Constant Wonder

Late-in-life debuts, comebacks, and triumphs. In this episode, "Roctogenarians" author Mo Rocca shares with Constant Wonder host Marcus Smith awe-inspiring stories of people who made major career pivots late in life. Yasmeen Lari was a famous Pakistani architect celebrated for her work in steel, cement, and glass. In her 60s, after a massive earthquake hit her country, she began to work with local...

Amy Leach is an essayist and musician with a penchant for improvisation. In this episode of Constant Wonder, she and host Marcus Smith share a worldview: one filled with awe and praise for everything from puppies to porcupines. With roots in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Amy has found a more expansive view of God and the sacred. Amy Leach is the kind of person who believes in finding what you'...

What does it mean to truly listen: not just hear, but attend to the world with exquisite care? In this episode of Constant Wonder, host Marcus Smith sits down with Hank Lentfer, a sound recordist and acoustic ecologist who has spent decades capturing the natural world's most breathtaking voices from his home base in Gustavus, Alaska, gateway to Glacier Bay National Park. Lentfer shares unforgettab...

Harriet Tubman was sustained by vivid dreams and fierce spiritual faith as she risked everything—again and again—to guide enslaved people to freedom. In this episode of Constant Wonder, Harvard historian Tiya Miles explains to co-host Tennery Taylor how Tubman's intense spirituality and her connection to the natural world empowered her and shaped her into a compelling leader. As a child, Tubman wo...

George Smith is a maintenance worker by day, but his true passion lies in tracking and monitoring peregrine falcons. In this episode, he tells host Marcus Smith about his adventures in rock climbing and checking in on his birds. George has developed methods to trap them in order to collect DNA and give them tracking microchips. This methodology has helped him to catch poachers, bring them to justi...

Dan Roche has an implausibly realistic prosthetic eye. He was born with a cataract on his right eye, rendering him partially blind and very self-conscious. In this episode of Constant Wonder, he tells host Marcus Smith about how ocularist Michael Strauss made him a prosthetic that transformed his life. Now, Dan is fascinated by the industry of eye making, and the ocularists that dedicate their liv...

Caroline Sanderson grew up surrounded by classical music, but didn't truly fall in love with it until after her father passed away. Now, she remembers him by learning to really listen to the music that he loved. Beethoven - Symphony No. 6; Stravinsky - Rite of Spring; Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 23; Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 22; Chopin - Prelude No. 15, Raindrop; Brahms - Symphony No. 1, movemen...

Plants are just as alive as any animal-- and they've developed incredible survival strategies. Zoë Schlanger gives us an insider's look on some of the most unique adaptations in the wild world of plants. Far beyond just leaning into the light, these plants don disguises, train themselves into toxicity, and possibly even count. Plants are alive, but are they sentient? Guest: Zoë Schlanger, author o...

Geologist Ron Harris forecasted the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and so the loss of life in that disaster devastated him. In this episode of Constant Wonder, he tells host Marcus Smith how, after that tragedy, he expanded his work to include disaster prevention and well as forecasting. He estimates his foundation has saved 50,000 lives so far. Ron Harris has been obsessed with plate t...

Entomologist Steven Peck came down with a bacterial infection that plunged him into a chaotic world of hallucinations, where he thought even his kids were imposters. Now, he has a new definition of what "real" really means. In this episode, Marcus Smith speaks with Steven Peck, an author and BYU biology professor. Peck found his world overturned by a brain infection that caused severe hallucinatio...

What does it mean to be truly speechless—struck dumb by beauty, grief, or awe? In this episode of Constant Wonder, host Marcus Smith sits down with Martha Barnette, co-host of the beloved radio show and podcast A Way with Words, for a wide-ranging conversation about language, wonder, and the moments that leave us reaching for words we don't have. Martha shares memories of her Greek tutor Professor...

Tama Wong didn't feel like a great gardener—until she discovered that the weeds she was battling were delicacies from across the world. Now, she forages (and farms like a forager!) for fine dining restaurants, and she encourages others to enjoy wild flavor by foraging, too. Guest: Tama Matsuoka Wong, author of "Into the Weeds: How to Garden Like a Forager" and founder of meadowsandmore.com Knotwee...

Reverend Dr. Andrew Teal grew up wandering the ruins of Fountains Abbey in the UK—one of his "thin places." After he was ordained an Anglican priest in his twenties, he learned to find the sacred as easily in seminar rooms as on the side of the road. Teal believes in the power of inhabiting the world, be it through philosophy, poetry, or simply your presence. Guest: Reverend Dr. Andrew Teal, an An...

After severe depression turns his life upside down, Jarod Anderson heads for the woods, where he finds a renewed connection to nature: from the sacred herons of his childhood to the strange creatures of his imagination. He now shares that world with listeners as host of "The CryptoNaturalist." Guest: Jarod Anderson, host of "The CryptoNaturalist" and author of "Something in the Woods Loves You" Au...

Hugo Tagholm describes the transcendent connection between a storm at sea and a surfer sitting, many hours later, on a board. Using surfing as a metaphor for life, Tagholm urges us to show up for each other—and for the Earth—as our best-prepared selves. His is a message of hope for all of us on "Planet Ocean." Guests: Hugo Tagholm, Executive Director of Oceana UK Katherine May, author of "Enchantm...

Emmett Hoops was seven when he decided to save the nearly-extinct American chestnut tree. He's 66 now, but little else has changed since then. Together with a chorus of other chestnut-lovers, the people who grew up under those leaves and relied on those nutritious nuts tell the story of how a tree shaped generations. Guests: Emmett Hoops, Director for District 5 and Vice President for Outreach, Ne...

Businesswoman Françoise Malby-Anthony traveled the world for work, until a chance encounter in the metro changed her life. Within a year, she'd quit Paris for South Africa, where she and her partner, Lawrence, established a wildlife preserve for troubled and orphaned elephants and rhinos. When Lawrence passed away suddenly, the responsibility for these animals fell to Françoise. Join us in this ta...

The "Bear Man of India" is best known for his work rescuing sloth bears from inhumane conditions, but Kartick Satyanarayan knew he wanted to help animals from a young age. It all began with full-moon nights spent high in a jungle tree, watching a procession of wild animals visit a nearby watering hole. In the intervening 30 years, he's braved the "timber mafia" and even gunshots in a tireless crus...

A small-town mortician savors life. Find out why "the internet's favorite mortician" encourages people not to skip out on funerals. And why he also advises listeners not to worry about "being an inconvenience" in either life or death. Guest: Victor M. Sweeney, author of "Now Departing: A Small-Town Mortician on Death, Life, and the Moments in Between" https://www.instagram.com/victor.m.sweeney/?hl...

Tara Roberts comes to find joy in learning about her ancestors—even though history once seemed too traumatic to face. Guest: Tara Roberts, author of "Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home, and Belonging"

Fiona Robertson has had a lifelong fascination with the ancient standing stones that dot the British Isles. As her own life filled with storms, these megaliths became examples of endurance, able to survive millenniums of weathering. Join us as we follow Fiona through the stone lands to explore how these mysterious sites connect us to the past, redefine our present, and give us hope for the future....

Anne Fadiman has an infectious curiosity. In this episode. she'll introduce us to ice-bound explorers who turn to theater, art, and journalism to stave off boredom and madness. Then we travel across the globe to a matchless night beneath Halley's Comet. We'll also meet a indomitable young student who lived by the motto "Yes to everything!" Guest: Anne Fadiman, author of "Frog and Other Essays" and...

By promoting swimming, hiking, climbing, skiing, hunting, and many more recreational activities, Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people to nature. Founder Rue Mapp reminds us of the historical connections Black people have to the Earth, and she encourages people to look to nature for healing, hope, and fun! Guest: Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro and National Geographic Fellow https://ruemapp.com C...

A love story for all time: Eleanor of Castile died in 1290, but her story still resonates today, thanks to the depths of her husband's devotion. You might know King Edward I as the fierce Edward Longshanks, but discover him in this episode as a besotted and grieving husband. Guests: Alice Loxton, author of "Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England's Lost Queen" https://aliceloxton.com; John H...

Growing up in an unstable home with an alcoholic father, David Hudson questioned his own worth from an early age. Now a retired Salvation Army officer, Dave reflects on the mentors and experiences that helped him find his confidence and dedicate his life to helping others. https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/