For 'Secret Lives of Orangutans,' David Attenborough became the oldest Emmy Award winner

David Attenborough received the 2021 Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award

The UN's highest environmental honor celebrated Attenborough as "one of the leading voices of the global environmental movement." For at least four decades, he collaborated with the UN Environment Programme by advocating for "efforts to counter the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution" and addressing "world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference" in 2021.

David Attenborough reflects on some of his most moving natural encounters

The legendary natural historian has had more direct encounters with wildlife than most people in history. As he turned 99, the Englishman recounts his favorite encounters with marine life, from whales to capuchin monkeys in mangroves. Despite the obstacles the environment faces, Attenborough believes in nature's resilience.

The BAFTAs won by David Attenborough, the only person to win across five visual display formats

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts awarded the naturalist for programming in black and white, color, high definition, 3D, and 4K resolution, starting with his first BAFTA in 1961. The VR film "David Attenborough's Great Barrier Reef" also won a BAFTA for London-based Alchemy VR in the Digital Creativity category.

Watch every episode of David Attenborough's 'Life on Earth' series

A three-year global expedition by Attenborough and his team produced the television series, which debuted in the UK in 1979 and documented over 600 species in 40 countries. The series is estimated to have been seen by over 500 million people in more than 100 territories, including within the US, where is debuted on PBS in 1982.

Watch David Attenborough's unexpected interaction with a family of gorillas on 'Life on Earth'

On the border between Rwanda and the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, Attenborough used specific vocalizations and behaviors to approach a female gorilla peacefully, only to have two of her children lie down on him. Through a comical exchange, the incident helps show the creatures to be the opposite of the aggressive, violent stereotypes about them.

Walt Disney holds the record for the most Oscars won by an individual

Disney received 59 nominations and a total of 22 competitive awards and four honorary awards. Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Jack Nicholson all have the most awards for male actors (three each), while Katharine Hepburn is the actress with the most awards, winning four times.

See hilarious photos from the Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025

Napping frog princes, annoying lion husbands, and kung fu sea eagles are just some of the charming shots you'll find among the finalists for the award.

Bill Nye received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded its 2,821st star to Nye for his "dedication in making science accessible and entertaining for all ages through his iconic educational show." Former "Almost Live!" colleagues Joel McHale and Ross Shafer spoke in Nye's honor during the ceremony.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

The 2018 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded for creating tweezers out of light

At 96, Arthur Ashkin became the oldest person to win a Nobel Prize in Physics for demonstrating how lasers can hold and measure objects, a technique that has since been used to explore microbiological environments. The award was also given to Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for developing a method of creating optical pulses.

'The Simpsons' celebrated 800 episodes in 2026

The beloved family from Springfield reached a milestone in 2026, surpassing 800 episodes. In this Associated Press feature, the show's creators and stars reflect on the series' history, from its controversial early days to its present-day status as an elder statesman of comedy.

Martha Stewart lands Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover at 81

At 81, lifestyle icon Martha Stewart appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit edition, marking the oldest woman to do so in the magazine's 59-year history. The magazine described the photo shoot as an embrace of changing beauty...

A 1981 wedding on 'General Hospital' drew 30 million viewers

The wedding of Luke and Laura was a pop culture sensation and remains the most-watched episode of any show in daytime television history. Even Elizabeth Taylor wanted to get in on the fun, requesting she be written into the episode, which the show’s staff happily made happen.

The story of Marion Stokes, a woman who taped 30 years of TV

Marion Stokes was an activist archivist frustrated at the lack of a record or access to what was broadcast on TV. So in 1975, Stokes began taping the broadcasts, day and night, 24 hours a day, and continued to do so for 30 years, racking up over 70,000 tapes that span the Iran Contra crisis to the evolution of cable news. Read about her fascinating story here.

10 ways David Letterman changed late-night TV

Late-night TV is an American institution with its own tropes and traditions. While Johnny Carson is often noted as the model for late-night hosts, the modern notion of the format owes just as much (if not more) to David Letterman, who redefined the model in the early 1980s. This list from ABC News ranks the 10 ways Letterman accomplished that, using one of Letterman's classic bits to honor the man's legacy.

Warren Buffett retired at the age of 95

Buffett said that he would pull back from his day-to-day role leading Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025. This long-form retrospective on his career paints him as an increasingly unique American role model.

Watch this behind-the-scenes interview about the first person ever diagnosed with autism

Two reporters from The Atlantic tell the story behind their effort to track down the first diagnosed autism patient, Donald Gray Triplett, in Forest, Mississippi, and how his life turned out decades later.

A day in the life of a Guinness World Record judge

Philip Robertson travels the world each week to see another ambitious person set a record. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at being one of Guinness World Record's adjudicators.

'Bluey' actors didn't meet for four years, and the kids' identities are secret

The hit cartoon show from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation first debuted in 2018 and later became a global hit after being licensed to Disney. Main voice actors Melanie Zanetti and David McCormack recorded their voices for four years before meeting in person ahead of an appearance on Jimmy Fallon. Learn more tidbits about the show here.

Blue zones are regions with unusually high numbers of centenarians

Factors thought to contribute to longevity in these regions include diet and social connections, but their legitimacy is often questioned due to a lack of rigorous scientific methodology and potential record inaccuracies.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

One man lived with a gene-edited pig kidney for 271 days, a record

In October 2025, Tim Andrews had his gene-edited pig kidney removed because it was no longer working well. He had the transplanted organ for 271 days—surpassing the prior record of a patient who functioned with one for 130 days. Andrews remains on the kidney transplant wait list to receive a donated kidney from a human, but he has a particularly hard-to-match blood type, making it challenging to get the organ.

Roughly 830 people are invited to anonymously vote for winners

These anonymous voters must see every show in order to weigh in with their vote, meaning a big part of being a voter is a time commitment: Every season has at least 30 unique productions to see.

Queen Elizabeth's 70-year pen-pal in North Dakota

Adele Hankey, 96, a resident of Park River, North Dakota, has exchanged letters with the late Queen Elizabeth II for 70 years on their shared birthday.

'Don’t try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won’t live long enough to find out about, but I’m still curious about them.'

- Actress Betty White (1922-2021)

Meet the new baby Asian elephant at the Fort Worth Zoo

Born on April 1, 2026, the 285-pound calf named Sam Houston was on his feet within six minutes of birth and nursing within an hour. He is the largest calf in zoo history and the fourth generation of an elephant family that has called the Fort Worth Zoo home.

The remarkable journey of 'Jeopardy'-winner Harvey Silikovitz

Harvey Silikovitz first auditioned for to play on "Jeopardy" in 2001. Twenty-four years later, Silikovitz got the rare chance to appear on the show and won a whopping $23,600 cash prize. Read his journey to see how the attorney went from initially hating the game show to becoming a "Jeopardy" champion.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

An Ebola vaccine was developed during the 2018 west African Ebola outbreak, but the 2026 Ebola outbreak is with a different species of the virus, not the one that the vaccine is approved to treat.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'