Dramatic cuts to science research grants have particularly affected rare disease research. But some of the people most affected, including those with Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome, are now organizing their own global research collaborations.

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek is a man on a mission: Travel across the world in the way the earliest humans out of Africa did. Lately, he’s been hiking and paddling along Alaska’s southern coast. He joins Host Marco Werman to share what he’s learned about how coastal ecosystems helped our ancestors thrive as they populated the planet.

Older generations are retiring from their roles as shepherds in Spain, while young people no longer want to take up the profession. Now, a new school is training newly arrived immigrants — mostly from African countries — who already have experience working with livestock to take on the jobs.

Pakistan is in the middle of a solar power revolution. Over the past five years, the percentage of electricity generated from solar panels jumped from 2% to nearly 25%. Almost all of that growth has been driven by individuals buying their own solar panels, removing their homes or businesses from the centralized grid and generating electricity for themselves. For The Big Fix, The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Naveed Arshad, director of the Energy Institute at Lahore University of Management Sciences, about why — and how — Pakistan has embraced solar power.

France’s public radio and television are accused of overspending, misspending, favoritism and left-wing political bias, according to a parliamentary report released this week.