Jennifer Kingsley

is a journalist & storyteller who specializes in personal stories from around the world

Writer & Producer

Jennifer Kingsley is a National Geographic Explorer, the Field Correspondent for Lindblad Expeditions, an award-winning journalist, and a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

See Jenny’s portfolio

About

Jennifer’s work is founded in courage, intuition, and creativity. She believes in the power of personal stories, and she’s traveled the world the find them. She works solo and as part of a team. Read more about Jennifer.

Meet the North

Jennifer founded this project to build cultural understanding through storytelling, and to learn about the north from the people themselves. It took her to six Arctic nations over three years. Read about Meet the North.

Paddlenorth

Paddlenorth: Adventure, Resilience, and Renewal in the Arctic Wild, Jennifer’s first book, won the National Outdoor Book Award. It’s the story of her 54-day Arctic canoeing expedition. More about Paddlenorth.

Let me tell you a story

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Can I change your mind?

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Updates
At some level, stories are about influencing people, but the results of our stories are not always tangible. That changes when it comes to vaccination and our ability to get individuals to take the shot, or not. I learned a lot on this subject from This American Life‘s episode “The Herd,” especially Act Two “The…
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Climate storytelling at Georgetown University

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Updates
I’m teaching a class in climate storytelling at Georgetown University this week.  I remember the day someone suggested I was avoiding climate change in my work, perhaps because I have rarely made it the main focus of my stories. I reflected on that feedback for a long time before I could articulate how personal stories…
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Makatea in Courrier International

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Updates
Our first story about the French Polynesian island of Makatea came out on May 4, 2021 with Hakai Magazine. There’s also an audio edition, which was a lot of fun for me to read! Now the story is running again, this time in French, with Courrier International. This will make the story more accessible for…
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Video release! “Meet the Marquesas” films

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Updates
Stories are made to be shared, and today I am proud to share my first series of documentary films with you. “Meet the Marquesas” is here! These four short episodes focus on people we met in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia in 2018 and 2019. Our three-person team used a method I have come…
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Explorer Classroom with National Geographic

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Updates
National Geographic Education uses its global network to help Explorers from all over the world interact with students. Through live, hosted web events, we present on our work and then take questions. On April 27th, 2020, I was part of the first ever Explorer Classroom to be translated into American Sign Language (ASL). I learned…
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Unprecedented, yes and no

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Updates
I wrote my friend Poemoana Teri’inohora’i in Tahiti the other day. Because of Covid-19, I will not see her this year, and I was feeling sad. She replied: “What a sad illness, and I hope it won’t be a repeat of the diseases suffered by our islands in centuries past.” (see below for her original…