SAN FRANCISCO, CA — To celebrate Earth Month, KQED Presents invites viewers to see the natural world through a radical new lens with the premiere of LIFE UNEARTHED with Ariel Waldman. Premiering on PBS stations across the country in April, this visually striking six-part docuseries explores Earth’s ecosystems through dramatic shifts in scale—from microscopic organisms to the planet’s most iconic wildlife.
Created and hosted by explorer Ariel Waldman, the series journeys from the deepest roots beneath our feet to the distant possibilities of life on icy moons beyond our atmosphere. By examining life from the microscopic to the interplanetary, LIFE UNEARTHED challenges our understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things.
The first season features six 30-minute episodes that transition between two fascinating and mysterious environments:
- Antarctica (Episodes 1-3): Viewers follow Waldman on a solo-filmed expedition to the Dry Valleys, the planet’s most extreme and alien landscape. The series uncovers hidden wonders like tardigrades beneath the ice and explores “Mars-like” regions such as Beacon Valley to understand how life might survive on other planets.
- The American Prairies (Episodes 4-6): The series discovers the wild depths of the tallgrass prairies, revealing a hidden world where bison shape the land and invisible underground networks sustain a resilient yet fragile ecosystem.
“We often think of ‘nature’ only as the big, charismatic animals we see with the naked eye, but there is an entire wild world hidden in the moss, the soil, and even deep beneath the Antarctic ice,” said Ariel Waldman, creator and host. “By looking at life through different scales, we start to see the unexpected connections that sustain our world. My hope is that this series inspires viewers to both look closer and think expansively about life, the universe, and everything.”
LIFE UNEARTHED with Ariel Waldman will air on PBS stations nationwide starting April 1, 2026 (check local listings) with streaming available on the PBS App and PBS.org. KQED 9 will premiere the series weekly on Wednesdays at 7:30pm April 1 through May 6.
About Ariel Waldman
Ariel Waldman is a National Geographic Explorer, filmmaker, TED speaker, and author. For over a decade, she has served as an advisor to NASA on astrobiology, human spaceflight, and advanced technologies. In 2013, she was honored by the Obama White House as a “Champion of Change” for her work in citizen science. Her distinguished career includes chairing NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts advisory council and serving as the global director of Science Hack Day, a grassroots initiative to prototype ideas with science spanning 30 countries. She lives in San Francisco and enjoys collaborating with researchers to illuminate the unseen corners of our world.