National Geographic magazine, September 2026 Issue

The End of Aging?. National Geographic stories take you on a journey that's always enlightening, often surprising and unfailingly fascinating. This month–is this the end of aging?

In this issue: Are We on the Brink of Ending Aging? — Secret science. Billionaire backers. Inside the wild quest to turn growing old into a thing of the past.; Exclusive Survey Shows What Americans Would Give Up for a Longer Life — A new survey commissioned by National Geographic reveals what Americans really think about aging well and cutting-edge longevity treatments.; Making Way for the Giant Anteaters of Brazil — The enormous and slow-moving creatures are being pushed closer and closer to dangerous roadways. Here's how conservationists are thinking creatively to keep them safe.; A Million Falcons Went Missing. Here’s How They Were Found — For years, the secret winter home of rare red-footed falcons remained a mystery. Then an ornithologist discovered the hidden world of “Falcopolis.”; What We Can Learn From These World War II Incarceration Camp Relics — These wooden carved birds suggest a shared longing: escape.; The surprising detour of the Silk Road, the world’s original superhighway — Tourism is booming along the former trade routes of ancient Uzbekistan. To understand its recent transformation, Gary Shteyngart took to the caravan trail.; The Helium-Powered Ride That Changed Readers’ Perspective — Few had glimpsed the world in color from above, until a maverick National Geographic editor hatched a plan to capture the Statue of Liberty in full glory.; Can wildflowers heal the toxic mess the LA fires left behind? — Last year, when fires scorched Los Angeles and destroyed my family’s home, an ashen cocktail of carcinogens like lead, mercury, and arsenic seeped into the soil. Native plants can help repair the damage—and sowing the seeds can help restore a community’s hope.; How did these dinosaurs become ‘mummies’? 2 new fossils help solve the mystery — A new study sheds light on how these reptiles become “mummies” and paints a picture of what these ancient animals looked like.