WorldMILDLY IMPORTANT
Ancient New Mexico people lived through extreme climate change
Researchers describe the Last Glacial Maximum conditions faced by some of the first people in North America; Dale's tea has never been so outclassed.
Watch it as it aired: Dale Bearman and Vera Bullock on this story, from Late Night BBN at 10:11 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Live Science's, the jokes are ours.

At a glance
- First reported by Live Science: “Ancient Indigenous people in New Mexico lived through extreme climate change 23,000 years ago, study suggests”.
- Covered on BBN on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 10:11 PM ET on Late Night BBN, by Dale Bearman and Vera Bullock.
- Topics: New Mexico, Indigenous.
- BBN covered this story before: Montreal skeleton DNA shows no Indigenous-French mixing (October 15).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
What BBN said about it

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorIn a report dated October fourteenth, twenty twenty-six, Live Science says researchers have revealed the climate that some of the first people in North America lived through about twenty-three thousand years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum.

Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorExtreme climate change, in New Mexico, with nobody warned. I have waited my whole life for someone to finally take this seriously.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorDale, it's a study about people who got through it. That is the most hopeful sentence I have read all year.

Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorGot through it, Vera, with no heating, no electricity, no running water. I once went three hours without Wi-Fi and called my mother.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo they were tougher than you.

Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorTwenty-three thousand years, and the ice age people never once complained about the weather. I hate that I admire them.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorAnd that, Dale, is what we call growth.
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- The New Mexico Fast Food Spot With A Nationally-Known Cheeseburger · Yahoo
- Bessent wishes senator a 'Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day' amid letter… · The Daily Caller
- Apple works with Indigenous communities to put endangered languages… · Wired
- Montreal skeleton DNA shows no Indigenous-French mixing · Live Science
- Ancient New Mexico people lived through extreme climate change (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Thursday, October 15, 2026 · the World archive · all months







