The 2023/2024 Seattle Speaker Series brings six extraordinary National Geographic Explorers to the Benaroya Hall stage. From October 1–3, The Beginning of Us follows paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, who shares a monumental find — a new hominid species that made tools, art and even buried its dead. From January 22–24, Life On Thin Ice brings you on a journey to the Arctic north with photographer Kiliii Yüyan, the first Indigenous National Geographic Explorer to speak at the National Geographic Seattle Speaker Series. Yüyan’s presentation will illustrate the native peoples and their remarkable relationship to a frigid land and its animals. From February 25–27, Hunt for Sleeping Giants finds geothermal scientist Andrés Ruzo exploring the fiery portals to Earth’s core and revealing how smoking peaks have shaped civilizations across the globe, from Iceland to the deep Amazon.

From March 10–12, photographer and filmmaker Sandesh Kadur presents Wild Cats Revealed, giving you an up-close look at the world of wild cats like you’ve never seen before. Then from May 12–14, The Untold Story of Sharks, with shark researcher Dr. Jess Cramp, will take you on a journey through the National Geographic archives to share her work on the frontier of shark research and conservation. And finally, from June 23–25, join wildlife biologist Doug Smith for Wild Wolves of Yellowstone, a behind-the-scenes look at his decades-long quest to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone, the world’s first national park.

National Geographic Live is presented by Benaroya Hall and the Seattle Symphony. The orchestra does not perform in these programs.