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 ...
Mar 06, 2024•53 min•Season 7Ep. 8
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, ...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 7Ep. 7
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: ...
Feb 21, 2024•49 min•Season 7Ep. 6
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 rec...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr•Season 7Ep. 5
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 One...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 7Ep. 4
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? ...
Jan 31, 2024•51 min•Season 7Ep. 3
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 M...
Jan 24, 2024•53 min•Season 7Ep. 2
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:...
Jan 17, 2024•51 min•Season 7Ep. 1
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 Me...
Dec 27, 2023•55 min
When invasive plants and animals crowd out native species—and you just can't beat 'em—you might as well eat 'em! That's Joe Roman's argument. It's not a perfect solution, but from lionfish in the Caribbean to the snails and weeds in your backyard, chefs and foodies are serving up invasive species in the name of conservation. Enjoy this short bonus episode from Constant Wonder! Guest: Joe Roman, conservation biologist and research affiliate at the University of Vermont; author, "Eat, Poop, Die: H...
Nov 15, 2023•8 min
Sixty years ago, the island of Surtsey was born of a volcanic eruption. It would've remained a bleak, barren place were it not for bird droppings which created a tiny ecosystem in which plants, insects, and birds now thrive. It's a compelling example of the way that animals distribute nutrients around the globe through their poop. In other instances, carcasses nourish many forms of life around them, especially during and after a migration. In this episode, we'll find wonder around the world in q...
Nov 08, 2023•53 min•Season 6Ep. 8
As a biology professor and a published writer, Steven Peck spent his entire life closely observing everything around him. But then his world was overturned by a brain infection that caused severe hallucinations, and he was plunged into a terrifying realm of assassin-children, evil doctors, and river-rafting MRI machines. Emerging from that chaos, Peck grappled with the power of the human brain to construct and alter the reality we experience. In this episode of Constant Wonder, he talks about ho...
Nov 01, 2023•53 min•Season 6Ep. 7
Poet and essayist Ross Gay talks about finding moments of wonder in everyday life. Wandering, finger painting, laundromats, bike riding, gardening, listening to beautiful music, recognizing the care that is offered to us. In this episode of Constant Wonder, we discover Ross Gay's philosophy of delight. Guest: Ross Gay, author of "The Book of Delights," "Inciting Joy," and "The Book of (More) Delights"
Oct 25, 2023•53 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Steven Melendez was introduced to ballet as a child living in a homeless shelter. After an international ballet career—during which he tried to downplay his past—he now works to welcome more kids with backgrounds like his into the ballet studio and onto the world's finest stages. The documentary "Lift" chronicles his journey. Guests: Steven Melendez, Artistic Director of New York Theatre Ballet David Petersen, Director and Producer of "Lift"
Oct 18, 2023•53 min•Season 6Ep. 5
Andrew Leland figured out he was going blind when he began stumbling in the dark as a teenager. Using the then-nascent internet, he diagnosed himself with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition which has caused his sight to gradually degrade from the outside in. Far from being the tragedy he expected, his blindness has simply become part of everyday life—bringing with it surprising humor and unexpected beauty. Guest: Andrew Leland, freelance writer for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, McS...
Oct 11, 2023•49 min•Season 6Ep. 4
When the two teenage children of a close-knit family are killed by a drunk driver, the grief-stricken parents turn to their Jewish community for support. They learn that constructive grief requires community and conversation, and they set out to rebuild a joyful life that honors their lost children while embracing others in need. Guests: Colin Campbell, author of "Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose," and Gail Lerner
Oct 04, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 6Ep. 3
When Ava Chin went looking for the father who had abandoned her family, she discovered the rich and complicated legacy of her Chinese immigrant relatives. Her great-great-grandfather helped build the railroad that united America, but his adopted country soon turned against him, legislating the Chinese Exclusion Act. This episode of the Constant Wonder podcast explores how Ava Chin's family continued to thrive in America, despite intense discrimination. As her family history unfolds, we witness A...
Sep 27, 2023•59 min•Season 6Ep. 2
In 1938, the raging rapids of the Colorado were still untamed and undammed when a pair of botanists from the University of Michigan captured the country's imagination. They would become the first known women to run the river through the Grand Canyon. They did it in pursuit of plants and science, but their story is a little-known tale of resilience and beauty at the edge of the impossible. Guest: Melissa Sevigny, author of "Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany...
Sep 20, 2023•58 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Join us for conversations that invite you to discover, explore, and engage with the wonders of the world around you. New episodes available Wednesdays, starting September 20, 2023, on your favorite podcast platforms and the BYUradio app.
Sep 06, 2023•3 min
Utah Lake has long had a poor reputation for being murky and prone to algal blooms, but efforts to save the once-endangered June sucker fish are bringing new life to the massive lake. In this episode of Constant Wonder, see how a coalition of scientists, government officials, and regular folk are looking out for an ecosystem unlike any other. Guests: Josh LeMonte, Professor of Geology at BYU Michael Mills, Executive Director at the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission Melissa ...
Aug 23, 2023•54 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Exploring deeper in the ocean than anyone before him—into the dark depths of the sea where no ray of sunlight reached—William Beebe saw shocking lights, colors, and critters that made him question life on land. In this episode of Constant Wonder, meet a scientist as interesting as the watery worlds he discovered. Guest: Brad Fox, author of The Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous Ocean Depths William Beebe narrated by Brian Croxall, Professor of Digital Humanities at BYU
Aug 16, 2023•55 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Karl Gönner was a Nazi, and his family didn't ask a lot of questions about that time in his life. But after his death, they came to find out, in a most unexpected way, that he'd protected villagers in occupied France against abuse by the Nazi regime. In this episode of Constant Wonder, a family discovers that their history is more inspiring than they'd ever suspected. Guest: Burkhard Bilger, author of "Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets" and staff writer at "The New York...
Aug 09, 2023•54 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Barely 20 years ago, there was little scientific consensus on the purpose of sleep. Now, there is broad agreement that sleep and dreams are where the unconscious mind processes events, solves problems, and organizes memories. Robert Stickgold helped break the field open, in part by getting amnesiacs to play tetris. Sidarta Ribeiro was drawn to the field largely through his own striking dream and sleep experiences, starting when he was just five years old. Explore the world of dreams in this epis...
Aug 02, 2023•54 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Stella Levi, age 100, grew up on the island of Rhodes in a community of Sephardic Jews who had lived there for over 500 years. She survived the Italian and German occupations and the deportation of her entire community to Auschwitz. Decades later, Levi met Michael Frank, a writer living in New York City. This chance encounter led to weekly meetings for over six years. In this episode of Constant Wonder, Michael Frank tells us the story of their friendship, Stella Levi's incredible life, and the ...
Jul 26, 2023•58 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Ever since "Dracula," bats have been seen as terrifying threats that carry disease. They're actually essential to our agriculture and industry. In this episode of Constant Wonder, you'll meet an expert who can set the record straight. No wonder he's known as "The Batman of Mexico"; he's been obsessed with the flying mammals since he was young! Guest: Rodrigo Medellin, Professor of Ecology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
Jul 19, 2023•53 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Christopher Clark always had a sharp sense of humor. But when he was diagnosed with ALS and gradually became paralyzed, he also refined and shared a sense of awe at the miracle of living, even though—and maybe because—his own body was dying. His widow, Lisa Valentine Clark, tells his story to Constant Wonder, in an episode you won't want to miss. Guests: Lisa Valentine Clark, host of "The Lisa Show" on BYUradio Ken Craig, Chris Clark's best friend and Donor Liaison at Philanthropies Dept. for Th...
Jul 12, 2023•56 min•Season 5Ep. 2
A young field biologist, whose peripatetic childhood left her feeling rootless, searches for a sense of home in some of the world's wildest places. She works in extreme conditions in Antarctica, studying prey and predators, birds, and seals. In the process, she discovers fragility and terror, and, ultimately, the magic of life. Guest: Naira de Gracia, field biologist and author of "The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica"
Jul 05, 2023•49 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Lyanda Lynn Haupt's mission is to connect people with nature in their everyday lives. In her own life, that's led to sitting in the dark alongside a moose, walking barefoot in a prehistoric Celtic tomb, and adopting a starling. Sometimes, as can happen when backpacking alone in the wilderness, encounters with nature can be scary as well as inspiring. But awe includes both fear and wonder, and our guest will examine both in this episode of Constant Wonder. Guest: Lyanda Lynn Haupt, naturalist, sp...
May 31, 2023•58 min•Season 4Ep. 7
People living on the edge of African nature preserves can pass their diseases to gorillas living there. In this episode of Constant Wonder, a wildlife vet practices "One Health" by investing in the health and economic security of humans to ensure primates stay healthy, too. The result is robust gorilla tourism that benefits the entire country. Guest: Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health and author of "Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African W...
May 24, 2023•57 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Daniel Curry had had recurring dreams about wolves, long before he chose to devote his career to helping them. After working with captive wolves for several years, he became a "range rider," a human intermediary between predators and the cattle they might want to eat. In this episode of Constant Wonder, we'll discover Curry's extraordinary empathy for both domestic and wild creatures, and we'll hear how he works to keep them all safe. Photo credit: Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review Guest: Dan...
May 17, 2023•54 min•Season 4Ep. 5
