National Geographic | Weekly Escape

HOW WILDFIRES SPREAD

YOU’RE NOT SICK ANYMORE, BUT ....

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

In this Weekly Escape, we discover a secret in Greenland, examine why coughs outlast colds, learn why wildfires spread so fast, follow the fight to bring a pet cat to Antarctica, trail a grief-stricken orca ... and track down the best tea in the world.

Viruses may make us cough to spread itself, as illustrated by this simulated spray from coughing in Berlin in 2020. But what about when that virus no longer detectable, but we’re still coughing?

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTIAN JUNGEBLODT, LAIF/REDUX

... Why are you still coughing? Is it just that viral exposure has made your airways sensitive for a while? Or is there something more?

STOP THE COUGH

GOOD READS

Pets of any kind have long been banned from the research base located on Antarctica, but a cat-loving group of scientists want to change that.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RAMON ESPELT GORGOZO, ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

The surprisingly fraught fight for a pet cat in Antarctica

Wildfires can move shockingly fast. Here’s how they start—and how to stop them

This orca is carrying around another dead calf. Here’s what we know about how orcas grieve.

Warm up! What bone broth does for you

What happens to your body in the first 10 minutes of exercise?

A look inside Ellis Island during its heyday

Where in the world is the best tea found? See for yourself!

Now we know: The Mayan civilization didn‘t collapse

IN GREENLAND, A GLIMPSE OF OUR FUTURE?

Paleoclimatologist Gina Moseley led a team of scientists to Greenland’s northernmost caves, including the Wulff Land Cave (shown here). They were searching for geological time capsules—mineral specimens called speleothems that hold the climate history of a distant, warmer past.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBBIE SHONE

The first-ever exploration of these northernmost caves in suddenly popular Greenland has uncovered new evidence of our prehistoric past. See it!

Today’s Soundtrack: If I Had a Hammer, Peter, Paul, and Mary (R.I.P Peter Yarrow)

Today’s newsletter was edited and curated by David Beard and produced by Amanda Williams-Bryant. Have a suggestion for us? Let us know!

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HOW WILDFIRES SPREAD

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YOU’RE NOT SICK ANYMORE, BUT ....