Travel
Recycled whirligigs remain a fixture in the Japanese countryside
A constant fixture of National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek’s journey through rural Japan was the whirligig, or as he called them, “seismic scarecrows.” Gardeners he spoke to use these contraptions to scare away crop pests like mice and foxes. Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with Salopek about the whirligigs, rural Japanese architectural aesthetics and how he got aboard a cargo ship to cross to North America.
Australians stranded amid the pandemic take their case to the UN
A year ago, the pandemic hit suddenly — stopping transportation, closing borders and stranding many people outside their own countries. A year later, many Australians remain stranded. They’re struggling to get people back home and to bring attention to their plight.
