The desert may be the harshest environment on Earth, but it's actually teeming with life. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll reveal the hidden wonders of desert life, from the Sahara to the Mojave to the Australian Outback. We'll also visit with naturalist Terry Tempest Wiliams on the erotics of the desert.

SEGMENT 1

Atlantic Monthly correspondent William Langewiesche talks with Judith Strasser about his experiences in the Sahara. He says people are the ultimate desert creatures and debunks myths about desert sands and camels. Langewiesche is the author of "Sahara Unveiled: A Journey across the Desert."

SEGMENT 2:

Julia Blackburn talks with Steve Paulson about Daisy Bates, an Irish immigrant to Australia who at the age of forty moved into the Western Australian desert to document the passing of the Aboriginal peoples. Blackburn is the author of an "imaginative biography" called "Daisy Bates in the Desert." Also, writer and journalist David Darlington talks with Jim Fleming about the Mojave -- the definitive American desert.

SEGMENT 3:

Writer, naturalist and political activist Terry Tempest Williams talks with Steve Paulson about the Utah deserts she calls home. Williams also reads two excerpts from her book "Desert Quartet."

Distribution dates:

• week of 10/06/96 - hour 2
• week of 06/08/97 - hour 2