This week we’re exploring extreme environments: from deep space to the deep sea, from frozen tundra to sweltering deserts, extreme living, and everything else that is, well ... extreme! Go beyond your comfort zone!
Yours in media,
Elizabeth He, Visual Communications Editor
This is a web edition of GBH's The Deep Dive, a weekly newsletter bringing you the best GBH has to offer.
Extreme Environments
Exposure: The North Pole
An expedition of women from around the world uses skis and hauls sledges toward true north, to reach climate change ground zero, despite the risk.
Ultramarathon in the Sahara
Listen to marathon runner Lisa Batchen talk about a six-day ultramarathon that takes place in the Saharan desert in Morocco.
Mini Black Holes
The search for dark matter may be taking a surprising turn. Could the source be primordial mini black holes, and how might they have formed? Get sucked in to find out.
Deep Sea Bioluminescence
Marine biologist Edie Widder and director Tasha Van Zandt talk about their documentary A Life Illuminated, a film that explores bioluminescence in the deep sea.
Antarctica’s Active Volcano Mt. Erebus
Mt. Erebus is the southernmost active volcano on Earth. See firsthand how breathtaking (literally) Erebus is – and why an active volcano in a land of ice is a scientific wonder.
Outback: The Kimberley Comes Alive
The Kimberley region in North West Australia boasts some of the most spectacular wilderness and tough characters in existence. We meet the humans, and the creatures who begin their adventures across this diverse and surprising landscape.
Living in the Extremes
NOVA: Knowledge Keepers
For millennia, Indigenous communities in North America have practiced a unique form of science. From navigating the featureless Arctic to building energy-efficient homes in the desert, see how cultural traditions have led to remarkable innovations.
Impossible Builds: Europe in the Desert
Can six sand islands, poking out of the Persian Gulf near Dubai, be transformed into the most luxurious holiday destination on earth? One man believes they can and he’s risking tens of millions of dollars to prove it.
Royal Flying Doctor Service
This drama series is based on real-life stories from the Outback. Follow the modern-day heroes as they navigate private lives as turbulent and profound as the heart-stopping emergencies they attend to across some of the most beautiful and inhospitable places in Australia.
The Survivalists: Put the Pedal to the Metal!
The Dixon family speeds through the desert in ATVs, and the Purefoy family scales boulders. Watch them get out of their comfort zone in extreme environments.
Pati’s Mexican Table: The Desert’s Treasures
The Coahuila Desert is a treasure trove that Pati explores piece by piece. A visit to an apple orchard evokes a cherished childhood memory for Pati, and she discovers a local secret.
Human Footprint: Vegas vs. the Desert: Plumbing the Impossible
Las Vegas thrives in one of the driest places on Earth thanks to engineering feats and strict water laws. Explore what it takes — and what it costs — to bend water to human will.
Recipe of the Week
Marbled Tahini Swirl Brownies
How about something EXTREMELY yummy? The combination of tahini and sugar replicates the sweet sesame flavor of halvah candy.
Everything Else Extreme
* In his book, Dr. Kevin Fong takes on “extreme medicine,” from deep sea to outer space. “We’re still exploring the human body and what medicine can do in the same way that the great explorers of the 20th century and every age before them explored the world,” he says.
* Where do the most extreme place names come from? Well, toponymy reveals a lot about its origins.
* Discover how an $8 billion transformation involving 7,000 workers turned LaGuardia Airport, one of the nation’s busiest aviation hubs into a state-of-the-art facility. This is extreme airport engineering.
* In the Arctic, it’s not just about muscle power but brainpower, too. Learn how sled dogs are the most extreme distance athletes on earth.
* While this sport is popular in Europe, it’s still relatively new in the U.S. What is extreme skiing in the sky?
* Author Tom French details his post-retirement Everest climb in his book Author Tom French details his post-retirement Everest climb in his new book.
GBH Birthday Trivia
How deep (pardon the pun) is your GBH knowledge? Find out by taking our new weekly trivia quiz!
This week’s question: In the 1970s, our program ZOOM introduced viewers to an extremely unusual language. What was it called?
Off Topic
1. As part of our 75th anniversary celebration, GBH is partnering with NEPM, CAI, local food banks, and community organizations to launch No Hungry Neighbors, a statewide initiative tackling food insecurity.
2. Why is AI less regulated than a NYC deli? BREAKING the DEADLOCK finds out.
3. Starting in the early 1700s, genetic deafness took a foothold on Martha’s Vineyard, where as many as one in four residents were Deaf. Can America’s first Deaf utopia ever exist again?
