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The special edition of the unscripted NBC adventure series will air later this year.
President Obama is adding a special item to his Alaskan itinerary.
He is set to appear an upcoming episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls, NBC announced Monday.
The President and host Bear Grylls will venture through the Alaskan wilderness for a special edition of the unscripted adventure series to air later this year.
President Obama will meet the famed survival expert while visiting the state to observe the effects of climate change on the area. President Obama departs for Anchorage on Monday, and is also set to visit the towns of Dillingham and Kotzebue, as well as tour Exit Glacier and Kenai Fjords National Park, during his three-day trip.
The president's visit to Alaska is expected to ruffle feathers. On Sunday, the White House announced that the Obama administration will change the name of North America's tallest mountain peak from Mount McKinley to Denali – a major symbolic gesture for the Alaskan natives. Renaming the peak Denali puts the Obama administration in the middle of an ongoing conflict between the residents of Alaska and Ohio. Although Alaskans call the peak Denali, which means "high one" in Athabascan, the peak is officially recognized by the federal government as Mount McKinley, in honor of former U.S. president and Ohio native William McKinley, who was assassinated early in his second term.
This is yet another unconventional media move for the president, who's been choosing fewer mainstream outlets for interviews in the past year. In addition to his appearance on Running Wild With Bear Grylls, the President will also be seen on an upcoming special episode of Vice, in which he becomes the first commander-in-chief to visit a federal prison. VICE Special Report: Fixing The System, for which a trailer was released Friday, will air Sept. 27 on HBO. He sat down for comedian Marc Maron's WTF podcast in June.
This marks the visit by a sitting U.S. president on Running Wild With Bear Grylls, which is currently in its second season. The reality series has welcomed a slew of celebrity guests including Kate Winslet, Channing Tatum, Kate Hudson and Zac Efron, among others.
Grylls will produce the special edition of Running Wild with Delbert Shoopman and Dave Pearce of Bear Grylls Ventures, and Chris Grant, Viki Cacciatore and Liz Schulze of Electus.
