The Last Continent

Much of what we've heard about the coronavirus is from major cities like New York. But what's happening to hospitals in rural America, where there are more high-risk patients, fewer resources and a smaller safety net -- if there is one at all? We talk to two front-line hospital workers in southwest Georgia, and one man in West Texas who has pieced together his own supply chain to get hospitals the equipment they need. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

On a big white cruise ship, 140 tourists have paid thousands of dollars for a rare first-hand tour of Antarctica. Humans didn't set foot on the continent until about 200 years ago, but now, it draws more than 50,000 visitors a year. Why are people going today -- and how does this journey compare to the famous "Heroic Age" trek by Ernest Shackleton about a century before? PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Ron Naveen has been counting penguins on a remote, inhospitable stretch of Antarctica for nearly four decades. He's one of the few people who still counts these adorable, flightless, slightly awkward birds by hand. Penguins have survived a host of environmental changes over 60 million years. But Naveen says climate change could mean the end for two species of his favorite Antarctic birds. Here's why. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Over thousands of years, humans built civilizations on every other continent on Earth. But it wasn't until the 1800s that we arrived on Antarctica. Today, it's still a place with no indigenous population, no official government and not a single paved road. And thanks to a unique Cold War diplomatic breakthrough, Antarctica today remains a continent dedicated largely to science. How and why did humans first arrive in Antarctica? And what is it like for the men and women who live there now? PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Antarctica is covered almost entirely by thick sheets of ice, but that ice is now slipping away at an accelerating rate. Many researchers say that as the Earth continues to warm, more and more of the continent's ice will end up in the ocean. What will climate change mean for coastal communities across the globe as the sea levels rise? PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

On April 24, the PBS NewsHour releases its first original podcast series, "The Last Continent," a four-part journey to Antarctica. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders