced by Sean Cole.
Belmore Browne painting a background for the Alaska Brown bear diorama in the Hall of North American Mammals. Photo courtesy of Stephen C. Quinn.
A Window in Time New York ~ For a century, while their living counterparts have grown, mated, died and—sometimes—vanished, the meticulously taxidermied animals at the American Museum of Natural History have held their heads just so. For many visitors, this is as close as they ever get to nature. We take a tour of the diorama hall with senior project manager at the Museum, Steve Quinn. Produced by Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler.
(Photos are from "Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History" by Stephen C. Quinn - senior project manager at the Museum.)
Fred Scherer pt. 1: Dogs
Fred Scherer pt. 2: On James Perry Wilson
Web Only Audio: Artist Fred Scherer
As a special feature for our web audience, we are providing bonus audio clips not available in the original broadcast.
Listen as Fred Scherer, veteran background painter at the American Museum of Natural History, talks about his experiences and adventures researching and creating dioramas.
Circling the Center of Creation Mt. Kailash, Tibet ~ Mt. Kailash is one of the world’s most venerated—and least visited—holy sites. Walking its circuit alongside pilgrims, yaks and yogis, Scott Carrier finds out why. Produced by Scott Carrier.
