This is an online log of Jennifer Kingsley’s, where she makes some updates and writes about the things in her world.
I’ve just spent five weeks in Tahiti and the Cook Islands with Master Navigator Tua Pittman, and I’ve been learning to write biography. I spent many hours listening to one person tell his story, and during this month – more than any other time in my career – listening opened me to new worlds.
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…
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…
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…
Wa’xaid was also known as Cecil Paul. He was Xenaksiala from Xesdu’wäxw, what they call the Kitlope on the British Columbia coast, and he lived to be 90 years old.
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…
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…
I love telling stories on stage, to camera, or live for web-based events. Stories are made to be shared, and presenting is one of my favourite ways to bring them to life. I always make time for new bookings. I’ve presented at several live and web-based events with the National Geographic Society and National Geographic…
It was an honour to be part of Women’s History Month this year along with 30 other women who were profiled by Lindblad Expeditions. Check out this video they made for the occasion: They built a web page dedicated to female explorers, with one story per day.
Here is a story I wrote for National Geographic Russia. This story appeared both on-line and in the printed magazine in Russia in February, 2019. It’s a similar but shorter version of the English story that ran digitally.
National Geographic ran a pilot project at the University of Virginia this month. The organizations worked together to create one day of presentations and discussions and another day of workshops, all with the goal of supporting students to think creatively about their futures. It was an honour to be part of this day and of…
Here is Meet the North’s next National Geographic story. With each new border and political shift, the indigenous women of Chukotka, Russia adjust to maintain their heritage and survive. Read about how they survive through my words and Eric’s photos. “We were eating more than I thought possible, including jellied whale casserole and fresh apricot buns,…
I was invited to talk with filmmaker/photographer Austin Meyer on his storytelling podcast. We spoke about Meet the North and finding stories. “In this conversation, Jennifer and I talk about how she developed a love for both writing and exploration, her fascinating 3-year project called Meet the North in which she attempted to make authentic…
In preparation for a return to the Russian Far East this summer with Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic, photographer Erika Larsen and I answered a few questions. Erika: It is hard to say how this region will change travelers because I believe the way we interact with new landscapes and cultures is so individual. Jennifer:…
Lindblad Expeditions has been my main sponsor since 2015. Sometimes they ask Eric Guth and me to share some stories and images from our field work, and I wanted to share some samples with you. I’ve written about the Russian Far East: “The flight only took an hour; it’s hard to believe that two different…