9 Minutes of Wonder

The huge size of the universe is unfathomably amazing, but so is the size of things way too small for us to see. I'll talk about some of these teensy, tiny things and hopefully inspire your sense of wonder in this nine-minute episode. A few resources: Butterfly scales = pixie dust Diatoms: tiny factories you can see from space (YouTube) Harnessing the superpowers of the most resilient life form on...

Christmas is not the same everywhere, and isn't that a good thing? Every December when I was a young girl, the phone company set up a special phone number that we could call to hear Santa speaking from various countries. He'd tell us about Christmas traditions in those places and of course wish us a Merry Christmas. I'd then get out my globe and imagine what it might be like to celebrate Christmas...

Wow, pink and purple skies! I hope you've had a chance to see it this week, or at least sometime in the past or future. Let's talk about these magnificent lights. A few resources: What causes the northern lights? Northern lights: what they are and how to see them 10 awesome aurora facts (from the Australian government) Fire in the sky: the southern lights in Indigenous oral traditions Hubble captu...

What's something you often yearn for but then sometimes wish would leave you alone? That could be the sun. But our friendly closest star is much more than that bright circle in the sky we mainly think about when it's not visible and we're cold. It's one of the few things that are absolutely vital to life on Earth. So let's focus on the sun, without looking directly at it, of course. A few resource...

You probably use a fork every day, yet you never think much about this multi-pronged utensil, do you? That may change after you hear this, and you might find yourself getting curious about other everyday things in your home as well. Why not? Everything has interesting stories, and connecting to things like forks helps us feel more connected to this complex and seemingly disjointed world. A few res...

Butterflies are incredible in so many ways! Their beauty alone is good enough reason to admire them, but there's so much more. Reacquaint yourself with their magic. Butterflies: masters of disguise Migration and overwintering (monarchs) What happens inside a chrysalis? (sorry, I can only find this on one Facebook) Monarch butterfly metamorphosis time-lapse (YouTube) Monarch butterfly life cycle (Y...

Almost everyone loves hearing birds sing! Even if you rarely pay attention to the birds singing around you, you'd miss them if they stopped and might even feel more depressed. So start listening for the birds in your area, and listen here to learn some of the wonders of how and why they sing. A few resources: What is a songbird, exactly? 5 fascinating facts about birdsong The development of birdso...

One of my favorite childhood summertime memories is watching fireflies in the evenings. After many firefly-free years, I got to see them again last weekend. Discover why they're so cool and how they do what they do. A few resources for your enjoyment:

Do you know any pigeon-haters, or pigeon-phobes? Pigeons are actually such interesting birds, and they mean us no harm at all. Bring some wonder into your next city or suburban outing, and maybe you'll see pigeons in a new light. (Not my best-quality audio, I'm afraid, but this will have to do because I've already recorded it twice!) A few resources: Are pigeons as smart as primates? You can count...

What chance encounters have shaped your life? Don't you look back on them with a sense of wonder — what were the odds?! I'll talk about this phenomenon and also put in a good word for its social cousin, small talk with strangers, even if you're an introvert like me.   Chance encounters (CNN) Small talk doesn't need to be meaningless: the benefits of talking to strangers Planned happenstance and yo...

Even with the internet's endless magic, libraries remain fascinating and important places. Come to the library with me in this episode, where I'll share three reasons I love libraries and think everyone else should too! A few resources: World Book Day Joanina Library Great Library of Alexandria: New and improved The world's most extraordinary libraries 'A cultural masterpiece': the world's best ne...

If you haven't heard it from me enough, I'll say it again: cultivating wonder is good for us all! I'm going to share some things you might try today or this week if you're seeking more wonder, awe, and joy. Why now? While I always hope this podcast is uplifting, I can't produce it in a vacuum as if I feel all is well in the world. And since I don't feel that way now (and you may not either), I've...

Few natural phenomena are as magical and mysterious as bird migrations. I wish I had more than nine minutes, but I'll give you just a taste of why migrating birds are so cool.  "Marshland Elegy" by Aldo Leopold (PDF from A Sand County Almanac, 1949) These 5 birds are all winners in the migrations Olympics (National Audubon Society) Bird migration is one of nature's great wonders. Here's how they d...

How much attention do you pay to ice? Maybe you're sick and tired of all the ice around you this time of year, but what about taking a closer look — even if it's just in your freezer? Ice is a menace on the road or sidewalk and can damage our beloved trees, but have you ever considered ice as an art form? Listen to find out more about this simple form of water that we usually either take for grant...

The world is so noisy! Even if we live in relatively quiet places, we are bombarded by noise thanks to all the pinging and dinging on our phones, the din of terrible news, demands from annoying coworkers...the list can seem endless. So let's focus on the more quiet side of life — quiet places we can visit or imagine. If quiet creeps you out, not to worry — this episode only lasts 9 minutes, and I...

If you need to be uplifted, how about listening to some beautiful music and learning why it's awe-inspiring? Awe scientist Dacher Keltner lists music as one of the “eight wonders of life," and there's no question that music is an essential and universal part of being human. So spend nine minutes here, and then spend some more time with your favorite music today.  See also: Beethoven Ode to Joy fla...

What comes to mind when you think about the upcoming year? What about the "upcoming" 10 million years? Big difference, obviously, not just in the amount of time but also in how we envision these time spans. In this episode, I share a few fun metaphors for deep time — ways of visualizing (and maybe understanding) the unimaginable.  For more info: Carl Sagan — Cosmos — cosmic calendar Earth's entire...

The winter solstice is special from various perspectives. Even if you don't get into the spiritual magic of the day, you can still be impressed at what our planet's tilt makes happen as we go around the sun. And you can watch the livestream of this special day from Stonehenge (link below). Happy solstice! (And happy summer solstice to my southern-hemisphere friends!) Some links: Winter solstice at...

It's National Poinsettia Day in the US! Make it a good one by learning more about these ubiquitous "flowers." Or listen after the fact to prepare for next year. A few resources: Poinsettias at Christmas 8 fun facts to know about poinsettias How to keep a poinsettia alive Cuetlaxochitl: a cultural history of the poinsettia The checkered history of the poinsettia’s namesake and the flower’s origins...

Why am I doing this podcast anyway? Peek behind the curtain of my motivations in this short episode. Hint: because it's fun, and because awe and wonder are good for us and for society. Dacher Keltner's website , with info about his book Awe: The Transformative Power of Everyday Wonder Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast Licence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0

I can hardly begin to describe how cool this place was, in an industrial sort of way. I'll tell you about it here, but please visit the link to see what the place looks like. This is a fantastic engineering marvel, although in a way it's so simple — harnessing the sun to heat things up. By the way, I mention 3000 degrees, and that's Celsius. In degrees Fahrenheit it would be 5432 degrees. Burnt by...

Samarkand is a city of gorgeous tiled architecture, but in a way the most interesting site is the observatory of Ulugh Beg. You can only see the remaining sextant now, although a small bit of the observatory building has been reconstructed to help visitors imagine its earlier splendor. The astronomical discoveries made here are awe-inspiring enough, but the architecture must have been dazzling eve...

Visiting new places inspires wonder by giving us fresh perspectives on daily life (among other reasons). Join me for a few minutes in Tashkent and learn some things that may surprise you about this city that you probably don’t know much about.   Uzbekistan’s secret underground - in pictures Uzbekistan Travel Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast Licence: Creative Commo...

I wrote my fourth-grade animal report about sea otters — so you know I love them! I hope you'll love them too after learning about their magnificent fur (which almost led to their extinction) and their inspiring comeback, as well as some other reasons they're important and interesting. After listening, search "sea otter photos and videos," or use some of the links below, to see how cute they are....

Even mundane things in your kitchen can inspire wonder — or at least be interesting — if you pay attention. If you've never wondered about the history of ketchup, or why it's called ketchup, or what ketchup was like in the olden days, now's your chance to wonder. Edit: I made a mistake when I talked about the "mystery" EZ Squirt ketchup. It apparently didn't have all those colors together. Rather,...