Lisa Ling is the new host of National Geographic Ultimate Explorer, the flagship television series of National Geographic that airs weekly on MSNBC. Her role on the award-winning series will take her to exotic locations around the world to “cover the world and all that’s in it,” a directive from one of National Geographic’s founders, Alexander Graham Bell.
Ling, 29, most recently brought her perspective on the world to millions of Americans as a co-host of ABC Daytime’s popular morning talk and entertainment program, The View. Ling sat alongside Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones and Joy Behar and gave the “twenty-something take” with a dose of modern age philosophy as the five women discussed relevant, everyday issues and shared their daily no-holds-barred opinions and lively colorful conversations.
Ling has been working in television for 12 years. At age 16, the Northern California native auditioned for and was chosen to be one of four hosts of “Scratch,” a nationally syndicated teen magazine show out of Sacramento. By the time she was 18, Ling had moved on to become one of the youngest reporters for Channel One News, the network seen in middle and high schools across the country. Despite working more than 40 hours a week, she also attended the University of Southern California. Before the age of 25, Ling became Channel One’s senior war correspondent.
For Channel One, Ling hunted down cocaine processing labs in the Colombian jungle, conducted interviews with members of a notorious guerrilla group in Colombia, was flanked by 12 bodyguards while reporting on the civil war in Algeria, covered the refugee crisis in Albania and shared tea with the Dalai Lama. In 1996, she participated in a joint investigation with Time magazine into a Russian company accused of smuggling nuclear weapons. She was the first American television reporter to ever interview the company’s owner. All told, she reported from more than two dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia, Algeria, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Japan, India and Iran, and produced eight documentaries for PBS, several of which won awards.
Ling joined the cast of The View in 1999. In October 2000, she began work as a contributing editor for USA Weekend, researching and writing exclusive stories on a range of topics. Ling also hosted the television special Teen People’s 20 Teens Who Will Change The World in February 2001.
In April, 2001, she fulfilled her late Uncle John’s dream by running and completing the Boston Marathon — with an impressive time of 4:34 — and raising money and awareness for pediatric cancer and the “Ali & Dad’s Army” foundation.
Ling’s incredible footage from Afghanistan helped provide insight for The Day It All Changed, a forum for teens that she hosted in September 2001 for the WB Network. Her hope is that young people begin to recognize their responsibility in this world, as they will be our future leaders.
