National Geographic Magazine

Amazing discoveries and experiences await you in every issue of National Geographic magazine. The latest news in science, exploration, and culture will open your eyes to the world’s many wonders.

FROM the EDITOR

FROM THE SKY TO ETERNITY • The province of Madrid encompasses both sprawling capital city and the sweeping Sierra de Guadarrama—a vast region where notions of the heavenly and the everlasting can be found.

IN FOCUS • JUST IN FROM OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS

LIFTING THE STATUE • In 2021, archaeologists in AlUla made a startling discovery: A mutilated statue depicting a man was discovered hidden within a wall. It was a find that would reveal much about the history of early AlUla.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORERS • These contributors have received funding from the National Geographic Society, which is committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world.

HOW TO MAKE A HARD CLIMB MUCH, MUCH HARDER • What happens when two of the world’s best climbers add a 2,600-mile odyssey of biking, boating, rafting, and rowing just to reach one of America’s most formidable mountains?

A QUEST BY BIKE, BOAT, AND FOOT • In 2023, climbers Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold set off from Colorado on a mission to make it to Alaska’s Devils Thumb with minimal help from motors. Poor winds up north required the use of a boat engine, but otherwise they pulled it off: a 55-day expedition, powered by human strength, to reach and summit one of North America’s most challenging peaks.

GOING WHOLE HOG • Abandoned at an airport in China, then adopted by a photographer’s family, a piglet grows up—and out—in front of the camera.

AI WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE OF DISCOVERY • Artificial intelligence isn’t merely poised to change our world; it already has. And the scientific possibilities are more fantastic—and more humanizing—than we might think.

HOW AI IS GIVING SURGEONS NEW SUPERPOWERS • The skull is open; the clock is ticking. Now doctors in the operating room have a game-changing way of seeing the brain.

Do We Have to Accept That Machines Are FALLIBLE?

WHY AI IS SUPERCHARGING THE HUNT FOR ANOTHER EARTH • In the search for life, astronomers aren’t just getting a wider picture of the heavens—they’re getting a fresh look at what they might have missed.

THE AI EVOLUTION • AI systems are changing as quickly as the hardware they run on. Seventy years ago, rudimentary versions could navigate mazes. Today, they perform astronomical calculations. Tomorrow, who knows?

HOW AI IS REVEALING LOST SECRETS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD • Armed with new tools, scholars are suddenly able to read papyrus scrolls long deemed too fragile to open. The breakthrough could rewrite history.

Can We Trust What We SEE?

HOW AI IS DECODING THE HIDDEN LIVES OF ANIMALS • What are animals saying? Researchers are finally building the tools to understand.

How Do We Confront the Environmental IMPACT?

HOW AI WILL HELP PREDICT NATURAL DISASTERS • Researchers mapping the underworld are getting a richer picture of how seismic waves move—and where danger lurks.

How Can We Stop AI From Compounding the Problems of the PAST?

An ANCIENT INSPIRATION

THE SECRET STRENGTH OF CACTI • AS THE GLOBE HEATS UP, THESE DESERT PLANTS CONTINUE TO PUSH THE LIMITS OF EXTREME RESILIENCE. NOW SCIENTISTS ARE LEARNING HOW TO HARNESS THEIR SPECIAL ADAPTATIONS IN WAYS THAT CAN BENEFIT US ALL.

ETERNAL SUPPORT • Underwires and flame resistance are only the latest innovations in the millennia-long story of the bra.

INSIDE THE BOLD QUEST TO REWILD EUROPE • High in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, ambitious plans to restore ancient ecosystems are taking hold, and wolves, lynx, bison, and bears are beginning to flourish anew. But at...