About me

I'm a career observer and lifelong student of human behavior. I'm endlessly curious about what we do and hold dear as we navigate our short turn on this planet.

In roles spanning arts and culture institutions, the private sector, academia, primetime TV, and my own bootstrapped media company, I’ve learned to be a crack creator, curator, and communicator of ideas and stories.

I love what I do, and I love to share it with others.

Want to learn more? Propose a joint project?

Drop me a line!

My Hats

World Explorer and TV Presenter

Stories from the Field

I've explored the ruins of an ancient city in Kenya, followed the caravans of Ethiopian salt traders, investigated a Chilean desert petroglyph, traversed the brutal landscapes of Augusto Pinochet's regime, and traced 5,000 years of human history in a single day on Scotland's Orkney Islands.

Learn more about what I'm up to on The Discovery/Science Channel: What on Earth, Strange Evidence, Forbidden History, The Ancient World Unexplained Files, and Secrets in the Ice.

Watch on demand

Photo Gallery

Testing Chacabuco soil deposits to reveal sodium nitrate

The heat was too much when we first attempted to reach the sulphur lakes

The drone helped us get a handle on the massive Gedi city ruins

Mohammed gifted me with salt, the Afar's "white gold"

The nearly dried-up Atacama River basin is lethally poisonous with arsenic

Leaving the Atacama Giant for the last time. Reluctantly.

Prepping for Atacama Giant reconnaissance

“The universe is made of stories, not atoms.”

Muriel Rukeyser

Contact Me

For TV and other media appearance enquiries, please contact my representatives at the Past Preservers agency: nigel@pastpreservers.com.

For anything else, email directly. I'd love to hear from you!

karenbellinger17@gmail.com

Working Over Time Podcast

If you crave history that's the real deal, but wrapped in a lively, conversational format, you've found your time machine!

Clock in with us each Friday to check out the latest episode, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and everywhere else you tune in to your favorite podcasts.

And please do stop by our SHINY NEW Patreon page, where you can support our efforts to bring you top-quality programming each week, while unlocking exclusive bonus content and insider access to the Breakroom for yourself.

Hope to see you there, soon!