The cosmos is full of incredible things

When India and Pakistan gained their independence from Britain, a border was drawn between the two new countries. The split started a chain reaction of violence that led to one of the largest forced migrations in human history. More than 1 million people died in the tragedy. Both countries are now approaching 75 years of independence, and the people who were there to remember it are reaching their twilight years. This may be our last chance to hear directly from the eyewitnesses who lived through the victory of independence and the subsequent tragedy of partition. National Geographic Explorer Sparsh Ahuja has been documenting the stories of people who were forced from their homes during partition and is bringing them back to their ancestral home—if not in person then through virtual reality. 

Noah Gomes is an educator and researcher with a life-long love of birds and a passion for Hawaiian culture and language. His research into Native Hawaiian names for birds has shed light on the long-standing connections between people and birds on the islands. Noah helped reconnect the name ʻAlawī to the bird otherwise known as the Hawaiian Creeper. By exploring the links between humans and wildlife, Noah says we can find better ways to live alongside these birds, many of which are at risk of extinction.

The hills and groves were God’s first temples.
~ John Muir (My First Summer in the Sierra, 1869)