I go deep into the Olympic National Forest to find the most elusive creature imaginable: silence.

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A lot of time we go to nature to find silence, to find solace. But what is silence really? You might think you’re in a quiet place, but it is hard to find complete natural silence with no human noise pollution. In this episode, Chris hits the road with sound engineers Gordon Hempton and Matt Mikkelsen on a mission to find the quietest place on earth.

You can learn more about Matt and Gordon’s work [here](http:// https://www.quietparks.org/partners.).

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Filmmakers Jeff Wilson and Mark Smith spent four months in a tiny shack in the Antarctic documenting a colony of 500,000 Adelie penguins. They endured 130 mile hour winds, sub-zero temperatures and penguin poop…lots of penguin poop. Jeff and Mark documented penguins in two films, one for the BBC’s Frozen Planet and the other in Disneynature’s Penguins.

I talk with two filmmakers who got up close and personal with Antarctic penguins.

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I take a journey up the Columbia River, where people, sea lions, orcas and salmon have a complicated relationship.

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In the 1800’s over 10 million salmon would return to the Columbia River that borders Washington and Oregon. Today that number is closer to two million. Many factors account for this change including lower water quality, a warmer climate and sea lions. Hundreds of sea lions gather at the base of the Bonneville Dam eating salmon that are trying to make their way up river to spawn. Humans are going to great lengths to scare off the sea lions in hopes of preserving the salmon run. Chris examines the tensions between man and animal, telling the story from the point of view of the sea lion.

I explore the ideas and controversies behind reintroducing grizzly bears to the North Cascades.

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There’s a big part of us that still is wild, a bigger part than we might imagine in this crazy modern world we’ve built around ourselves.

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Nature can lower your blood pressure, reduce depression and may even help fight cancer. Chris takes a walk in woods with forest therapist Julie Hepp and learns about the powers of nature. He also chats with author Florence Williams who has written extensively about the health benefits of forests and research being conducted in this growing field of study.

Just two hours from Rome is one of the richest ecosystems in Europe, a little island of mountains that to this day is home to wolves, wild boar and bears.

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