Unfolding Maps

A giant whale shark gracefully swims beneath a fishing boat, its massive form capable of capsizing the small vessel with a single movement. This captivating moment was captured by the renowned Mexican environmental photographer and marine biologist Cristina Mittermeier. Whether it's majestic whales, gigantic icebergs, or indigenous people – Cristina has traveled the world for decades to capture the beauty and fragility of Earth's biodiversity and the wisdom of those who honor and respect nature. Her photography serves as a compelling call to action, illustrating the transformative power of photography in raising awareness and inspiring change. Her work has established her as one of the most influential conservation photographers of our time. Together with her husband Paul Nicklen, she co-founded the non-profit organization "SeaLegacy," dedicated to promoting climate action and sustainable solutions by supporting scientific endeavors and conservation strategies. Cristina's photographs have been featured in numerous prestigious publications, including National Geographic Magazine, McLean’s, and TIME. With her new book "Hope", she aims to convey hope, which she herself finds in the deep connection between humanity and nature. https://crowdfunding.hemeria.com/fr/project/hope-cristina-mittermeier/https://www.sealegacy.orghttps://www.instagram.com/mitty/?hl=de Production: Miriam Menz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steep rock faces, surrounded by vast glaciers and massive icebergs floating far below on the ocean - Greenland's nature is truly unique. Not only in terms of the landscape but also because Greenland’s glaciers and ice caps play a crucial role in climate change. However, exploring their condition can be extremely difficult as they are almost inaccessible due to their remote location. Our two guests in this episode faced this challenge. French glaciologist Dr. Heïdi Sevestre researched the effects of climate change in remote regions of Greenland, supported by a team of scientists and three of the world's best climbers. One of these climbers is Alex Honnold. He gained worldwide fame through the Oscar-winning documentary "Free Solo," which is about his free solo climb of El Capitan in California's Yosemite National Park. His goal in Greenland was to make the first ascent of one of the highest unclimbed rock walls of the world while also contributing to science. Thus, he embarked on a memorable expedition with Heïdi and a team of climbers and local experts. The expedition was documented in the three-part series "Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold" by National Geographic. In this episode, Alex and Heïdi give us insights into the challenges of a first ascent in Greenland’s rugged nature, the on-site research work, and the impact of climate change on a wilderness which is crucial for the future of the planet. https://www.heidisevestre.comhttp://www.alexhonnold.com The Three-Part Series premiered on National Geographic and is available for streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Production: Miriam Menz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Powerful, loving, and wise – elephants hold a great fascination for people worldwide. And yet they are threatened with extinction. Due to ivory trade and loss of habitat through humans, populations have been decreasing drastically in recent centuries. Kenyan conservationist Dr. Paula Kahumbu has made it her life’s work to prevent this. She is CEO of the organization WildlifeDirect and won numerous awards for her work to protect endangered species in Africa. She has received international recognition for her efforts to stop the illegal trade in ivory and for her campaigns to protect Africa’s natural heritage. Kahumbu is National Geographic Explorer of the Year, winner of the Whitley Gold Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to conservation, and was named as one of the 25 Most Influential Women of 2022 by the Financial Times. She has appeared in many documentaries on wildlife and the environment and has produced her own television series “Wildlife Warriors”. Currently, she is a part of the new documentary series “The Secrets of the Elephants” (National Geographic WILD) produced by Academy Award® winner James Cameron, which shows the life and behavior of elephants and what far-reaching consequences their extinction would have – not only on humanity, but also on the ecosystem. You can watch the series on Disney+. In this episode, Paula Kahumbu gives us insights into her work with elephants, her successful fight against poaching and the ivory trade, and shows us how we can protect elephants. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does real success really mean? How can we effectively fight against climate change and for nature? And what to make of the protests of the "last generation"? Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE talks about all this and more in this episode of Unfolding Maps. She also reflects on her earliest animal-related childhood memories, explains what growing up during World War II taught her for life, and explains some of the biggest challenges we humans face right now – and where possible solutions lie. So: a wide-ranging conversation with one of the world's foremost behavioral scientists and environmental activists – and a continuation of her first appearance on Unfolding Maps in episode 24, in which she talked about her research in Tanzania and the beginnings of her involvement as an activist. She explained why she is not afraid to work with even perceived opponents, and revealed why she has never lost hope despite the many crises we face around the world. Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, an internationally recognized animal and conservation organization. She is also a United Nations Messenger of Peace and an honorary member of the World Future Council. In 1991, she founded the non-governmental organization Roots & Shoots to bring together youth from preschool to college age to address environmental, conservation and humanitarian issues. Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Learn more about Dr. Jane Goodall and the work of the Jane Goodall Institute: ● www.janegoodall.global ● www.instagram.com/janegoodallinst/ ● www.facebook.com/janegoodallinst Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From a childhood close to nature in Jamaica, to a youth marked by violent experiences in England, to an unforgettable walk to the North Pole that would change everything – that's how you could describe the life of Dwayne Fields in a nutshell, the first Brit of color to reach the North Pole on foot. Since his march to the North Pole, one adventure follows the next. Most recently, the presenter, explorer and naturalist traveled to the most extreme regions of our planet in his new National Geographic series "7 Toughest Days": In it, he travels to icy Kyrgyzstan, crosses the rainforests in Gabon and hikes through the Omani desert. Prior to that, he took Will Smith to Iceland in the Disney+ series "Welcome to Earth'', overcoming icy waters and an Icelandic glacier with him. In addition to being an adventurer, Dwayne now works as one of the UK's leading Scout Ambassadors. With his expedition partner Phoebe Smith, he founded the "#WeTwo" foundation to bring young people from inner-city hotspots closer to the natural world and all its beauty - and to highlight what is threatening that beauty today. To date, he has received numerous honors, including an invitation to Buckingham Palace and the "Freedom of the City of London" award. So: Dwayne has a lot to talk about ...! We hope you enjoy the episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This time at Unfolding Maps - not a climber, not a cyclist, not a desert photographer, but: Hollywood's most famous and beloved villain! Danny Trejo was shot, stabbed, decapitated, blown up, hanged, flattened by an elevator and lost his life in some even less appetizing ways that I'd rather leave unmentioned here. He's been the record holder as the world's most killed actor for years now - and he's steadily extending his lead. Danny has starred in over 400 films: blockbusters like Machete, Desperado, Heat, From Dusk till dawn, Con Air and Spy Kids, as well as countless B-movies and series like Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy and Modern Family. He has the status of a legend in Hollywood. He owns a chain of taco restaurants, his own beer and coffee brands, cafes and donut stores. In L.A., where he was born and lives, he is so popular that there is even an official Danny Trejo Day here. But those successes aren't why we have invited him to Unfolding Maps. Occasionally, we take the liberty of broadening our show's range of topics a bit by not just talking to people who have gotten to know the world through special journeys and expeditions, but to people whose LIFE journey is a very special one. And that definitely applies to Danny Trejo. Because he does not only PLAY the bad guy over and over again, but he WAS that bad guy: He spent his early years on a criminal career full of crime and drug addiction, and he served time in all of California's prisons for years. Eventually, he battled his demons, and upon his release, earned unexpected fame in Hollywood as a bad-boy actor with a heart of gold. Meanwhile, he has worked for decades not only as an actor but also as a drug counselor. In Los Angeles, he is as well known for his work in addiction and rehabilitation as he is for his acting. In the neighborhood of his childhood and youth, which he once terrorized with armed robberies and sheer violence, murals of his face now adorn the facades of entire buildings because people are so proud that he is one of them. It is the ultimate journey from gangster to movie star, a story about a man who changes himself and his destiny. Danny, who is now 78 years old, talks about all of this openly in his autobiography "Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood” – and in this episode of Unfolding Maps. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can we learn from the tribes in the rainforest of New Guinea? What are the greatest dangers facing humanity and the earth today, and how can they be overcome? These are some of the many questions we address in this conversation with a leading scientist that has been voted one of the world's top ten intellectuals by various British and American magazines and who researches and writes on just about everything that makes up human existence – think "universal genius": Jared Diamond. He studied physiology at Harvard and Cambridge and became a leading expert on the gallbladder. He is also an ornithologist, anthropologist, sociologist, evolutionary biologist, ecologist, and environmental historian with expertise in archaeology, genetics, and human disease epidemiology. He is also a professor of geography in Los Angeles. And then he is also one of the most successful authors of popular science nonfiction. His works have been translated into some forty languages, and for the world bestseller "Guns, Germs, and Steel. The Fates of Human Societies" he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1998. His other books include "Collapse. How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed", "The World until Yesterday" and his most recent work "Upheaval – How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change". For all that, Jared Diamond is not only a master of lab work and literature research, but he is and has been on the road himself all over the world (over thirty times in New Guinea alone), he is fluent in over a dozen languages ... So: more than enough material for a wide-ranging conversation about a unique scientific career – and about the world we live in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this very special episode, we welcome a real survival icon: Bear Grylls has become known worldwide as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. Trained from a young age in martial arts, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier in the British Special Forces, as part of the 21 SAS Regiment. It was here that he perfected many of the survival skills that his fans all over the world enjoy, as he pits himself against the worst of Mother Nature. Bear originally starred in Discovery's hit TV series “Man vs. Wild” across seven seasons, before hosting the NBC & National Geographic Channel series “Running Wild with Bear Grylls”. This show has seen him take global stars such as Julia Roberts, Ben Stiller, President Obama & Prime Minister Modi of India on adventures into the wild. Bear has also hosted over six seasons of the BAFTA award-winning Channel 4 series “The Island with Bear Grylls”, as well as the Emmy Award-nominated series Hostile Planet for National Geographic and "You Vs Wild" for Netflix. He has authored 20 books, including the #1 best-selling autobiography “Mud, Sweat & Tears” and the current sequel, “Never give up”. In this episode, Bear and Erik talk about Bear’s very first adventures, the ups and downs of being famous and what being out in the wild can teach us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Burkard, born in 1986, is many things: he is an adventurer, photographer, creative director, speaker, author, father, husband, surfer, certified yoga instructor ... and first and foremost, a storyteller. He travels much of the year to explore the most remote places on earth, capturing stories there to inspire people to rethink their relationship with nature. In this way, he seeks to advocate for the preservation of wild places all over the world. Initially, he was one of the most sought-after surf photographers in the world: his assignments took him to tropical paradises from the Caribbean to the South Pacific. Later, he specialised particularly in photographing cold places. Today, he is one of the most successful and popular adventure and outdoor photographers – he has 3.7 million followers on Instagram alone. In this Episode, he talks about how his career unfolded, what draws him to cold and rather inhospitable places, how we can travel “well” – and much more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I just think back to that first time I got a proper look at Antarctica: There was something about the simplicity and the beauty and the perfectness of it all that made me want to scoop it all up and somehow contain it in me.” That's a quote from our guest, Polar explorer, Antarctic scientist, author, speaker and expedition leader Felicity Aston MBE. And that is exactly what she did: She preserved Antarctica (and the polar regions) within herself. She spent a continuous period of two and a half years (including two consecutive winters) at Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. These first experiences in Antarctica then led to numerous expeditions to remote places around the world (but particularly to the Polar Regions): She led record-breaking international teams to the North and South Poles, worked on a nuclear-powered icebreaker at the North Pole, led the first British Women’s crossing of Greenland, skied along a frozen river in Siberia, traversed the winter ice of Lake Baikal, raced in the Canadian Arctic, drove 35,000km across Eurasia to the coldest inhabited place in the world … and in 2012 she became the first woman to ski alone across Antarctica. It was a journey of 1744 km that took her 59 days to complete. With this, she set a world record. And she was not only the first woman to master this tour, but also the first person – male or female – to do so alone and with her own muscle power. Felicity reports on her experiences in four books and regularly produces articles for various publications in the UK and abroad. She has been elected Fellow of both the Royal Geographical Society in London and The Explorers Club in New York, and received many more awards. In this episode, she talks about the challenges she had to face during her Antarctic crossing – and the beauty of it all! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"One of the most amazing things about Mike Horn's life is that it still hasn't come to an end." This sentence sums up the life of this episode’s guest quite well: Mike Horn is introduced again and again as one of the world's most important explorers and adventurers of our time. What he has achieved and demonstrated in terms of endurance, determination and courage is pretty much unparalleled. He was the first person to swim solo and unsupported across the Amazon River from its source to its river mouth – six and a half thousand kilometers that he covered on a hydrospeed. He circumnavigated the globe at the equator without any motorized assistance. He was the first person ever to cross Antarctica at its widest point and undertook the very first winter trek to the North Pole – weeks in the eternal ice, in permanent darkness. He also sailed around the world more than a dozen times and climbed some of the highest peaks on Earth without artificial oxygen. Since 2015, Mike has taken on the role of survival expert for three French TV channels, where he shares his knowledge of survival with the participants of the shows. A single interview is not nearly enough to do justice to even a fraction of his world-renowned endeavors. Nor do we attempt to do so. Instead, we dig into some of the lessons he's learned from his expeditions, discussing, for example, what he sees as the power of inspiration and where he finds the value in failure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode the tables are turned. Instead of asking them, Erik answers questions – such as: What can we learn from travel? How can storytelling change the world? How do we experience adventures and what does that do to us? How can we travel in times of climate change? And what opportunities do we see within the challenges of the current pandemic? A few weeks ago, photographer and filmmaker Bastian Fischer asked Erik such and similar questions for his podcast "Yellow Van Stories". They talked about Erik’s experiences in writing, podcasting, traveling … and much more! ⁠ Thank you very much for the invitation, Bastian! ⁠ Find out more about Yellow Van Stories: https://www.yellowvanstories.com/ https://www.instagram.com/yellowvanstories/ https://www.facebook.com/yellowvanstories Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A childhood in the shadow of a Cold War border - this is how Kapka Kassabova grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria. After studying in Sofia and emigrating with her family to New Zealand, Kapka Kassabova, now a writer, poet and journalist, lives in the Scottish Highlands. From 2013 until 2015 she returned to the Balkans and embarked on a special journey into the (and her) past to finally explore the "forbidden borderland" of her childhood. Along the way, she met soldiers, (former) spies, fugitives, and the people living there – "ordinary people" on the ground, many of whom have an extraordinary story to tell due to the complex history of the area. Her book “Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe” reveals a fascinating look at the boundaries that exist between countries, between cultures, between people, and within each of us. In this episode of Unfolding Maps, Kapka tells us what she learned from this journey – and what we can learn from it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

60 years of research on social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees. And decades of commitment to animal welfare and environmental protection. This episode’s guest is the world-famous British ethologist and environmental activist, Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE. Originally, she has been best known for her long-term study of wild chimpanzees in Tanzania in the 1960s. During that study she discovered that chimpanzees make and use tools – a discovery that transformed the way we understand primates and wildlife, and that redefined the relationship between animals and humans. Today, her legacy goes far beyond that. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, an international animal and environmental protection organization that is widely recognized for its conservation and development programs. She is also a United Nations Messenger of Peace and an honorary member of the World Future Council. And she does not show any signs of slowing down, despite being 87 years old now. If there is no pandemic preventing her from doing so, she travels an average of 300 days per year to advocate for the causes that she believes in, meeting with people from children and youth groups to powerful politicians, striving to promote a new kind of relationship with nature. Time magazine named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In this episode, Dr. Goodall talks about her research in Tanzania and the beginnings of her involvement as an activist. She explains why she is not afraid to work even with supposed opponents, and reveals why she has never lost hope despite the many challenges we face around the world. More information on Dr. Jane Goodall and the work of the Jane Goodall Institute: https://www.janegoodall.org/https://www.instagram.com/janegoodallinst/https://www.facebook.com/janegoodallinst Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A winter walk in the woods with an icon of heavy metal: Eric Adams is world-famous as the singer of the American band Manowar. In episode 16 of Unfolding Maps, he has already talked about another passion that shapes his life besides music - his love of nature, wildlife and hunting. In this second interview, he now delves deeper into these topics. During a hike in the US state of New York, he not only shares anecdotes from his musical career, but above all shows Erik his hunting grounds, thinks back to entertaining misadventures in the wilderness and magical animal encounters, and explains what he understands by ethical and responsible hunting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maureen (Mo) Beck was born without her left hand, but that didn’t stop her from starting to climb at the age of 12 – to prove everyone wrong, who thought this sport might not be for her. By now she has won multiple titles, including a gold medal at the 2014 Paraclimbing World Championships in Spain and a gold medal at the 2016 World Championships in Paris. In 2019, Maureen was named one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year. Maureen Beck starred in the 2017 movie “Stumped” which has won numerous awards and toured hundreds of cities all over the world. In the 2019 movie “Adaptive” she went with Jim Ewing – a fellow adaptive climber – on her first alpine expedition to the Northwest Territories in Canada’s Nahanni National Park where they attempted climbing the legendary Lotus Flower Tower in the Cirque of the Unclimbables. www.moinmountains.com www.instagram.com/mo.in.mountains Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over a two-year period, storyteller and National Geographic photographer Erika Larsen travelled to many locations in the western United States to learn about the significance of the horse in Native American tribes - culturally, spiritually, and economically. ⁠ ⁠ Along her journey she met many Native Americans who shared their profound stories and experiences about the unique bond that exists between the horse and their culture. In this episode we discuss her photographic work documenting this exceptional connection, as well as the insights she was able to gain - insights into how this connection transformed the indigenous relationship to the landscape they live(d) in. Erika also tells us about her own relationship with horses, what she has learned about how to bond with a horse best and what she has taken from this far-reaching project personally.⁠ ⁠ Furthermore, we talk about the powerful impressions she gained when attending the Dakota Access Pipeline protest in 2016/2017 - which is considered to be one of the largest gatherings of Native Americans in modern times. ⁠ If you want to learn more about Erika’s very inspiring and outstanding stories and her impressive photographs, we also recommend episode 18 of Unfolding Maps to you - it's about Erika’s experiences in the Scandinavian Arctic: "Living with Sami Reindeer Herders"!⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She was a successful CEO of the clothing manufacturer Patagonia and played a decisive role in building the company. And then left everything behind to move to the wilderness of the actual Patagonia in Chile. For nature conservation – and for love. Our guest in this episode is Kristine Tompkins, an environmentalist and the president of Tompkins Conservation. She has been working tirelessly for three decades to protect the environment. And what she and her late husband Doug Tompkins have achieved is truly amazing. Like Kristine, Doug himself was very successful in the outdoor clothing market in his first life, co-founding the brands "The North Face" and "Esprit". When Kristine and him eventually sold their shares, they began to buy up private land in Chile and Argentina, to restore it at great effort, to combine it into protected areas, and to finally hand it over to the government as national parks to protect this land forever. Thanks to the work of Kristine and Doug, new national parks with an area larger than that of the whole of Switzerland have been established in Chile alone. The couple is considered as some of the most successful national park-oriented philanthropists in history. Currently, Kristine – as President of Tompkins Conservation – is overseeing a number of projects in Chile and Argentina aimed at creating even more national parks and reserves and halting the extinction of species by reintroducing native species that are threatened or locally extinct – such as the jaguar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Fathoms - The World in the Whale": That is the title of Australian author Rebecca Giggs' first book (published by SCRIBE and Simon Schuster in April 2020) – and it is, indeed, the gate to a large world... In it, Rebecca blends natural history, philosophy and science to reveal an unexpected world in a stranded whale – with more cross-connections to our “human world” than we might have ever thought about.⁠ In Australia, "Fathoms" won the Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Prize, and the Royal Society's Whitley Award for Popular Zoology. The book has also recently been shortlisted for the prestigious ALA Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and the Kirkus Prize in the US. Rebecca's essays and articles have appeared in Best Australian Science Writing and Best Australian Essays, as well as in The Atlantic, Granta, The New York Times Magazine, and Griffith Review.⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sitting in a snow-covered tent, surrounded by a pretty harsh environment where no horizon can be seen, in the arctic circle. Cooking with reindeer blood and learning the fascinating Sami language. Photographer Erika Larsen experienced all this when she lived with the Sami people in Scandinavia for a total of four years. She had been looking for people who lived in unity with nature and were able to interpret “their” landscapes for the rest of the world. Erika was able to gain unprecedented access into the lives, work and culture of the Sami community. Her monograph ‘Sami-Walking with Reindeer’, a reflection of her time living in the Scandinavian Arctic, was published in 2013. Erikas work has been shown all over the world, for instance in the National Geographic magazine, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington and the United States Embassy in Oslo. In 2020 she was the Eliza Scidmore Award recipient for immersive storytelling. What did she learn about Sami culture? And what does the oldest tradition in the world - storytelling - mean to her? That's what she talks about in this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.