JOURNEY TO PLANET EARTH takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring issues like global warming, toxic pollution, economic disparities, and population explosions (sometimes making its points by using frankly scary images and facts). Narrated by Matt Damon, each episode travels around the world to places like Zimbabwe and Chicago, drawing connections between conditions in both developed and developing countries and shows how certain issues affect everyone -- regardless of geographic location or economic status. That said, the target audience is obviously westerners, who might not feel a connection to starving families affected by drought in Africa, but who might empathize with a Texan farmer who watches as his grapefruit trees are ripped out of the ground because there's not enough water to irrigate them. Interviews with experts from think tanks, non-profit organizations, and universities and a few well-chosen regular folks buttress gorgeous footage of the land and its people. Damon's clear, slow narration helps create segues between topics, as do specific questions and phrases written on the screen.