Wade Davis

It's no secret that coming out is tough. No one can ever really gauge just how someone will react beforehand, no matter how close to you they may be. Now imagine that you're making mi...

Wade Davis gives an account of the generation of adventurers, soldiers, and mountaineers who attempted to tackle Mount Everest in the 1920s. In Into the Silence, he looks at how World War I affected these climbers and recounts the efforts of George Mallory and his fellow climbers to conquer the mountain in the face of treacherous terrain and weather.

All week long, in partnership with our friends at Scientific American, we’re talking about "the end" on The Takeaway. Whether it’s melting glaciers, the falling water table, or even how the world itself will end, we’re exploring our fascination with endings.

Today, we examine the stunning evidence of how Western civilization is changing and, in some cases, eliminating indigenous cultures. Half of the world’s 7,000 languages are endangered, and when language dies, whole cultures can disappear. Vital, ancient wisdom can be lost.

So we ask you: What traditions or wisdom do you think is worth saving? And what do you do to preserve them?