Forests aren’t just beautiful—they’re functional. They regulate our climate, clean our air, and power every breath we take. The northern forests inhale carbon and exhale oxygen on a planetary scale. We are not separate from nature—we’re shaped by it, breath by breath.
Dr. Kate Kennedy shares her experience with Dr. Martin Bencsik's cello beehive! Kate Kennedy visited this cello while doing research for her book Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound. Hear more of her story from S11 E10 at the link in our bio or on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts! Footage of the bee cello used with permission from Martin Bencsik and the Bee Cello Project. Clip of Deidre Bencsik performing on the cello used with permission from Martin Bencsik.
When she was growing up, Dr. Kate Kennedy dreamed of becoming a professional cellist. After a devastating injury at music school, this dream was cut short. However, in recent years, Kennedy has reclaimed her identity as a cellist. She set out across Europe to investigate how cellists connect to their instruments. On her journey, she learned about the story of Pál Hermann—a composer and cello virtuoso who was killed in the Holocaust. After learning about his story, Kate was determined to find his long-lost cello to restore this precious instrument—the soul of Pál Hermann—to his daughter, Corrie, now in her mid-90s.
In a small Alabama town, Black women turn scraps into masterpieces. Isolated by geography and history, generations of quilters of Gee’s Bend developed a bold, abstract style unlike anything else in American art. Their quilts now hang in major museums. Hear the stories of two Gee’s Bend quilters in their own words. And meet a modern Black craftsman whose wildly imaginative chairs are like a living history of Black craft.
Everyday people overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles to produce fine art. Due to decades of historical isolation, the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama developed a radical, abstract approach to quilting. We meet two quilters from the small town who have quilts on display in some of the finest museums in the country. We also meet a contemporary furniture maker whose work is a living history of Black craft.
In the coastal waters of Southern Africa lives a true master of disguise: the tubercular cuttlefish. Though small and little-known, this species can mimic not just one—but three different animals. It blends into the seafloor like a stone, imitates whelks to appear armored, swims like a fish, and even mimics the quirky walk of a hermit crab.
When author Lynn Faust faced the loss of her beloved Smoky Mountains cabin, she began to notice the synchronous fireflies more closely—tiny lights blinking in perfect rhythm. What started as a moment of heartbreak turned into a lifelong journey. With no formal training, she became a leading firefly expert, dedicating herself to studying these mysterious creatures and illuminating their hidden world.
Facing the loss of her Elkmont cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains—a family treasure for five generations—Lynn Faust began to pay more attention to the fireflies there, the "light show," as the family called it, where thousands of fireflies would light up in unison. When she read that synchronous fireflies did not exist in North America, she knew that scientists were wrong. The creatures were right in her own yard! Realizing just how little was known about these enchanting insects, she set out to observe them, becoming a self-taught firefly expert and unveiling the mysteries of nature's tiny lanterns.
After enduring deep emotional and physical trauma, Lizzie and Merlin Hanbury-Tenison found unexpected solace in an ancient temperate rainforest on their own land. Among moss-covered trees and whispering leaves, they discovered not just healing-but purpose. Now, they're on a mission to share that healing power with others while working to restore and expand the rare forest that helped them find peace.
The Hanbury-Tenisons have turned to a rare temperate rainforest on their family farm for solace and renewal after emotional and physical trauma. Now they want to share this healing resource with others. But they also want to restore and expand the ancient forest. Healing the land and healing ourselves in this episode of Constant Wonder.