National Geographic’s Overheard Podcast Returns For Season Five

 On January 26th, the fifth season of National Geographic’s Podcast "Overheard"  will preview a trailer for listeners.

 Hosted by Peter Gwin, Editor at Large at National Geographic, and Amy Briggs, Executive Editor of National Geographic History magazine, season five kicks off on Tuesday, February 2nd. 

 Listed as the #1 science series on Apple Podcasts, Overheard invites listeners with real life adventurers on an audio escapade of discovery beyond the magazine to “inspire the explorer in everyone.”

For more than a century, National Geographic helped make people see the world through photography, and now they’re helping them hear it through sounds of the outside world. 

"Legacy media brands like National Geographic that have branched out into different media formats like podcasts have continued to fascinate long-time loyal listeners while attracting new listeners," notes podcast consultant George Witt.

 

 "In 2021, our Overheard team will take you on an ambitious series of journeys, from the canyon labyrinths of the Gila Wilderness to the farthest reaches of Mars," said  Davar Ardalan, Executive Producer of Audio – Podcasting. 

"We'll trek up icy cliff faces in search of snow leopards, learn the whistles and clicks of orca mothers on the hunt, and delve into what makes a musical genius. As we pursue these mysteries and ponder crucial questions, you’ll hear the voices and characters of emerging explorers as they venture to the far corners of our planet and beyond," Ardalan continues.

Guided by its yellow borders and north star that has imparted National Geographic’s iconic legacy for the last 133 years, the magazine and podcast provides a glimpse of life on the other side of the planet, in the deepest jungles, driest deserts and coldest terrains, searching for nature’s most elusive creatures. Solitary in nature, we’ll travel to the Himalayas to explore snow leopards in a forbidden landscape.

 From there, the podcast blasts off to outer space to answer the age-old question alongside engineers and explorers-- Mars may now be considered a barren, icy desert but did Earth's nearest neighbor once harbor life? Ultimately, exposing the red planet in new ways we’ve never seen before. 

And then, the podcast will uncover Greek myths, tell tales of Amazons, fearsome women warriors; we’ll explore how war can’t stop a scientist determined to uncover humans’ path out of Africa; and a deep dive on where musical genius comes from, and how do we know it when we hear it?

Over an eight-week season, co-Host Peter Gwin, National Geographic Editor at Large, and Amy Briggs, Executive Editor of History magazine, put on their masks and dive into the curiously delightful conversations they’ve overheard at National Geographic’s headquarters, Zooms, Slack chats, texts, closet recordings sessions and all. Along the way, listeners will be introduced to explorers, photographers and scientists, who’ll share their engaging experiences from the field as we follow them to the edges of our big, bizarre, and beautiful world.

As an immersive storytelling experience with real life adventurers, Nat Geo’s Overheard at National Geographic is a companion medium and extension of the brand that goes beyond photography and journalism, further exploring the magazine as a fascinating space and avenue for exploration. In this season, Overheard continues to bring curiosity front and center, bringing listeners right to the action.

“For 132 years, National Geographic’s storytelling capability has been the core of our brand,” says Whitney Johnson, vice president and director of Visuals and Immersive Experiences at National Geographic. “Now Peter and Amy take us even further along in our commitment to bring Nat Geo’s fact-based storytelling to global audiences with another season of 'Overheard.'”

In an interview last year, Johnson noted, "At its core, Overheard is a podcast about science and exploration - about archeology, natural history, and human behavior. And while it's true that these topics resonate with our audience, that alone isn't enough. Each episode needs a story with a leading character, an element of surprise, and a narrative arc. Oh, and fun. Overheard is fun to listen to. We try to bring the excitement that the scientists feel to the listeners. And we want to keep it that way."

"Many legacy brands have entered the podcasting space with high hopes and strategies for brand extension," says podcasting consultant George Witt. "With Overheard, National Geographic has scored a win because they didn't just aim to make an audio version of their magazine. Instead, they took the time and effort to carefully curate a companion medium and extension of the brand that goes beyond photography and journalism, further exploring the magazine as a fascinating space and avenue for exploration."

“For decades, National Geographic's photography and journalism have been at the core of everything we create,” says Whitney Johnson. “Now co-hosts Peter Gwin and Amy Briggs bring the DNA of Nat Geo - our commitment to deeply-reported, immersive storytelling - directly to the next generation of smart, curious people.” 

"People think of National Geographic in its magazine and films as predominately visually focused," notes George Witt. "But if you watch any of their nature documentaries, you soon realize that they infuse so much energy in the sounds of nature -- ice falling from a glacier into the bay or birds harmonizing on a sunny fall morning or the pulsating hum of a beehive, you soon realize that the sonic world is as important to them as the visual world.

"That ability to be multi-sensory is what makes Overheard so compelling," Witt remarks.