Constant Wonder

Emmett Hoops was seven when he determined to help save the nearly extinct American chestnut tree. He's 64 now, but his hope and passion are unabated. In this episode of Constant Wonder, you'll meet Emmett, but you'll also hear voices from the past: people who grew up under the leaves of the chestnut tree and who relied on its nutritious nuts—before blight drove it from the American forest around 1940. Guests: Emmett Hoops, Director for District 5 and Vice President for Outreach, New York Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation Andy Newhouse, Director of American Chestnut Project at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Want to get involved with Chestnut restoration? Visit the American Chestnut Foundation online to learn more about their mission! https://www.americanchestnut.org/ Special thanks to Bethany N. Baxter for archival interviews from Appalachia conducted in 2008.

Though his life looked calm from the outside, Douglas Wood's undiagnosed ADHD and dyslexia dragged him down—until he received a personal letter from the famed wilderness writer Sig Olson. Olson's encouragement set him on a path to become a wilderness guide and a noted children's author. Guest: Douglas Wood, author of over 40 books, retired wilderness canoe guide, and most recently the author of "A Wild Path," a collection of essays for adults Visit Douglas Wood's website to learn more about his work: https://douglaswood.com/

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 the sea, she travels the globe sharing the wonder of the ocean and the power of human breath. GUEST: Zandile Ndhlovu, freediving instructor, Founder and Director of the The Black Mermaid Foundation, author of the children's book "Zandi's Song" Find Zandile on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zandithemermaid/?hl=en Learn more about the Black Mermaid Foundation: https://www.blackmermaid.co.za/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblackmermaid_foundation/?hl=en

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, and Peachie Jones Explore more of David's writing on his website: https://davidnicholson.info/ "A Charge to Keep I Have" written by Charles Wesley, sung by Hasan Green, accessed at TheHasanGreen YouTube channel "Manual Typewriter Sound Effect" accessed at Sound Effects YouTube channel

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: Freeman Hrabowski III, Emeritus President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and author of "The Resilient University: How Purpose and Inclusion Drive Student Success" Visit Freeman Hrabowski online to learn more about his work! https://www.fhrabowski.com/

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 reconstruct. Two very different challenges in storytelling. Guest: Amy Kurzweil, author of "Artificial: A Love Story" and "Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir" explore Amy's art on her website https://amykurzweil.com/ and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amykurzweil/?hl=en

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)" Explore Daniel's writing at https://www.danielnayeri.com/ and on Instagram: https://www.danielnayeri.com/ Thanks to Onetent for the use of "Persian Fantasy," accessed at pixabay.com

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? Guests: Sy Montgomery, author, and Matt Patterson, illustrator, of "Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell" Find Sy Montgomery online at https://symontgomery.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sytheauthor/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SyTheAuthor/ Find Matt Patterson online at https://www.mpattersonart.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stoneridgeartstudios/?hl=en Photo by Erin Patterson

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 backyard, 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 Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe," Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University, and founding president of the Safina Center Jonathan C. Slaght, Regional Director, Temperate Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society; author of “Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl” Want to learn more? Find Jonathan online at https://jonathanslaght.com/ Explore more of Carl's writing at https://www.carlsafina.org/ Owl calls: © Sergey Surmach 2012; Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/; BYU Broadcasting does not claim ownership in the sounds provided by Mr. Surmach which BYU obtained from https://xeno-canto.org/species/Bubo-blakistoni

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: Thomas W. Pearson, professor of Anthropology at University of Wisconsin-Stout and author of "An Ordinary Future: Margaret Mead, the Problem of Disability, and Child Born Different" Find Thomas online at https://www.thomaswpearson.org/