Constant Wonder

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 justice, and release the falcons back to the wild.

Lynn Schofield and Sean Peterson are scientists who discovered a peregrine falcon nest on the bell tower at the University of California Berkeley. The nest is presided over by a matriarch affectionately called “Queen Annie” and her mate. Schofield and Peterson founded Cal Falcons, a livestream of the nest that brought Annie worldwide fame.

Guests:

George Smith, Peregrine Coordinator for the Scottish Raptor Study Group https://www.scottishraptorstudygroup.org/

Lynn Schofield and Sean Peterson, biologist and ecologist with Cal Falcons https://calfalcons.berkeley.edu/

(0:00) Meet George Smith

(4:32) To Trap a Peregrine Falcon

(12:34) Poaching & Repatriation

(21:45) George’s Nest Checks

(26:37) Meet Lynne Schofield and Sean Peterson

(27:20) Cal Falcons on the Campanile

(33:23) Queen Annie

Originally aired on September 25, 2024

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 lives to the practice.

Dan Roche grew up hating his sightless right eye. After medical complications and fruitless corrective surgeries, he had it removed and replaced with a prosthetic. No longer fragile glass spheres, prosthetic eyes are intricate, bespoke medical devices. (Check out Dan's photo and see if you can tell the difference!) Modern ocularists, like Michael Strauss, facilitate both emotional and physical healing with their work, giving Dan (and other patients) confidence and a new lease on life.

Guests:

Dan Roche, professor of English at Le Moyne College, and author of "Eyes by Hand: Prosthetics of Art and Healing" https://www.eyesbyhand.com/

Michael Strauss, ocularist https://strausseye.com/

(0:00) Meet Dan Roche (and His Eye)

(15:21) History and Structure of Prosthetic Eyes

(22:38) Eye Contact and Confidence

(30:57) Michael Strauss, the Ocularist

(33:30 A Therapist and a Technician

(46:22) Do You Know That Guy?

(52:48) The Power of Empathy 

Photo credit: Dan Roche

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, movement 3;

Sibelius - Symphony No. 5;

Schumann - Kinderszenen No. 1;

Chopin - Opus 10, Etude No. 3;

Schumann - Träumerei;

Guest: Caroline Sanderson, a writer and books journalist. Her memoir is titled “Listen With Father: How I Learned to Love Classical Music."

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 of "The Light Eaters" and journalist covering health, science, and the environment.

(0:00) Meet Zoë Schlanger

(6:18) Pothos & Azolla

(16:08) Acacia Tannins

(21:02) Venus Flytrap Math

(22:21) Dodder Vine Predation

(28:50) Boquila, the Mimic

(40:04) Consciousness & Communication

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 tectonics since childhood. As a professor of geology, he published widely on threats of earthquakes and tsunamis, but two events convinced him that forecasting wasn't enough. One day, he overhead his young son saying that his dad "wasn't a doctor who helped people," and then there was the catastrophic loss of life in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. He decided to found In Harm's Way, which helps people prepare for natural disasters.

Guest: Ron Harris, professor of geology at BYU and founder of In Harm's Way

(0:00) Meet Ron Harris

(5:39) The Eruption of Mount St. Helens

(11:01) A Doctor Who Helps

(18:16) Boxing Day Tsunami 2004

(22:51) Moken Survival Strategies

(25:19) Ron's Calling

(32:24) Social Media and Mitigation

(38:06) Local Disaster Mitigation

(41:14) Surfing and Purpose

(47:04) Spreading the Word of 20-20-20

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 hallucinations. Suddenly, he plunged from the rational world of academia into a terrifying realm of assassin-children, evil doctors, and river-rafting MRI machines. Emerging from that chaos, he decided to explore the wonders of the human mind, uncovering unexpected kindness along the way.

Steven Peck, professor of biology at BYU and author of over forty short stories and novels https://stevepeckniche.com/

(0:00) Reptilian Gateway to Wonder

(15:50) The Beginnings of Madness

(21:02) Assassins, Evil Organizations, and Detainment

(30:56) A Changed Steven

(36:46) A Break in the Illusion

(41:14) Fly Fishing with a New Perspective

Originally aired Nov 1, 2023

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 Leonard Latkovski, and a remarkable moment when her father, theologian Henlee Barnette, invited Martin Luther King, Jr. to speak at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The conversation moves through the concept of "thin places”—those uncanny moments where the boundary between the ordinary and the transcendent seems to dissolve—and closes with a handful of surprising word etymologies that reframe how we see the world.

Guest: Martha Barnette is an author, word-lover and co-host of A Way with Words. Find her at www.marthabarnette.com

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Chapters:

(0:00) Martha Barnette on Language and Wonder

(4:20) Family Roots: Henlee Barnette

(12:59) Professor Latkovski and the Love of Greek

(27:54) MLK, Jr.’s Visit to Southern

(34:32) When Words Fail Us

(42:41) Thin Places & Thresholds

(45:18) Scintillating Words

Constant Wonder is a production of BYUradio. Find us at www.byuradio.org

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

Knotweed Crumble and more at our Substack: https://constantwonder.substack.com

Chapters:

(0:00) Meet Tama Wong & Wild Lawns

(5:43) What is a Weed?

(14:22) Foraging for Fine Dining

(30:12) Cultivation and Community

(32:03) Moving at the Speed of Life

(38:02) Editing the Weeds

(47:50) Memories in the Garden

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 Anglican priest, chaplain, fellow, and lecturer in theology at Pembroke College, Oxford University

Chapters:

(0:00) Introduction

(3:55) Fountains Abbey

(13:17) Grief and silence

(20:23) Rachel's thunderbolt

(24:57) Thin spaces

(32:35) Prodigal sons and sacred hymns

(43:34) Illumination

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"

Author page: https://www.crytopnaturalist.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarodkanderson/

Originally aired January 22, 2025