The blog

The full story behind every video, written for reading, with every source listed.

A woman inside a submersible stares out of a round porthole at a glowing blue pool on the dark sea floor, with the words "A lake down here?!"

Gulf of Mexico and the Red Sea · 6 min read

There's a Lake at the Bottom of the Ocean, and It Kills Almost Everything That Swims In

Deep-sea brine pools have shorelines, waves and a deadly chemistry. Here's how a lake forms underwater, and why scientists treat them as time capsules.

A young man in field clothes crouches at the edge of a steaming turquoise river in the jungle, holding a metal probe in the water, under the text "No volcano?!"

Shanay-timpishka, central Peruvian Amazon, Peru · 6 min read

The Amazon's Boiling River Has No Volcano for 435 Miles. Here's What Heats It

A river in the Peruvian Amazon runs close to boiling with no volcano nearby. The heat comes from deep underground, and it may preview the Amazon's future.

A gray seal pokes its head out of clear turquoise lake water, with a pine forest and snow-capped mountains behind it, under the text "A seal in a lake?!"

Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia · 6 min read

Lake Baikal Should Have Vanished Millions of Years Ago. Instead, It's Getting Deeper

Most lakes fill with mud and disappear. Siberia's Lake Baikal has lasted about 25 million years, and the reason lies miles beneath its floor.