“Chris Bashinelli is not just a fellow traveler driven by infectious curiosity and empathy, he is also one of the kindest, most soulful people I’ve met. There is no one like Bash and his takes on the big questions never fail to engage and inspire me. Smart, soulful…a true seeker and helper with a charisma that is electric and infectious.”

BILL WEIR, CNN Chief Climate Correspondent

Stories That Honor Humanity, Resilience, and the People Who Live Them

Chris Bashinelli is a National Geographic Explorer and on-camera host whose work centers on trust, access, and the power of human connection. Known for his ability to build immediate rapport with subjects across cultures and generations, Bash brings a rare blend of curiosity, humility, and emotional intelligence to every story. From global adventure series to intimate documentaries with American heroes and cultural elders, his approach creates space for honest conversations—and moments that feel lived, not produced – echoing far beyond the screen.

Bridge the Gap is a global adventure series featured on PBS and the National Geographic Channel in over 130 countries. Chris travels the world walking in other people’s shoes, discovering authentic moments of our shared humanity. From living as a nomad in Mongolia, to exploring fair-trade vanilla in Uganda, to walking miles for clean water in Haiti, and harvesting buffalo with the Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation, the series reveals how human connection transcends culture, geography, and belief.

American Sumo is an immersive anthropological documentary in which Chris Bashinelli fulfills a childhood dream of stepping inside the world of sumo. Filmed in Los Angeles, the film follows Chris as he befriends Yamamotoyama — the heaviest Japanese-born sumo wrestler in history — during his transition to a new life in the United States.

What begins as curiosity evolves into an unlikely friendship as Chris trains, eats, meditates, and ultimately competes alongside elite sumo athletes. In return, he shares pieces of his own culture — introducing his sumo mentors to the California coastline and the waves of Malibu. The result is a heartfelt, physical, and often humorous exploration of what it means to begin again, and how tradition adapts across borders.

Homestay China is a National Geographic Original travel series that takes Chris off the beaten path to live alongside families in China’s most remote villages. From learning ancient shadow puppetry along the Yellow River, to protecting pandas in the Shaanxi Nature Preserve, to documenting the rebuilding of Niujaoshan after a devastating fire, Chris forms deep relationships while exploring how rural communities are preserving tradition amid rapid change.

Harold Bray: The Last Survivor is a World War II documentary centered on 98-year-old Harold Bray, the final living survivor of the USS Indianapolis. The ship, later made famous in Jaws (1975), was sunk after delivering components critical to ending the war. Through intimate conversation, Chris explores resilience, sacrifice, and leadership through the eyes of a true American hero — preserving a story that history can never afford to forget.

My Friend Dominic is a feature documentary exploring the profound friendship between Chris and The Sopranos actor Dominic Chianese. Over a short span of time, Dominic endured the loss of his wife and two daughters to cancer, while Chris experienced the murder of his cousin, a police officer killed in the line of duty. The film is a deeply human meditation on friendship, grief, and the rare kind of love that bridges generations, cultures, and loss.