NYU Skirball to Present National Geographic Live Next Spring

This spring, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC will team up with NYU SKIRBALL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS (Michael Harrington, Executive Director) to bring its acclaimed speaker series National Geographic Live to New York City for the very first time. One of the oldest programs in National Geographic's history, Nat Geo Live will take place over multiple dates this spring at NYU Skirball (566 LaGuardia Place) and feature speakers Paul Nicklen, Carsten Peter, Jodi Cobb, and Kobie Boykins.

National Geographic Live offers audiences of all ages the chance to meet and be inspired by renowned photographers, explorers, adventurers, and scientists as they share tales of adventure and discovery. Through stunning photography and compelling storytelling, these dynamic speakers offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to capture the powerful stories and images you've seen in the pages of National Geographic magazine and on the National Geographic Channel. From our planet's most extreme environments and amazing wildlife to unique, sometimes secretive human societies-not to mention the latest discoveries from the surface of Mars-you'll get firsthand reports from the frontlines of exploration.

The award-winning lineup for National Geographic Live is as follows:

FEBRUARY 4, 2015 at 7:30 PM
Featuring PAUL NICKLEN, Spirit of the Wild

Paul Nicklen has spent a lifetime honing the skills needed to photograph wildlife in the world's most remote places, getting unforgettably intimate images of creatures most of us see only in pictures or in zoos. This award-winning work interacting with Emperor penguins, diving with walruses, and swimming alongside orcas is helping to make a difference by highlighting critical issues. Recently, he's expanded his photographic horizons to take on topics as diverse as an ancient Mayan cenote in Yucatan, and the surfing subculture among native Hawaiians, while still seeking the wilderness spirit that connects us to nature. Join this visionary National Geographic photographer for a gripping encounter with the wild spirit that animates our world.

MARCH 4, 2015 at 7:30 PM
Featuring CARSTEN PETER, Extreme Planet

Take an electrifying journey into some of our planet's most extreme environments with Carsten Peter, a German photographer and filmmaker who captures dramatic images of places few humans have dared to go. This National Geographic Explorer has rappelled into active volcanoes in the South Pacific and chased monster storms in Tornado Alley, earning a reputation for both his courage and his relentless quest to push the frontiers of exploration. Living on the edge with his camera, he searches for nature at its purest-where survival depends on his wits and his skills as a climber, paraglider, caver, and diver. "Since I was fifteen," he says, "I've never put the camera away." Voyage with him to experience our planet Earth as you've never seen it before.

APRIL 8, 2015 at 7:30 PM
Featuring JODI COBB, Stranger in a Strange Land

Join veteran National Geographic photographer Jodi Cobb on a whirlwind retrospective of a distinguished career that has spanned four decades. Known for breaking through barriers and going undercover to reveal hidden societies, Cobb has captured fascinating glimpses of worlds such as Japan's secret Geisha culture, and the cloistered lives of Saudi Arabian women. Her landmark story "21st Century Slavery" exposed a wide range of human trafficking, generating more reader accolades than any other story up to that point in National Geographic magazine's history. Travel with this inspiring woman as she chronicles her public-and private-path from young photojournalist to world-renowned photographer.

MAY 6, 2014 at 7:30 PM
Featuring KOBIE BOYKINS, Exploring Mars

Get an up-to-the-minute report on the latest discoveries on the red planet from Kobie Boykins, a NASA engineer who has played a key role in Mars exploration for over a decade. As supervisor of the mobility and remote sensing teams for the rover Curiosity, Boykins has monitored headline-making studies, including proof of the former presence of water on Mars, indicating that our planetary neighbor could have supported life. Previously, he helped design the solar arrays that enabled rovers Spirit and Opportunity to keep going long after their planned 90-day lifespan. Share this brilliant space engineer's enthusiasm for unraveling the mysteries of the solar system, as the latest chapter of Mars exploration is written in real time.

Tickets for National Geographic Live go on sale on August 1, 2014 and may be purchased online at www.nyuskirball.org or in person at the NYU Skirball Center Box Office: Tuesday-Saturday, 12:00-6:00 P.M. The NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is located at 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square, New York, New York 10012.