National Geographic Weekend

Dean Potter died today doing what he loved in Yosemite National Park. Here is a rerun of an interview we did with Dean last June: Dogs are loyal, brave and love to go wherever their owners do. Climber, BASE jumper and wingsuit flyer Dean Potter took truism to its logical conclusion when he would bring his faithful companion Whisper, an Australian cattle dog, climbing with him throughout Yosemite National Park, which is Potter's backyard playground. For the past decade, he's been perfecting his wingsuit flying abilities and decided to share his love of flying with Whisper, sharing their gravity-defying activities in his new film, "When Dogs Fly".

This week, we swim from Cuba to Florida, then we dodge danger in Yemen on top of a camel, race on wild horses in North Dakota, and learn the secrets of Australia's roadkill.

This week we understand science deniers, search for Atlantis, eat our way through Vietnam, dive in beautiful coral reefs, and rescue big cats from Mexican circuses.

This week, we hitchhike from Tasmania to London, get a good night's sleep, protect a 300,000 miles of ocean, hike 2,600 miles in winter, and stop forests from burning down.

This week two adventurers shed tears at the South Pole and paddle from Australia to New Zealand; then we learn about eradicating malaria, which is responsible for "one half of human deaths since the Stone Age"; pick the perfect beer for all occasions; and learn about the secrets of America by night.

This week, we have a close encounter with a moose with a team of dogs; eat moths with bears and salmon brains with wolves; visit China's secret tiger farms; learn the science behind the sunrise; examine the promise of "clean coal".

This week, we find out what is the tallest mountain in Alaska's Brooks Range; swab New York City's subway system to see what bacteria we find; photograph Egypt's revolution and try not to get hurt; discover glow in the dark sharks; and learn about the new fungus that's eating our bananas.

This week, we see the world through the eyes of one of Nat Geo's top photographers and hang from a balloon to get the shot; learn that 3 mph is the perfect speed for humans and find the love of foot power; translate chimpanzee's language and learn what they're really talking about (it's food); and learn the real history of the HIV pandemic.

This week, we summit North America's tallest mountain alone in January; take photo lessons from one of National Geographic's top photographers; find the world's largest gathering of snakes in an unexpected place; know when to turn around on South Asia's tallest mountain; and celebrate "Carnevale" like an Italian.

This week, we dodge humpbacks and killer whales in a feeding frenzy, climb up a frozen Niagara Falls, explore Mexico's poisonous "snot caves", diagnose the invisible injuries of American war veterans, and visit Iraq and Syria's frigid refugee camps.

This week we adventure without preparation on a motorcycle ride from Katmandu to Paris; learn the perks of a photographer's life from the comforts of Los Angeles to the hardships of Mongolia; get abandoned on the summit of Turkey's tallest mountain with a conservation biologist; choose family over glamor and reassess mountaineering risks; and learn about cultures in transition from a nomadic lifestyle to the modern world.

This week, we learn whether or not you have to hold your breath while going off a 50-foot waterfall in a kayak, then we talk with a photographer who insists on not visiting exotic locations (and still gets published in Nat Geo Magazine), we learn how to recognize whether your pet is happy or could benefit from some Prozac, and we meet a herd of monkeys who act like horses and have befriended wolves.

This week, we climb sandstone towers in the picturesque southwestern United States with Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright for Sufferfest 2, then we mine data to save human & animal lives, make New Year's resolutions worth keeping, save prisoners by teaching them to raise frogs and turtles, and dig in some of the world's most war-torn dirt for hints of our human past.

Before we jump into 2015, we wanted to celebrate the year that was 2014 by revisiting some of our favorite moments including Boyd's sit-down with Jane Goodall on her 80th birthday, a lesson on beer do's and beer don'ts, we meet the scientist who "discovered" Ebola, and why this tiger conservationist sometimes advocates killing the cats.

Join us for a best-of some of our previous segments: searching for man-eating crocs in Africa, meet Sea World's sad orcas, learn to throw an axe with a world champ lumberjack, meet a seal that served in the Navy, and a how-to guide to building your own canoe from scratch.