Talking with Erik Weihenmayer about the way he lives his life, and helps others live theirs, is beyond inspirational.
Weihenmayer astounded the world when he became the first, and only, blind person to climb Mount Everest. He’s also the only blind person to climb the Seven Summits, the tallest peaks on each continent.
And as if that wasn’t enough, along the way he took blind Nepalese teenagers climbing, and helped navigate injured soldiers through the mountains.
Today, he shares stories from his memoir, No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon — an inspirational odyssey through Ecuador and Peru, to Nepal and Tibet. Weihenmayer embodies the motto of his organization, No Barriers: “What’s in You is Greater than What’s in Your Way.”
Also today: In just 50 years, the number of lions on our planet dropped from 450,000 to 20,000. Who better to shed light on this than the Jouberts, back from Botswana, just in time for Big Cat Week.
Derek and Beverly Joubert are award-winning filmmakers who have been National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence for more than four years. They helped establish the Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic to raise awareness and halt the decline of these magnificent mammals. This year’s Big Cat Week features their latest film, Soul of the Cat, which takes an in-depth look at how domestic cats and their wild cousins are as alike as they are different.
Antarctica is the least explored, least understood continent on earth. Ari Friedlaender has worked there since 1997, where his ecological research program has led to many important discoveries about whales. Ari is featured in National Geographic Channel’s Continent 7.
As 2016 draws to a close and we look forward to what 2017 will bring, Vicki takes a look at holiday traditions from around the globe!
Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair airs Mondays at noon Pacific and Fridays at 6AM on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Follow Vicki on Twitterand Facebook for exclusive updates and contests!
In The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island, Kathleen Alcalá walks, wades, picks, pokes, digs, cooks, and cans, getting to know her neighbors on a much deeper level. She learns to better understand how we once fed ourselves, acknowledging that there may be a future in which we could need to do so again. Combining memoir, historical records, and a blueprint for sustainability, Kathleen shows us how an island population can mature into responsible food stewards.
Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair airs Mondays at noon Pacific or Fridays at 6AM on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!
As friends began “going back to the land” at the same time that a health issue emerged, Kathleen Alcalá set out to re-examine her relationship with food at the most local level. Remembering her parents, Mexican immigrants who grew up during the Depression, and the memory of planting, growing, and harvesting fresh food with them as a child, she decided to explore the history of the Pacific Northwest island she calls home. The result was The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island, written to remind the reader that innovation, adaptation, diversity, and common sense will help us make wise decisions about our future. Kathleen is the author of a collection of essays, The Desert Remembers My Name: On Family and Writing; three novels, including Treasures in Heaven; and a collection of short stories. She lives on Bainbridge Island.
Katherine Neville is a best-selling author and public speaker who had the honor of being the first author chosen to become a member the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Libraries in Washington, DC. As a great devotee of reading and research herself, Neville has co-created several awards and grants presented by the Smithsonian Libraries.
There is a massive extinction of biodiversity going on right under our noses, the likes of which have not been seen since the dinosaurs disappeared. Thanks to Citizen Scientists, however, we are aware of the depths of our dire straits and can make positive changes. Author and award winning journalist Mary Ellen Hannibal returns to Conversations Live to discuss her new book Citizen Scientist: Searching For Heroes and Hope in an Age of Extinction.
Listen: Five Simple Tools to Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challengesoffers readers five simple, practical skills even the most harried parent can use. Author Patty Wipfler demonstrates a practical understanding of children’s emotions and their upset moments, and shows parents how to build meaningful relationships that last a lifetime.
Listen to Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. For exclusive updates throughout the rest of the week, like us on Facebook, and follow Vicki St. Clair on Twitter!
Award Winning Environmental Journalist and Stanford Media Fellow Mary Ellen Hannibal’sexplores how volunteers are changing the very foundation of science, and saving the planet at the same time, in her new book, Citizen Scientist: Searching For Heroes and Hope in an Age of Extinction. She shows that by combining new technology and smartphone apps with the passion of amateur observers, anyone can become part of the movement to save the biodiversity that we need to thrive. The book covers skeptics, demonstrating what makes Citizen Science “real science”, and shares what apps you can use to get involved and record data right in your own backyard. Mary Ellen’s adventure of exploration and discovery was kick started by the sudden loss of her father, which prompted her to examine her own past and contemplate the larger loss of species taking place all over the world.
Listen: Five Simple Tools to Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges by Patty Wipfler uses the latest research in the fields of neuroscience and psychology, along with tens of thousands of interactions with children and their parents on five continents to give even harried, on the go parents the practical skills to connect to their children. The focus of Patty’s work since 1974 has been teaching basic listening, parenting, and leadership skills to parents. She has led over 400 residential weekend workshops for families and for leaders of parents in the U.S. and in 23 countries.
Could you imagine a world without Giant Pandas? It’s estimated there are only 1,600 of these magnificent mammals roaming wild, and China is racing to save them from extinction. Photographer Ami Vitale joins Vicki to share highlights from the premiere episode of National Geographic WILD’s new series, Panda Babies: Mission Critical — featuring three maternity centers leading the way in raising and releasing pandas into the wild.
New York Times bestseller Carla Neggers returns today to discuss the sixth installment in the celebrated “Sharpe & Donovan” series, Liar’s Key. With settings in the US and Ireland, Liar’s Key delivers an international flair and Reader to Reader calls it a “suspenseful, fast-moving thriller filled with plot twists and excitement to the delightful conclusion.”
Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair airs each Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. For exclusive updates throughout the rest of the week, like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter!
For an estimated 8 million years, Giant Pandas have been a part of the Chinese countryside, and with their numbers dwindling fast, the Chinese government is racing to keep them from the brink of extinction. Photographer Ami Vitale was on the front lines of this effort as a part of the premiere episode of National Geographic WILD’snew series, Panda Babies: Mission Critical. She shares her experiences, including some of the unique methods in getting Pandas to procreate (which are not limited to Panda porn and Panda sex toys), and some surprising facts about Panda babies. In addition to her work with National Geographic, Ami is a Nikon Ambassador who’s lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and donned a panda suit—all in keeping with her philosophy of “living the story.
Carla Neggers latest work in the “Sharpe & Donovan” series, Liar’s Key, is a thriller that hooks readers instantly with a fast-paced narrative involving whirlwind travel, a nemesis art thief and a mysterious death. Carla is the bestselling author of more than 60 novels of suspense and contemporary romance. Her popular “Sharpe & Donovan” and “Swift River Valley” series have been sold in more than 30 countries and translated into 24 languages. A world traveler herself, she lives with her family in New England.
Nature will always take its course no matter what humans do, but how much of our actions and practices are speeding up the process, and at what cost? Extinctions are inevitable, but nature should get to decide when, not us. There is plenty of time to reverse the processes that are leading to the losses of birds and mammals on a global scale. Conservationist Paul R. Ehrlich examines how we can stop the needless loss of species at our hands in The Annihilation of Nature: Human Extinction of Birds and Mammals. All royalties from this book go to the Navjot Sodhi Fund at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, which supports the work of young conservation biologists.
Enjoy this encore presentation of Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair. Vicki returns live next week. Our show airs each Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!
In The Annihilation of Nature: Human Extinction of Birds and Mammals, Paul R. Ehrlich along with two of today’s most dedicated conservationists tell the stories of the birds and mammals we have lost and those that are now on the road to extinction. These tragic tales, coupled with eighty-three color photographs from the world’s leading nature photographers, display the beauty and biodiversity that humans are squandering. But it’s not too late to reverse this trend and rescue many species from the brink of extinction. Ehrlich is the Bing Professor of Population Studies and the president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. He was presented with the distinguished World Ecology Award in 1993, and has written over 40 books on conservation issues, and countless scientific articles and essays. All royalties from Annihilation of Nature go to the Navjot Sodhi Fund at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, which supports the work of young conservation biologists.
As we approach the Paris 2015 Climate Summit, conservationist Liz Cunningham returns to talk about some of the topics that will be covered at that event as well as her call to action story of adventure and self-discovery, Ocean Country: One Woman’s Voyage from Peril to Hope in Her Quest to Save the Seas. Liz has a B.A. in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic in Maine, and in addition to her work as a conservationist has been published in numerous newspapers, magazines and journals.
“If Bridget Jones had a modern-day BFF who worked at a New York magazine, was faking a pregnancy, and was struggling with post-30 singledom, this laugh-out-loud debut would be her book!”, says international bestselling author Kristin Harmel of Meghann Foye’s hilarious debut novel Meternity, a not-so-subtle commentary on mommyhood.
National Geographic’s Ford Cochran joins us to celebrate our National Park’s 100th birthday with the latest edition of the National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States. Ford will discuss why parks are important to our heritage, the history behind how the parks came about, and why it’s important to engage our kids in nature so they’ll grow up to be ambassadors.
History, especially little-known history, is at the heart of every Steve Berry novel and his new book The 14th Colony is no exception. Publisher’s Weekly says “…Berry’s 11th Cotton Malone thriller offers a clever variation on the theme of racing against a clock to avert a national disaster. Richer characterizations and more thoughtful suspense elevate this above similar 24-like stories.”
Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair airs each Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!
Meghann Foye’s hilarious debut novel Meternity will make you uncomfortable, as a not-so-subtle commentary on the culture of mass-marketed mommyhood and, the intense pressure to settle down and spawn… made ever more intense by social media, and the challenges more and more women are feeling about being ready for all that entails… including the prospect of what they’ll have to give up at work. Meghann Foye is the Senior Web Editor at Redbookmag.com, where she covers topics such as parenting, relationships and infertility. She has previously been the deputy editor at Seventeen, senior editor at Woman’s Day, For Me and Elle.com, where she got her first taste of good strong coffee while covering fashion shows as an assistant in the Paris office.
In time for the National Park’s 100th birthday, National Geographic has released the latest edition of their flagship, best-selling National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States. This 8th edition is fully revamped and updated with all new text, photographs, and design. National Geographic writers hit all 59 national parks and Ford Cochran, author, geologist, and editor, shares how important it is to our future to help preserve these wilderness treasures. Ford is Director of Programming for National Geographic Expeditions and has written and lectured among other hats in his 20 years with the company.
Director of Programming for National Geographic Expeditions, selecting the writers, photographers, explorers, scholars, and staff the Society sends to destinations around the world. – See more at: http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/experts/ford-cochran/detail#sthash.BkzFPrXE.dpuf< br/>
What happens if both the president and vice-president-elect die before taking the oath of office? The answer is far from certain—in fact, what follows would be nothing short of total political chaos. New York Times Bestseller Steve Berry returns to Conversations Live to take us on another Cotton Malone adventure with his latest book The 14th Colony, the 11th in his series featuring his now iconic character. Steve is also a #1 international bestseller with over 20 million books in print in over 50 countries around the world. History lies at the heart of every Steve Berry novel. It’s his passion, one he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, which led them to create History Matters, a foundation dedicated to historic preservation.
Onboard the Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace, Vicki St. Clair
Today Vicki takes a field trip with Greenpeace Captain Joel Stewart and Senior Campaign Manager Jackie Dragon onboard the Rainbow Warrior to discuss some of their current projects, as well as how they respond to criticism of Greenpeace at large. They also give an inside point of view on the controversial arrest of the Arctic 30 by Russia.
Captain Stewart shares the importance of marine preserves and the health of the Bering Sea to our ecology. He discusses why fish farming is not a good solution for ecosystems or feeding humans — and why that won’t even matter unless we get climate change and CO2 under control.
Jackie Dragon shares details of a new species, more on the science of the Bering Sea, and why it’s critical to the survival of Native Alaskan communities. By the way, the Rainbow Warrior was specifically built for this campaign, making it a unique ship. If you can get down to visit it on tour, do it!
Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair airs every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM and 94.9FM HD.
Talking with Erik Weihenmayer about the way he lives his life, and helps others live theirs, is beyond inspirational.
than the Jouberts, back from Botswana, just in time for Big Cat Week.