Constant Wonder BYUradio

Constant Wonder presents the second of a two-part episode on "infrasound," or sound that lies below the threshold of human hearing. Infrasound can explain seemingly inexplicable animal behavior.

In part 2, we meet Hawaiian insects and African elephants that use the same technique to hear sounds not audible to the human ear. They both can hear with their feet! And while we don't hear with our feet, research on these animals may help improve hearing aids in the future—because we do actually hear with our bones.

Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell, instructor at Harvard Medical School, elephant expert, and co-founder and CEO of Utopia Scientific

This is the first of a two-part episode on "infrasound," or sound that lies below the threshold of human hearing. Infrasound can warn of impending danger.

In part 1, we go to Hawaii and Chile with an volcanologist who records the voices of volcanos, looking for subtle shifts in their infrasound that could signal a pending eruption. Then we go up the coast to Guatemala, to detect mudslides triggered by a volcano—before they happen, giving people time to get out of the way.

Guest: Jeffrey Johnson, Associate Professor of Geoscience at Boise State University

If snorkeling seems like something you can only do on a tropical vacation, think again. In this podcast episode, we meet a river snorkeling guide who encourages us to stick our heads in the water, right in our local streams and rivers. Keith Williams thinks you'll be amazed at the aquatic life you'll see there. Tune in to Constant Wonder and get hooked with some amazing fish tales.

Guest: Keith Williams, author of "Snorkeling Rivers and Streams: An Aquatic Guide to Underwater Discovery and Adventure" and guide at Freshwater Journeys

Constant Wonder presents a feed swap with an episode from Bring Birds Back, a podcast about the joy of birds and the ways that humans can help them through simple, everyday actions. In this episode, host Tenijah Hamilton explains that migratory birds use starlight to find their way on their long journeys—which makes light pollution a serious threat. Drawn off course by bright, artificial lighting, birds can wind up fatally colliding with windows or wasting precious time and energy that they need to survive. “Lights Out” programs get cities and their residents to turn off nonessential lighting during migration seasons which can help make their journeys a little easier (and save energy!).

Guest: Bring Birds Back host Tenijah Hamilton speaks with Julia Wang, project leader at BirdCast and the Lights Out Texas campaign at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Image Artist: Hayden Maynard

Storyteller Kevin Kling has overcome trauma and learned to live with disability, without ever losing sight of the hilarious–even in the horrible. We follow him from his mischievous childhood to his empathetic and inspiring performances around the world. He still laughs often, and so will you, during this episode of the "Constant Wonder" podcast.

Guest: Kevin Kling, author, playwright, and storyteller

If you've never stopped by the side of the trail to listen to a beetle larvae chewing on a pine tree, or to the sound of the woodpecker looking for that beetle, we'll give you a chance in this podcast episode. If you've never been puzzled by the high-pitched voice of a male elk bugle, we encourage you to take the time to wonder about nature's oddities. Focusing on underappreciated sounds and sensations opens up an enormous world of insight and beauty.

Guest: David George Haskell, author of "Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction" and Professor of Biology at Sewanee: The University of the South