Constant Wonder

While we're busy working on Season 8 of the Constant Wonder podcast, we're pleased to bring you an episode from a podcast we think you'll love. In Curator's Choice, Ayla Sparks goes behind the scenes at museums and other points of interest, getting the stories that explain why they're so special. In this episode, you'll learn the quirky and litigious history of Luray Caverns' discovery. You'll also hear the world's largest lithophone, aka the "stalacpipe organ." If you enjoy this episode be sure to check out more Curator's Choice adventures at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And join us on May 8 for the launch of Constant Wonder Season 8, which gets going with an episode on nematodes, the astounding, ubiquitous and sometimes, you might say, iniquitous microscopic worms beneath your feet.

Facing the loss of her Elkmont cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains—a family treasure for five generations—Lynn Faust began to pay more attention to the fireflies there, the "light show," as the family called it, where thousands of fireflies would light up in unison. When she read that synchronous fireflies did not exist in North America, she knew that scientists were wrong. The creatures were right in her own yard! Realizing just how little was known about these enchanting insects, she set out to observe them, becoming a self-taught firefly expert and unveiling the mysteries of nature's tiny lanterns. Guest: Lynn Faust, author of "Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs: Identification and Natural History of the Fireflies of the Eastern and Central United States and Canada" Photo credit: SmokyMountains.com

Businesswoman Françoise Malby traveled the world for work, until a chance encounter in a London tube station changed her life. Within a year, she'd quit Paris for South Africa, where she and her partner, Lawrence, would eventually establish a wildlife preserve to shelter troubled and orphaned elephants and rhinos. The two would eventually marry and spend 14 years together operating the Thula Thula preserve. When Lawrence passed away suddenly, the responsibility for these animals fell to Françoise. In this episode of Constant Wonder, a tale of love and loss, and a touching connection beyond the grave. Guest: Françoise Malby-Anthony, owner of Thula Thula Private Game Reserve and author of "The Elephants of Thula Thula" Thula Baba traditional lullaby accessed on the Soweto Gospel Choir YouTube channel.

Emmett Hoops was seven when he determined to help save the nearly extinct American chestnut tree. He's 64 now, but his hope and passion are unabated. In this episode of Constant Wonder, you'll meet Emmett, but you'll also hear voices from the past: people who grew up under the leaves of the chestnut tree and who relied on its nutritious nuts—before blight drove it from the American forest around 1940. Guests: Emmett Hoops, Director for District 5 and Vice President for Outreach, New York Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation Andy Newhouse, Director of American Chestnut Project at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Special thanks to Bethany N. Baxter for archival interviews from Appalachia conducted in 2008.

Though his life looked calm from the outside, Douglas Wood's undiagnosed ADHD and dyslexia dragged him down—until he received a personal letter from the famed wilderness writer Sig Olson. Olson's encouragement set him on a path to become a wilderness guide and a noted children's author. Guest: Douglas Wood, author of over 40 books, retired wilderness canoe guide, and most recently the author of "A Wild Path," a collection of essays for adults

Raised in landlocked Soweto, Zandile Ndhlovu didn't have easy access to a pool or the ocean, and she grew up hearing tales of monsters lurking in rivers and the sea. When she was nearly 30, she went on a snorkeling trip in Bali and felt a startling feeling of "coming home" beneath the waves. She would soon give up her management consulting career to become the first female Black South African freediving instructor. She can hold her breath for nearly five minutes underwater! As an ambassador for the sea, she travels the globe sharing the wonder of the ocean and the power of human breath. GUEST: Zandile Ndhlovu, freediving instructor, Founder and Director of the The Black Mermaid Foundation, author of the children's book "Zandi's Song"

Born just after Emancipation, Anna Maria Threewitts and CG Garrett grow up to become pillars of their Black community. Their ten children must decide if they'll embrace their parents' high expectations for achievement in the Jim Crow South, or head north as part of the Great Migration that forever changed the face of America. Guest: David Nicholson, author of "The Garretts of Columbia: A Black South Carolina Family from Slavery to the Dawn of Integration" Readers: Othello Richards, John Pilmer, and Peachie Jones "A Charge to Keep I Have" written by Charles Wesley, sung by Hasan Green, accessed at TheHasanGreen YouTube channel "Manual Typewriter Sound Effect" accessed at Sound Effects YouTube channel

When Freeman Hrabowski III first heard Martin Luther King speak in church, he was a 12-year-old math nerd trying to avoid getting hazed by the older kids. A week later, he, along with hundreds of other kids, was a hero of the civil rights movement, having spent five nights in jail. Later that fall, one of Freeman's schoolmates died in the notorious 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Those events shaped the course of a life devoted to helping Black children reach their educational goals. Guest: Freeman Hrabowski III, Emeritus President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and author of "The Resilient University: How Purpose and Inclusion Drive Student Success"

New Yorker cartoonist Amy Kurzweil's efforts to connect to people in her own past led her to write and illustrate two graphic family histories. The first tells the story of her mother's mother, who escaped the Holocaust without any photos or personal records, only her memories—many still fresh in her now-97-year-old head. Her father's father, profiled in Kurzweil's latest book, left an abundance of records and writings but died long before the cartoonist was born. Two very different lives to reconstruct. Two very different challenges in storytelling. Guest: Amy Kurzweil, author of "Artificial: A Love Story" and "Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir"

When the secret police discover that a well-off Iranian doctor has converted to Christianity, she must flee the country with her two children, taking only what they can fit in a suitcase. Witness her son's coming-of-age as a refugee in Oklahoma as he wrestles with the question: Is what we gained commensurate with what we lost? A heart-wrenching, inspiring—and, at times, hilarious—episode from Constant Wonder. Guest: Daniel Nayeri, author of "Everything Sad is Untrue (A True Story)" Thanks to Onetent for the use of "Persian Fantasy," accessed at pixabay.com

Turtles have amazing recuperative powers; when an injured turtle is given the right care and time to heal, it can often outlive its human rescuers—and possibly its rescuers' children as well. Acclaimed nature writer Sy Montgomery and illustrator Matt Patterson share the transformative lessons they've learned at the Turtle Rescue Center in Southbridge, Massachusetts. In this episode of Constant Wonder: What can turtles teach us about patience, endurance, time, and even what it means to be human? Guests: Sy Montgomery, author, and Matt Patterson, illustrator, of "Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell" Photo by Erin Patterson

A foundling newborn owl on the brink of death was rescued by a passionate conservationist. After a couple years, she was released to the wild, where's she's lived a healthy life—she's even raised two broods of chicks. But she still calls to and pays regular visits to her rescuer, right in his own back yard. A miracle of hope and connection. Also, in this episode of Constant Wonder, a bonus conversation about tracking the world's largest owl in Siberia. Guests: Carl Safina, author of "Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe," Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University, and founding president of the Safina Center Jonathan C. Slaght, Regional Director, Temperate Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society; author of “Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl” Owl calls: © Sergey Surmach 2012; Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/; BYU Broadcasting does not claim ownership in the sounds provided by Mr. Surmach which BYU obtained from https://xeno-canto.org/species/Bubo-blakistoni

When his daughter is diagnosed with Down Syndrome, an anthropology professor must test his commitment to the lesson that his field had long taught: that someone is different doesn't mean something is wrong with them. He discovers, though, that even leading social scientists like Margaret Mead and Erik Erikson struggled to accept Down Syndrome as part of a normal life. In this episode of Constant Wonder, he and his family embrace an expanded concept of what a "normal" childhood looks like. Guest: Thomas W. Pearson, professor of Anthropology at University of Wisconsin-Stout and author of "An Ordinary Future: Margaret Mead, the Problem of Disability, and Child Born Different"

Constant Wonder continues its pursuit of awe and wonder in all creation, human or wild, vast or small. Here's a sample of what we've got coming up over the next 12 weeks: An anthropology professor rethinks what it means to be human when his newborn receives a Down Syndrome diagnosis. Two turtle fanatics explore the unexpected marvels of ancient family bonds. A birder adopts an injured baby screech owl and releases her to the wild, from which she returns for frequent visits. And, a young Iranian refugee navigates his early teens in rural Oklahoma. Join Constant Wonder for stories from nature, medicine, art, history, science, and more.

Constant Wonder shares excerpts of three of our favorite episodes from 2023. We meet a family who discovered that their Nazi grandfather had actually aided the French resistance in WWII; we follow two intrepid female botanists along a death-defying boat trip through the Grand Canyon; we meet a "range rider" who keeps the peace between ranchers and wolves. These are only a sampling of the fascinating, inspiring conversations from the last year. Guests: Burkhard Bilger, author of "Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets" and staff writer at "The New Yorker" Melissa Sevigny, author of "Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon." Thanks to Lew Steiger for allowing us to use his recordings of Lois Jotter's recollections. Daniel Curry, range rider and wolf advocate in Eastern Washington

Marcus shares an original Christmas message.

When an ermine kills her beloved chicken one Christmas morning, Sy Montgomery learns a lesson in forgiveness that reaches far beyond the hen house. Part of a Constant Wonder series marking the Christian Advent with daily vignettes that distill the spirit of the season, in keeping with our mission of exploring wonder and awe in all nature, human or wild, vast or small: encounters that move us beyond words. Guest: Sy Montgomery, author of "How To Be A Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals"

The ties that bind us—family or community—may sometimes feel restrictive, but they actually hold us safe and keep us calm, like swaddling bands, according to Hannah Anderson. Part of a Constant Wonder series marking the Christian Advent with daily vignettes that distill the spirit of the season, in keeping with our mission of exploring wonder and awe in all nature, human or wild, vast or small: encounters that move us beyond words. Guest: Hannah Anderson, author of "Heaven and Nature Sing: 25 Advent Reflections to Bring Joy to the World"

The disappearance of the ivory-billed woodpecker gets Hannah Anderson thinking about how we make room to care for other creatures on this planet, and the hope of Christmas in dark times. Part of a Constant Wonder series marking the Christian Advent with daily vignettes that distill the spirit of the season, in keeping with our mission of exploring wonder and awe in all nature, human or wild, vast or small: encounters that move us beyond words. Guest: Hannah Anderson, author of "Heaven and Nature Sing: 25 Advent Reflections to Bring Joy to the World"

The human need for light and warmth are miraculously met by our planet and solar system. Ben Abbott compares these earthly systems to Christ's divine mission. Part of a Constant Wonder series marking the Christian Advent with daily vignettes that distill the spirit of the season, in keeping with our mission of exploring wonder and awe in all nature, human or wild, vast or small: encounters that move us beyond words. Guest: Ben Abbott, professor of Plant and Wildlife Sciences at BYU