Join Dr. Spencer Wells on the National Geographic channel, Sunday, August 30th at 9pm as he explores the mysteries of human origin, DNA and migration. At a little street festival in Queens, NY (possibly one of the more ethnically diverse locations on the planet) he takes DNA swabs from 200 Americans of just about every color in the rainbow. The DNA test results trace their roots back 50,000 years. Guess what? We all come from the same place!
This special, which is airing On Demand on some cable systems already, is riveting and thought provoking. It turns out that humans have a great deal in common, in spite of their religious, ethnic and skin color differences. We are all related at the molecular level.
OK, everybody can stop fighting now and get ready for the world's biggest family reunion! I'll bring the Swedish meatballs and the potato salad. Seriously, this is a wonderful science special. Set your DVR and check it out.
This is a good week for the Nat Geo Channel. The new season of the harrowing Locked Up Abroad started this past Wednesday, and the first episode "Cuzco" replays tonight at 6pm. We all know there are plenty of real-life characters on TV these days who don't deserve much sympathy -- spoiled brides-to-be, snippety would-be fashion models, the real housewives of just about anywhere -- and you might be tempted to put the hapless folks from Locked Up Abroad into that category. They often appearing to be traveling headlong into obvious trouble with messy druggy lifestyles, and maybe it's hard to drum up much concern for them.
But still...it's got to be horrible, and even worse, some of these folks are completely innocent and yet they've gotten into the most dire predicaments in grungy prisons in hot sweaty countries with dicey legal standards. Locked Up Abroad should at the very least serve as an object lesson for everybody contemplating being a drug mule for fun and profit. Just say no. Visit the LUA site on the Nat Geo website for more information and if you've got a creepy story of your own, they'd like to hear it.
Tonight Nat Geo premieres a timely documentary under their Explorer label: Inside Guantanamo takes us into the infamous prison where 9/11-related detainees are been held. With the recent announcement by Pres. Obama that he intends to close Gitmo, the disposition of the 200 men (are they all men?) is a global issue. Regardless of your politics, the ethical and legal questions raised by Guantanamo are myriad, and this special might help answer some questions for all of us.
It clearly won't be an easy two hours to watch, but it needs to be seen. Nat Geo has provided a detailed companion website for Inside Guantanamo, and it deserves a visit. A panel discussion with the filmmakers, history of the prison, and many other relevant pieces of background info are provided. Inside Guantanamo airs tonight at 9pm Eastern, with a repeat at midnight, and also a couple of plays on this coming Wednesday 4/8 at 8pm with a new Locked Up Abroad directly following. Don't miss it.
The Flaming Nose salutes Nat Geo for being a terrific channel, with a programming mandate that's always intelligent and consistently fascinating.
You might want to make room for one more presidential-themed TV special to wrap up this historic inaugural week. Tonight at 8pm the National Geographic channel will feature a wonderful documentary about the "flying White House", otherwise known as Air Force One. Watch as President Obama is welcomed aboard his new jet and given the grand tour. In a hilarious clip, the President meets his new pilot, Colonel Turner; square jawed, uniformed, straight and steady as a Redwood tree. Obama says, "You are exactly what I want my pilot to look like. Like Sam Shepherd in "The Right Stuff", right out of central casting!"
We are thrilled to consider that President O perhaps also loves our favorite astronaut movie, The Right Stuff"! We also weirdly wonder if Mr. President is a Sci Fi movie fan, and whether he worries that he will have to fight aliens or incoming comets. Because in movies where we are about to be invaded by aliens or wiped out by a comet, the American president is almost always an African American.
Nothing like that on tonight's special, just a great tour of the most high tech plane on the planet. Come and enjoy!
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