National Geographic Society



The National Geographic Society is a scientific (debatable) and educational organization originally founded in 1888 as an explorer's club. Around the world, it is mostly known for/conflated with the National Geographic Magazine.

The magazine itself was originally a text-only publication, similar to a scientific journal, but after the first decade of the 20th century it became increasingly known for its photographic illustrations from all over the world. Among the youth in the uptight USA of the 1950s, it also became hilariously notorious for its (un)coverage of various indigenous peoples' naughty bits.

When I was an adolescent, the only reliable source of breast visuals was National Geographic, a magazine then devoted, as far as I can tell, to doing feature articles on every primitive tribe in the world in which the women went around topless.

National Geographic Channel
Or simply Nat Geo, this channel is a joint effort between National Geographic Television and Film (known for their many, many, many documentaries seen in IMAX theaters) and Fox Cable Networks. Originally created to show documentaries of nature and the ever-changing world, they appear to have succumbed to the 75% interest of controlling stake by the subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and now spend quite a bit of airtime sucking on the teat of reality programming (which is not the same as reality programming) with shows like Alaska State Troopers, Fight Science, Pricing the Priceless, and numerous programs dedicated to the search for evidence of Biblical figures. Also aired with some frequency are cryptozoology and UFO programs, nearly without exception from an infuriatingly credulous angle. Even worse are the shows that falsely claim psychics have helped the FBI and other law enforcement agencies solve murders. They also promote alternative medicine, showing thinly veiled advertisements for traditional Chinese quackery.

The success of the channel has spawned numerous other channels such as Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Junior and others.

Good

 * Is It Real? (2005-2007)
 * Sceptically examined many of the "usual suspects" such as UFOs, ghosts, Nostradamus, alternative medicine, etc. as well as some other topics such as King Arthur and vampires. This is probably the best sceptical TV show so far; all episodes are quite good. The typical format is that various cranks are allowed to explain their view and make their case, which is then critically examined by various sceptics.


 * Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)
 * Neil deGrasse Tyson's reboot of Carl Sagan's Cosmos.

Dubious

 * Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan (2004-2012)
 * For a number of years, Nat Geo's most popular show. Cesar Millan is shown helping dog owners with problematic dogs, though the owners are often the issue. Millan's methods have been described as simplistic and one-dimensional. Millan also promotes using homeopathy and acupuncture on dogs.


 * A short-lived and ill-conceived Brainiac rip-off. Same problems and even more boring.
 * A short-lived and ill-conceived Brainiac rip-off. Same problems and even more boring.

Crap

 * Naked Science (2004-2011)
 * Features both real science and pseudoscience.