Constant Wonder
Stay in tune with our phenomenal world. Join us for explorations of science, art, history, and more. We're on a quest to find awe and wonder in all nature—human or wild, vast or small. Encounters that move us beyond words. Hosted by Marcus Smith, Constant Wonder is a production of BYUradio.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 50 minutes
- Episodes
- 190
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
BONUS: Eat the Invaders
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 Car…
00:07:38 |
Wed 15 Nov 2023
Eat, Poop, Die
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, insec…
00:53:10 |
Wed 08 Nov 2023
Compassion in the Aftermath: Recovering from Horrific Hallucinations
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 hal…
00:52:48 |
Wed 01 Nov 2023
Book of Delights
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 …
00:52:46 |
Wed 25 Oct 2023
Who Deserves to Be on Stage?
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 wit…
00:52:50 |
Wed 18 Oct 2023
Going Blind With Vigor and Aplomb
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 …
00:48:48 |
Wed 11 Oct 2023
Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose
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 c…
01:01:10 |
Wed 04 Oct 2023
A Chinese-American Family's Quest for Inclusion
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…
00:59:29 |
Wed 27 Sep 2023
Death-Defying Botanists Brave the Colorado
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 kno…
00:58:04 |
Wed 20 Sep 2023
TRAILER: Season 6 of Constant Wonder
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 p…
00:02:59 |
Wed 06 Sep 2023
More Love for a Big Lake That's Often Belittled
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…
00:54:15 |
Wed 23 Aug 2023
The Never-bored Naturalist Who Plumbed the Ocean Depths
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 li…
00:55:09 |
Wed 16 Aug 2023
Family Discovers That Nazi Grandfather Aided French Villagers
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 i…
00:53:32 |
Wed 09 Aug 2023
Dreams and the Deep Mysteries of the Unconscious Mind
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 problem…
00:53:55 |
Wed 02 Aug 2023
The Search for a Lost Jewish Community
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 h…
00:58:01 |
Wed 26 Jul 2023
The Batman of Mexico (and the World!)
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 expe…
00:52:50 |
Wed 19 Jul 2023
Discovering Both Reverence and Humor in Dying
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…
00:55:59 |
Wed 12 Jul 2023
Finding a Personal Place in the Wild World
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, stud…
00:49:08 |
Wed 05 Jul 2023
Fear and Wonder in the Natural World
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 to…
00:58:16 |
Wed 31 May 2023
In Uganda, Healthy Communities Make for Healthy Wildlife
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 h…
00:56:44 |
Wed 24 May 2023
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