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.

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