Cynthia Gorney

Freshwater dolphins face an uncertain future as their waterways heat up. But a Colombian biologist has made it his life's work to advocate for the Amazon's “pink ambassadors.”

How can these voracious mammals be reintegrated into a world that changed while they were gone?

It’s the first sensation we feel, our most primal connection to others. Can implants and electrical signaling replicate the experience of touch? Research teams are exploring the possibilities—with startling results.

The year began with vaccines and optimism. But a new Covid-19 wave, violent conflicts, and the climate crisis made 2021 one more year we’d need resilience to survive.

The secret world of child brides

How a mix of female empowerment and steamy soap operas helped bring down Brazil’s fertility rate and stoke its vibrant economy.

In today’s hyperconnected world, many developing countries find that their most lucrative export is people. The foreign workers and their families must grapple with an inevitable trade-off: emotional loss for material gain.

Scientists aim to alter the genetics of mosquitoes to prevent them from being vehicles of deadly diseases.

After half a century under Fidel, Cubans feel a wary sense of possibility. But this time, don’t expect a revolution.

Here’s Why Vaccines Are So Crucial

The Changing Face of Saudi Women

People in the U.S. stopped what they were doing to watch an event they struggled to comprehend—a mob overrunning the nation’s capital.

A survivor of the five-day smog crisis in Pennsylvania recalls: “We all knew the air was bad. We didn’t realize it was going to kill people.”

COVID-19 seized 2020, mocking our defenses and dominating our lives. National Geographic looks at the pandemic’s effects on science, nature, and culture.

In perilous times, our deepest human impulse is to draw close to each other—the very thing we’ve been told not to do.

In some cultures, the death of a husband has meant exile, vulnerability, and abuse. But bereaved women are beginning to fight back.

International Widows Day is June 23. Photographer Amy Toensing and writer Cynthia Gorney share a look at one woman's story in Uganda.

Q: What did it feel like, signing your name in the year 2015 to that piece of government paper that says you’re now registered to vote? A: (Pause.) “It felt like … progress.”

In this new series, writers and photographers from around the world reflect on places that hold special meaning for them.

The Camels and the Contagion