South America

is associated with 22 posts

South America


Galapagos Creationists

Perhaps the most famous animal endemic to these islands, the Galapagos giant tortoise can live to be over 100 years old and weigh nearly 900 pounds. (Photo: Tony Azios)

The Galapagos Islands may have inspired Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution, but today they are inhabited largely by creationists.

Read more

A Yeast Voyage and the Birth of Lager

Orange-colored galls, such as these pictured in 2010, from the beech tree forests of Patagonia have been found to harbor the yeast that makes lager beer possible. (photo: Diego Libkind)

Scientists have identified a yeast that led to the discovery of lager.

Read more

South America’s booming economies

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


For the Geo Quiz, we’re looking for a South American country that’s enjoying an economic boom. It’s South America’s second largest country, after Brazil. But as Richard Reynolds reports, it may be premature to compare the booming economies of South America to China. Download MP3
Americans eye opportunities in Brazil’s booming economy

Read more

A place called ‘Hell’

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


For today’s Geo Quiz, we’re looking for ‘Hell’ on earth. Actually, it’s the Spanish word for hell, Infierno. It’s a community in South America. Some say it got that name because of the swarms of mosquitoes that descended on early rubber traders passing by on the Tambopata River. We want you to name the country this place called ‘Hell’ is in. Download MP3

Read more

South America’s Ayoreo people

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


For the Geo Quiz, we’re heading for a remote jungle region of South America. We’re looking for a region of lowland jungle east of the Andes that overlaps Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay. Most of it is sparsely populated but among the indigenous tribes that do live there are the Ayoreo. Download MP3

Read more

World Books Review: A Welcome ‘Return’ to Form

What’s impressive about the thirteen stories in this volume is the coherence of Roberto Bolaño’s vision. Though the tales take place in different countries and different time periods, though some are straight fiction, some are vaguely autobiographical, and some even drift towards magical realism, each new yarn feels like a chapter in a continuous narrative.


Read more

Colombia’s 32 departments

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.



Today’s Geo Quiz takes us to Colombia in South America. That nation is divided into 32 departments. We’re looking for the name of just one. It’s the ONLY one that has coastlines on both the Pacific and Caribbean sides. Most of this department faces the Pacific, though… Download MP3 (Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/donsabas)

Read more

Train ride to the lost city of the Incas

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


Train ride to Machu PicchuFor today’s Geo Quiz, we’re headed to the lost city of the Incas. Now, we’re not asking you to name that ancient city in Peru. That’d be too easy. It’s Machu Picchu, one of the world’s best known archaeological sites. What we want to know is who discovered Machu Picchu. This American explorer was a Yale professor at the time of the discovery — in 1911. Today, in Peru, you can find a train that bears his name. We’ll take a ride on that train… And reveal the name of this man who some say was a real-life model for the fictional Indiana Jones. Download MP3 (Photo: David Baron)


Read more

Talking Travel: Floods threaten to cut off Machu Picchu in Peru

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In this episode of Talking Travel, we talk about the heavy rains and flooding that have threatened the lives and livelihoods of those living in the shadow of Machu Picchu in Peru. Lonely Planet’s Robert Reid and Tom Hall assess the short-term and long-term damage to Peru’s tourism industry, and offer listeners some alternate spots to take in South America’s ancient ruins. Hosted by The World’s Clark Boyd. Photo: Martin St-Amant – Wikipedia

Read more

Marriage and Río de la Plata

The Rio de la Plata leads you right up to the doorstep of today’s Geo Quiz. The Río de la Plata or River Plate is located on the south-eastern coast of South America….

Read more

Home of the potato

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


potato150On Thanksgiving Day, we want you to ponder the origins of the potatoes in your holiday meal. No, we’re not interested in where Aunt Gladys or Cousin Mike picked up those potatoes to mash and bring over to your feast. For today’s Geo Quiz we want to know where the potato was first grown for food. Download MP3


Read more

Sofia Rei Koutsovitis

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


517AaKWOp5L._SL500_AA240_Argentine singer Sofia Rei Koutsovitis performs for us in The World studios. Koutsovitis and members of her band play and chat with anchor Jeb Sharp. Download MP3


Read more

Mercedes Sosa

516YbdQgcGL._SL500_AA240_Argentinians lined the streets of Buenos Aires today to honor a national hero. A hearse carried the body of folk singer Mercedes Sosa through the streets of the capital.

Read more

Zizek DJ

A few months ago we told you about a club night in Buenos Aires. For those in the know, that night goes simply by the moniker “Zizek.” Zizek is the name of the collective of DJs, producers and remixers from around the globe who now make their home in the Argentina. Cumbia — the traditional [...]

Read more

Global Hit: Zizek DJ

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


Download MP3
Anchor Marco Werman revisits the sounds of the Zizek Deejay collective from Buenos Aires. The collective’s just released a new album. Zizek co-founder Grant Dull spins a few tracks for us.

Read more