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.
Latest episodes
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54 min
Milkweed and Miracles: Stories of Wonder and Metamorphosis
A chance encounter with milkweed changes Allison Fragakis' life and soothes her grief over her mother's death. In this episode of Constant Wonder, Tennery Taylor explores how a var…
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1 h 01
Gems from Constant Wonder: Lost and Found
Hosts Marcus Smith and Tennery Taylor explore some of our favorite lost-and-found stories from previous episodes of Constant Wonder. Join Mensun Bound as he searches the Antarctic…
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53 min
Why the World Throws Parties for the Dead
After the death of a close friend, Erica Buist found herself consumed by anxiety about dying. In this episode of Constant Wonder, she tells host Marcus Smith how she set out to fac…
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59 min
The Young Man and the Sea: George Forster’s Travels and Travails
George Forster didn't begin life as a revolutionary. He was an 18th-century botanist whose life ended in Paris during the Reign of Terror. In this episode, historian Andrea Wulf te…
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55 min
Climbing Giant Trees: How Time In The Canopy Inspires Awe
Tim Kovar leads climbing tours high up in the canopy of massive trees. In this episode of Constant Wonder, he tells host Marcus Smith about how he used to fell trees as an arborist…
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59 min
64 Butterflies: The Day Behind the Day
Lea Korsgaard felt a tug toward the natural world and followed it, setting out to find all 64 species of butterfly in her native Denmark. What began as an impulse became a consumin…
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54 min
Family Secrets: Nazi Grandfather Actually Aided French Villagers
Karl Gönner was a Nazi, and his family didn't ask a lot of questions about that time in his life. In this episode of Constant Wonder, Gönner's grandson Burkhard Bilger speaks with…
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59 min
Arguing With the Wind: A Spiritual Journey in Wilderness
As a teenager, Walt McLaughlin told his parents he'd been talking to God in the woods, and he ended up in a psychiatric ward on Thorazine. Years later a philosophy degree had done…
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57 min
Protecting Humans, Protecting Wildlife
What if protecting humans is the key to protecting wildlife? In this episode, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka tells host Marcus Smith how people living near African nature preserves can…
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56 min
Floral Revolutionaries: Plants as Planet-Makers
Flowers, believe it or not, are nature's greatest revolutionaries. In this episode of Constant Wonder, biologist David George Haskell and host Marcus Smith discuss how flowers turn…
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31 min
On the Spot (and Spot On!): Great Impromptu Performances on Vintage Typewriters
They are like street musicians, busking with words instead of instruments. Typewriter poets Kathleen Rooney and Allison Fragakis share with Constant Wonder's Tennery Taylor how the…
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55 min
River Rising: Jeremy Jones, His Old Farmhouse, and Hurricane Helene
Jeremy Jones has loved exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains since childhood, and despite his world travels, his identity as a "mountain person" always brought him home. His family ha…
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51 min
Shark Lover: Advocating for "Scary" Creatures
Snakes. Scorpions. Sharks. From a young age, Rachel Graham has always been interested in marginalized, "scary" animals. In this episode of Constant Wonder, she and host Marcus Smit…
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54 min
Fiddling with the Heart: Gaelynn Lea's Fearless Sound
Gaelynn Lea plays the violin like a cello — a technique she discovered almost by accident, one that would eventually carry her from a small-town orchestra to NPR's Tiny Desk Concer…
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1 h 00
The Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites and Predators
Dino Martins is an entomologist who finds beauty in every bug. In this episode of Constant Wonder, he tells host Marcus Smith about his passion for parasites and how a lifetime of…
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44 min
Roctogenarians: Late-in-Life Comebacks and Triumphs
Late-in-life debuts, comebacks, and triumphs. In this episode, "Roctogenarians" author Mo Rocca shares with Constant Wonder host Marcus Smith awe-inspiring stories of people who ma…
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48 min
Bulldogs, Pianos, And Praise: How To Be Swept Away
Amy Leach is an essayist and musician with a penchant for improvisation. In this episode of Constant Wonder, she and host Marcus Smith share a worldview: one filled with awe and pr…
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59 min
The World Is Singing: Hank Lentfer's Life in Sound
What does it mean to truly listen: not just hear, but attend to the world with exquisite care? In this episode of Constant Wonder, host Marcus Smith sits down with Hank Lentfer, a…
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1 h 06
The Night Flyer Liberates Her People
Harriet Tubman was sustained by vivid dreams and fierce spiritual faith as she risked everything—again and again—to guide enslaved people to freedom. In this episode of Constant Wo…
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45 min
Peregrine Falcons: Amazing Parents & Fastest Birds in the World
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 adventure…