The 10½ Greatest Adventures on Earth with Richard Bangs

After half a century of exploration across some of the world’s most remote and politically complex landscapes, from Angola to Zimbabwe and North Korea to Iran, explorer and storyteller Richard Bangs arrives at The Adventurers Club on June 11 for the premiere of a new multimedia presentation inspired by his latest book, The 10½ Greatest Adventurers on Earth. Blending epic expeditions with surprisingly accessible adventures, Richard reflects on the places, moments, and discoveries that shaped a lifetime of exploration, while paying tribute to the pioneering adventurers whose paths made modern exploration possible.

Often called the father of modern adventure travel, Richard has spent more than 30 years leading expeditions, producing groundbreaking travel media, and redefining how audiences experience the world. He led first descents of 35 rivers worldwide, including the Yangtze in China and the Zambezi in Southern Africa, and co-directed the acclaimed IMAX film Mystery of the Nile and co-authored the Putnam book of the same name. His work spans more than 1,000 published articles, 19 books, award-winning documentaries, including Emmy-winning PBS series, Richard Bang’s Adventures with Purpose (www.adventureswithpurpose.tv) and two-time Emmy-winning series Quest for the Viking Spirit, and pioneering digital travel platforms. Richard was also part of the founding executive team of Expedia and helped shape some of the earliest innovations in online travel storytelling and media.

Richard Bangs serves as co-founder and Chief Adventure Officer of Steller.co, now one of the world’s leading travel storytelling platforms. Throughout his career, his work has earned numerous honors including Lowell Thomas Awards, CINE Golden Eagles, Telly Awards, Emmy Awards, and the Mark Dubois Lifetime Achievement Conservation Award. He has lectured at the Smithsonian, the National Geographic Society, the Explorers Club and many other notable venues. He writes a semi-regular feature with the NYTimes. Richard has served as executive producer of Richard Bangs Adventures on Yahoo. He also served as president of Outward Bound; Founded Well-Traveled.com for Slate, and was founding editor and executive producer of Great Escapes, another Microsoft Travel initiative (www.greatescapes.msnbc.com ). He also ran and founded First and Best for MSN, and founded Sobek Expeditions, which in the early 1990s merged with Mountain Travel to become Mountain Travel Sobek (www.mtsobek.com ). More information can be found on his website, www.richardbangs.com

This program was organized by Alan Feldstein #1094.