One hundred years since the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, archaeologists are still puzzling over the mysteries of his mummy. Why was he covered in “black goo” and buried without a heart? And how did his tomb remain hidden for so long? To answer these questions, we head to the National Geographic Museum’s King Tut exhibit with Archaeologist in Residen ... Show More
Jul 2023
Trapped in the icy waters of the Northwest Passage
For centuries, the Northwest Passage, the long-sought sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through northern Canada, was a holy grail of Arctic exploration. Even now, sailing through it isn’t guaranteed. Mark Synnott, a National Geographic Explorer, writer, and adv ... Show More
34m 16s
Jul 2023
Playback: Modern Lives, Ancient Caves
There’s a lost continent waiting to be explored, and it’s right below our feet. We’ll dig into the deep human relationship to the underground—and why we understand it from an instinctive point of view, but not so much from a physical one. (Hint: We’re afraid of the dark.) In an e ... Show More
28m 39s
Jun 2023
Playback: This Indigenous Practice Fights Fire with Fire
For decades, the U.S. government evangelized fire suppression, most famously through Smokey Bear’s wildfire prevention campaign. But as climate change continues to exacerbate wildfire seasons and a growing body of scientific research supports using fire to fight fire, Indigenous ... Show More
29m 8s
Oct 2022
S7E3.5 - Overheard on Greeking Out - The Hole Where King Tut’s Heart Used to Be
This is a kid-friendly episode of Overheard at Nat Geo! We encounter descriptions of mummification, a game show, lots of Black Goo, the aftermath of the Amarna period, and a missing heart! We dig into why ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun’s heart is missing from his tomb and what ... Show More
27m 34s
Jun 2021
What Egyptian Crocodile Mummies Tell us About Life, Death, and Taxes Thousands of Years Ago
Our story begins in 1899, when two archaeologists — Arthur Hunt and Bernard Grenfell — were on an expedition in Northern Egypt in an ancient town once known as Tebtunis on a search for mummies and other ancient artifacts.
This was during a growing Western fascination with ancient ... Show More
54m 55s
Feb 2021
137b: The Tomb of Nefertiti
A Hidden Monument? In recent years, the public has thrilled to reports that hidden chambers, in the tomb of Tutankhamun, might contain the burial of Nefertiti. But the question of Nefertiti's tomb is complicated. In fact, it's possible she never even received a kingly/royal buria ... Show More
19m 22s