In 1956, the National Guard descended on Clinton, Tennessee, to protect 12 black students enrolled in the newly integrated Clinton High School. Ultimately, the troops weren’t enough to keep the peace. Who were the Clinton 12?
From the arctic tundra to the great planes, the kingdom of the wolf extends across the entire northern hemisphere. They are icons of the wilderness, spectacular creatures that live and die by the sword.
All over the world, while many species are under threat of extinction, raccoons are experiencing an unprecedented expansion. Behind their innocent, cute look hides an outstanding survivor's temperament. When it comes to feeding and defending themselves, raccoons are capable of anything.
Like a sea of grass, the savannah, prairie, and meadows are among the most productive habitats on Earth, housing some of the greatest concentrations of big game and the most dramatic interactions of predator and prey.
Forests are dense, dark habitats, a realm of shadows, ideal for predators to stalk, whether it’s mink on the forest floor, goshawks in the canopy, and the big predators, lynx, and wolves in between
"Thunder Road", a term coined to identify the nighttime route from Harlan, Kentucky, to Knoxville, Tennessee, traveled by illegal whiskey haulers. Tracing its origins to European immigrants who showed up with barely a shirt on their back and a recipe for making hooch.
Slime's a funny thing, weird and wonderful. It can help salamanders to wet so they can breathe through their skin, provide a life-support bubble or developing frogs and even get snails from A to B.
What started in the 1970s as a gathering of hippies became what is known as the whitewater industry and Steep Creek Kayaking. Where boaters are pulled underwater by rapids, spit out downstream and come back for more.
Mini oceans inland, lakes are treasure troves of aquatic wonders, each zone, from the depths to the surface, the banks to the mud at the bottom, hosts its own animal communities of predators and prey. Fish, birds, insects, even mammals, enjoy the bounty of their freshwater home.
Ghosts and ghouls go bump in the night, but so do many of the planet's most weird and wonderful creatures. The list of the secret creatures of the dark is endless, fascinating, and bizarre.
They might not look as impressive as wolves, but the little dogs of the world are just as complex and endearing. By following dog families from across the world, we’ll see the similarities and differences in how they live, from how they interact and defend themselves to how they find food.
We all know antelopes as the prey of lions. They represent food to many of the predators of the plain and so it’s hardly surprising that they stick together in groups, seeking safety in numbers, with more pairs of eyes to spot danger.
Few animals have more complex societies and interactions than elephants. For these slow-growing, long-lived animals, survival is totally dependent on knowledge passed down from family members and from the constant support of the herd. It’s no wonder we find them so endearing.
All habitats present challenges to life, but few more so than the desert, but still, even here, life abounds, from little foxes to speed lizards and light-footed gazelles to huge camels. Each one finds its own ways to exploit and conserve food and water, creating new dramas every day.
The FAST radio telescope is the biggest ever built—and can detect signals emitted tens of thousands of light years away. From technological innovations to architectural challenges and first results, follow each step that gave birth to a tool designed to prove we aren’t alone in the universe.
Ask what the most dangerous animal is and most will say a lion or tiger, and true, they have the power to kill, but far more people are killed by hippos or buffalo, even domestic cows, pigs, and especially dogs.
Feeling out of shape? You're not alone. The pandemic has totally crushed most exercise routines. But a revolution in "connected fitness" is changing that, bringing hi-tech gear, live instruction and social interaction right into our homes.
We are a funny bunch with our superstitions, and it's surprising how many of them involved animals. It can be good or bad luck to see a cat, magpies, and pigs are believed to bring good luck and prosperity.
It’s tough out in nature, but many creatures are forced or choose to leave it all behind and seek a new life in the urban jungle. For some, it is life on the breadline, while others find a land of opportunity.
Some creatures play hard and die young. Small bodies are more susceptible to heat loss need a lot of calories to stay warm. With high metabolisms, creatures like shrews, hummingbirds, and porpoises must devote their lives to eating and might perish between meals.
Much loved, clowns of the sea, seals are endlessly fascinating. Agile hunters and graceful in the water, and yet bloated sausages on land, seals entertain us with dramatic courtships, an endless playful sense of curiosity, and some of the cutest fluffy white babies on the planet.
In 1925, one of the greatest legal showdowns in history happened in the quaint town of Dayton, TN where Clarence Darrow squared off against William Jennings Bryan about Darwin’s theory of evolution. One man wasn’t prepared to be swept up in a trial that would change American education forever.
We take our features, our noses, eyes, and ears for granted, but they are pretty weird things until you look at the nose of a tapir or desman, the eyes of a cuttlefish or chameleon, or the ears of a seal or elephant. There is an almost endless variety of designs, and some are downright odd!
This talk is given by Steve Brusatte of University of Edinburgh.
