National Geographic Live Speaker Series Announced for Benaroya Hall

Subscriptions are on sale now for the upcoming 20th Season of the Seattle National Geographic Live Speaker Series presented by the Seattle Symphony. Demand for the series has grown each year; and all presentations for all six lectures in the 2016-2017 season will be in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium. Single event tickets go on sale August 13 at 10am.

National Geographic Live presents their most dynamic explorers, scientists, archaeologists, and photographers, each sharing stories from the front lines of exploration. Award-winning video and digital images animate the presentations, which conclude with a lively question-and-answer session with audience members. After most events, speakers will be on hand to sign copies of their books or DVDs.

Prices for the six-show series start at $168 for general public, $159 for Seattle Symphony subscribers and National Geographic members and $156 for students; single tickets start at $32 for adults and $26 for students. Visit www.benaroyahall.org or call 206.215.4747 for more information. The Benaroya Hall Ticket Office is on the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street. Ticket Office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m.

Details and descriptions for each of the six events are listed below.

A Photographer's Life of Love & War

Lynsey Addario, photojournalist

Sunday, October 23, at 2 p.m.

Monday, October 24, at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, October 25, at 7:30 p.m.

Note: This presentation contains graphic images suitable only for mature audiences.

Why would anyone willingly plunge headfirst into the war-torn areas of Afghanistan, Darfur or Libya? For photojournalist Lynsey Addario, the short, simple answer is also the title of her memoir: It's What I Do. In focusing on humanitarian and human rights issues, Lynsey has built her career on capturing powerful images in dangerous environments around the world. Despite death threats and kidnappings, she continues photographing pivotal subjects for National Geographic, The New York Times and Time. Join the Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist as she chronicles her harrowing work and explains what drives her - despite having a family - to keep going back.

Lynsey began photographing professionally for the Buenos Aires Herald in Argentina in 1996 with no previous photographic training or studies. She eventually began freelancing for the Associated Press in New York, where she worked for several years before moving abroad to New Delhi, India to cover South Asia. In 2000, Addario first traveled to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to document life and oppression under the Taliban, and has since covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Darfur and Congo. She photographs features and breaking news focused on humanitarian and human rights issues across the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. In 2015, American Photo Magazine named Lynsey as one of five most influential photographers of the past 25 years, saying she changed the way we saw the world's conflicts.

Point of No Return

Hilaree O'Neill, mountaineer

Sunday, January 22, at 2 p.m.

Monday, January 23, at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 24, at 7:30 p.m.

In the fall of 2014, a National Geographic team set out on what they knew would be a harrowing journey to the summit of Burma's Hkakabo Razi to determine if it is indeed Southeast Asia's highest point. What they didn't realize was that the greatest obstacle wouldn't be their dwindling rations, or the grueling jungle hikes, or the life-threatening hypothermia. It was the force of conflicting personalities that threatened to unravel the entire endeavor. Leader Hilaree O'Neill recounts the tough decisions she had to make to keep the team together, accompanied by photographer Cory Richard's dramatic stills and clips from Renan Ozturk's searing documentary, Down to Nothing.

For Hilaree O'Neill, skiing is the gateway to possibility. She started skiing at age 3 at Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. She took a leap of faith shortly after graduating from Colorado College and moved to Chamonix, France. In many ways, her five years in Chamonix served as a second round of college in that this where she was introduced to the world of big mountain skiing and climbing. From there, the place for Hilaree was anywhere she could cut turns on mountain slopes: volcanoes in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia, in Mongolia, India, Lebanon, and first descents of the tight couloirs of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. Her mountain adventures led Outside Magazine to name Hilaree one of the most adventurous women in the world of sports.

The Risky Science of Exploration

Kenny Broad, environmental anthropologist

Sunday, February 26, at 2 p.m.

Monday, February 27, at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, February 28, at 7:30 p.m.

It takes a special kind of person to plunge willingly into a subaquatic cave in Cuba, or risk his life reporting on cocaine trafficking in Jamaica, or chase venomous snakes across Vietnam. Fortunately, environmental anthropologist Kenny Broad is an extra special kind of person. National Geographic's 2011 Explorer of the Year, Broad finds a surprising amount to laugh about as he shares stories of his triumphs, his tragedies and his just plain weird experiences while watching science evolve to further our knowledge of the world.

Environmental anthropologist, Dr. Kenny Broad, has participated in extreme scientific and filmmaking expeditions on every continent - from studying cocaine distribution patterns to venomous snakes to the deepest caves on the planet - to gather information and samples that shed light on little known environmental and cultural subjects. He regularly collaborates with ecologists, climatologists, hydrologists, psychologists and a range of other strange 'ologists'. Kenny led the Bahamas Blue Hole Project which appeared as a cover story in National Geographic, with photos from the late Wes Skiles, with whom he was awarded 2011 National Geographic Explorer of the Year. He is a professor at the University of Miami's (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, is Director of UM's Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, and also Co-Directs the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University, where he received his PhD in 1999.

Beauty & the Bizarre

Anand Varma, photographer

Sunday, March 19, at 2 p.m.

Monday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m.

When Anand Varma takes a photograph of a parasitic wasp consuming a caterpillar from the inside, he doesn't want to you to be disgusted. He wants you to be astonished. After all, he's devoted years of his life to perfecting his techniques to create dramatic, bizarre - and beautiful - images of the miniature world around us. In these truly unique images, he reveals the secret life cycle of the honeybee, captures the lightning-fast behaviors of hummingbirds and offers a rare glimpse at our world's small wonders.

Photographer Anand Varma grew up exploring the streams and wooded lots near his childhood home in Atlanta, Georgia. As a teenager, he picked up his dad's old camera on a whim and found that he could use it to feed his curiosity about the natural world - and to share his adventures and discoveries with others. After graduating with a degree in integrative biology from UC Berkeley, Varma now helps biologists communicate their research through photographs. His work tells the story behind the science on everything from primate behavior and hummingbird biomechanics to amphibian diseases and mangrove forests.

The Mystery of our Human Story

Lee Berger, paleoanthropologist

Sunday, April 2, at 2 p.m.

Monday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m.

It is no exaggeration to say that paleoanthropologist Lee Berger's 2013 discovery of Homo naledi signaled a profound shift in our understanding of human evolution. In a secret chamber of the remote Rising Star cave system near Johannesburg, South Africa, a massive collection of bones was discovered by his explorers, assisted by recreational cavers. So he rapidly assembled a team of "underground astronauts" with caving experience, scientific backgrounds and the kind of physique that could fit in a chute averaging 7.9 inches in width. What they found suggested something unprecedented - ritual burial, a practice long thought to be unique to Homo sapiens. And that was just the beginning.

Lee Berger is an award-winning researcher, author, speaker and paleoanthropologist. He is the Research Professor in Human Evolution and the Public Understanding of Science at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. He is the recipient of the National Geographic Society's first Prize for Research and Exploration and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, a Member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa and a Fellow of the Explorers Club. His explorations into human origins in Africa over the past two-and-a-half decades have resulted in many new and notable discoveries, including the most complete early hominin fossils found so far, which belong to a new species of early human ancestor, Australopithecus sediba, and, in 2013, the richest early hominin site yet found on the continent of Africa. Among other positions, Berger serves on the advisory board of the Global Young Academy.

Mankind to Mars

Andrew Fazekas, space correspondent

Sunday, May 14, at 2 p.m.

Monday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m.

The year is 2032. Welcome aboard the first manned mission to Mars. Ahead of you lies about 45 million miles of empty space, followed by an 18-month assignment on a planet of globe-spanning dust storms, average temperatures of -55°C (-70°F) and a toxic atmosphere of carbon dioxide. This is the most thrilling adventure of your life, and National Geographic space expert Andrew Fazekas, The Night Sky Guy, is excited to take you there. Produced in tandem with National Geographic Channel's groundbreaking new miniseries, MARS, this lively conversation finds Fazekas making predictions about the epic voyage with leading Mars authorities. Meanwhile, stunning feature-film-quality visuals and expert interviews produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Michael Rosenberg explore how those predictions may play out. Our first footstep on Mars is as close as two decades away, and Mankind to Mars offers a glimpse into the minds of the brilliant scientists and engineers who are working to take our next giant leap.

Andrew Fazekas, aka The Night Sky Guy, is a science writer, broadcaster and lecturer who shares his passion for the wonders of the universe through all media. He is a columnist for National Geographic where he authors the popular online weekly StarStruck column, and is also a syndicated space news contributor on radio and TV networks. Andrew is the author of STAR TREK The Official Guide to Our Universe: The True Science Behind the Starship Voyages which explores the real science of the popular science-fiction series on its 50th anniversary.

About National Geographic Live

National Geographic Live is the live events division of the National Geographic. With a broad roster of talent including renowned photographers, scientists, authors, filmmakers and adventurers, National Geographic Live's critically acclaimed programs have connected with audiences worldwide for over a century. Currently, National Geographic Live events are held in over 30 cities around the world, including New York, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney. In each of these cities, speakers share behind-the-scenes stories from the front lines of exploration on stage alongside stunning imagery and gripping footage. For more information, visit natgeolive.org.

About National Geographic Partners LLC:

National Geographic Partners LLC, a joint venture between National Geographic Society and 21st Century Fox, combines National Geographic television channels with National Geographic's media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic Studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children's media; and ancillary activities that include travel, location-based entertainment, archival sales, catalog, licensing and e-commerce businesses. A portion of the proceeds from National Geographic Partners LLC will be used to fund science, exploration, conservation and education through significant ongoing contributions to the work of the National Geographic Society. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com and find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

About Benaroya Hall

Benaroya Hall is home of the Seattle Symphony and venue of choice for many local arts organizations. It is located on an entire city block in downtown Seattle and is surrounded by numerous restaurants, retail stores and parking facilities. The hall has two performance spaces - the 2,500-seat S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium and the 540-seat Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall - and a 430-stall underground parking garage. Over 450,000 people participate in public and private events annually, making Benaroya Hall the most-visited performing arts venue in Seattle. Benaroya Hall has received numerous awards, including a 2001 American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Honor Award for outstanding architecture. For additional information, including rental information, event listings and public tour schedules, please visit www.benaroyahall.org.

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