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 academia, arts and culture institutions, factual 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

Archaeologist, Consultant, and TV Presenter

I present complex ideas to the viewing public in clear and engaging terms. I do background research and lead unscripted on-the-ground investigations of unexplored or unexplained sites. I advise production companies on factual content and fact-check works in progress.

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, studied Neolithic ritual structures and Iron Age cave art, and traced 5,000 years of human history in a single day on Scotland's Orkney Islands.

Watch what I'm up to on The Discovery/Science Channel (What on Earth, Strange Evidence, Forbidden History, Ancient Unexplained Files), History Channel (Secrets in the Ice), and Smithsonian Channel (Treasures).

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

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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

Neolithic standing stone, Orkney Islands

Studying ancient cave carvings in Wemyss

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!

Guest experts join us to discuss various jobs and the impact such work had (and continues to have) on local and global economies, politics, and society at large. So far, we've covered some of the more interesting ways people have made a living, from the Paleolithic to the 21st century.

Clock in with us each Tuesday for the latest episode, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts.

Stop by our website to access shownotes and behind-the-scenes bonus content: www.workingovertimepodcast.com

Hope to see you there, soon!