9 Minutes of Wonder
by Betsy Hedberg
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Recent episodes
Teensy, tiny things — it doesn't have to be big to be awe-inspiring
Jun 15, 2026
9m 14s
Christmas traditions you may or may not have heard of — and happy holidays to you!
Dec 23, 2025
8m 12s
(Reposting in honor of this week's lights) The northern lights: how can we not be amazed by lights jumping around in the sky?
Nov 14, 2025
9m 23s
Magnificent sun, where have you gone? Fall is a good time to reflect on the wonders of our favorite star.
Oct 29, 2025
9m 44s
Forks: never to be taken for granted!
Sep 15, 2025
8m 22s
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/15/26 | universemicroorganisms+4 | — | Butterfly scales = pixie dustDiatoms: tiny factories you can see from space (YouTube)+3 | — | tiny thingsawe-inspiring+4 | — | 9m 14s | ||
| 12/23/25 | Christmas traditionscultural differences+3 | — | Santa | CatalanJapan | Christmastraditions+6 | — | 8m 12s | ||
| 11/14/25 | northern lightsaurora+3 | — | NASAAustralian government+1 | — | northern lightsaurora+5 | — | 9m 23s | ||
| 10/29/25 | sunclimate+4 | — | WikipediaYouTube+2 | Earth | sunclimate change+5 | — | 9m 44s | ||
| 9/15/25 | utensilshistory+3 | — | National GeographicSmithsonian+3 | — | forkutensil history+3 | — | 8m 22s | ||
| 8/14/25 | butterfliesmetamorphosis+3 | — | Butterfly ConservationMonarch butterfly metamorphosis time-lapse+1 | UK | butterfliesmetamorphosis+3 | — | 8m 29s | ||
| 7/18/25 | songbirdshappiness+3 | — | PixabayBBC Sound Effects+2 | — | songbirdshappiness+3 | — | 9m 22s | ||
| 6/23/25 | firefliesbioluminescence+4 | — | Fireflies: how and why they light upInsider Science: what's behind the firefly's glow?+3 | — | firefliesbioluminescent beetle+4 | — | 8m 13s | ||
| 6/10/25 | pigeonsurban wildlife+3 | — | BBCDaybreak | — | pigeonsurban birds+3 | — | 9m 31s | ||
| 5/23/25 | chance encounterssmall talk+3 | — | Daybreak | — | chance encounterssmall talk+3 | — | 8m 29s | ||
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| 4/22/25 | Libraries inspire wonder! Here are three reasons why, in nine minutes... | Even with the internet's endless magic, libraries remain fascinating and important places. Come to the library with me in this episode, where I'll share three reasons I love libraries and think everyone else should too! A few resources: World Book Day Joanina Library Great Library of Alexandria: New and improved The world's most extraordinary libraries 'A cultural masterpiece': the world's best new public libraries — in pictures Public libraries are not just about books. At their heart, they are about social equity. (The Guardian) Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 9m 26s | ||||||
| 4/7/25 | Wonder is its own form of resistance | If you haven't heard it from me enough, I'll say it again: cultivating wonder is good for us all! I'm going to share some things you might try today or this week if you're seeking more wonder, awe, and joy. Why now? While I always hope this podcast is uplifting, I can't produce it in a vacuum as if I feel all is well in the world. And since I don't feel that way now (and you may not either), I've recorded this episode about how cultivating wonder can be its own form of resistance to the troubling things happening in the world. The resources I mention: Heather Cox Richardson on why joy is a form of resistance (YouTube, Red Wine and Blue) Explore.org (There's also my favorite kitten shelter, KitKat Playroom) Netflix: Unknown Cave of Bones Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 7m 40s | ||||||
| 3/20/25 | The birds are migrating again as they've done for eons — look up and around, and listen! | Few natural phenomena are as magical and mysterious as bird migrations. I wish I had more than nine minutes, but I'll give you just a taste of why migrating birds are so cool. "Marshland Elegy" by Aldo Leopold (PDF from A Sand County Almanac, 1949) These 5 birds are all winners in the migrations Olympics (National Audubon Society) Bird migration is one of nature's great wonders. Here's how they do it. (National Geographic) Fabulous flights: 13 amazing facts about bird migration (BBC) How migrating birds use quantum effects to navigate (Scientific American) Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary's crane cam (livestream) Sandhill crane sound clip from the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/sound/sounds-sandhill-crane.htm Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 9m 14s | ||||||
| 3/7/25 | Ice is nature's exquisite abstract art (but it doesn't belong in winter drinks!) | How much attention do you pay to ice? Maybe you're sick and tired of all the ice around you this time of year, but what about taking a closer look — even if it's just in your freezer? Ice is a menace on the road or sidewalk and can damage our beloved trees, but have you ever considered ice as an art form? Listen to find out more about this simple form of water that we usually either take for granted or curse. (Bonus topic: why do Americans use so much ice in their drinks?)A huge thank you to Tuula Ahde, who contributed some lovely audio descriptions of her spectacular ice photographs, as well as the feature photo.Tuula Ahde photographer (website) Tuula Ahde Instagram The bizarre but true story of America's obsession with ice cubes Ice Music Festival (Norway) Ice sound clip from https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=NHU05100199, recordist Stephen de Vere, Antarctica 1992 Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 9m 27s | ||||||
| 2/10/25 | Quiet, please! Let's talk about quiet...with a bonus section where I will actually be quiet | The world is so noisy! Even if we live in relatively quiet places, we are bombarded by noise thanks to all the pinging and dinging on our phones, the din of terrible news, demands from annoying coworkers...the list can seem endless. So let's focus on the more quiet side of life — quiet places we can visit or imagine. If quiet creeps you out, not to worry — this episode only lasts 9 minutes, and I talk through most it! A few resources: Lonely Planet: The Joy of Quiet Places In the Earth's quietest room, you can hear yourself blink (Smithsonian) Finding Minnesota: Orfield Laboratories (YouTube) One square inch: a sanctuary for silence at Olympic National Park The history of Postman's Park Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 9m 52s | ||||||
| 1/27/25 | Can music make you "float above the Earth in a starry dome"? | If you need to be uplifted, how about listening to some beautiful music and learning why it's awe-inspiring? Awe scientist Dacher Keltner lists music as one of the “eight wonders of life," and there's no question that music is an essential and universal part of being human. So spend nine minutes here, and then spend some more time with your favorite music today. See also: Beethoven Ode to Joy flash mob (YouTube) Tchaikovsky Research, Symphony No. 4 Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 Musopen, Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor | 9m 41s | ||||||
| 1/11/25 | Deep time: it's almost unfathomable, but let's try anyway! | What comes to mind when you think about the upcoming year? What about the "upcoming" 10 million years? Big difference, obviously, not just in the amount of time but also in how we envision these time spans. In this episode, I share a few fun metaphors for deep time — ways of visualizing (and maybe understanding) the unimaginable. For more info: Carl Sagan — Cosmos — cosmic calendar Earth's entire history (visualized on a football field) A glass of whiskey could help you get your head around deep time Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 9m 34s | ||||||
| 12/21/24 | It's winter solstice in the northern hemisphere — enjoy the dark turning to light! | The winter solstice is special from various perspectives. Even if you don't get into the spiritual magic of the day, you can still be impressed at what our planet's tilt makes happen as we go around the sun. And you can watch the livestream of this special day from Stonehenge (link below). Happy solstice! (And happy summer solstice to my southern-hemisphere friends!) Some links: Winter solstice at Mission San Juan Bautista (source of the audio clip) A trip to San Juan Bautista on the winter solstice (video) California Frontier Project (to learn more about the Spanish missions and other parts of California history) Winter solstice and Stonehenge (English Heritage) 'A time to reflect': crowds celebrate winter solstice at Stonehenge (The Guardian) Live from Stonehenge winter solstice (livestream) Burning the clocks 2024 Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 9m 28s | ||||||
| 12/12/24 | Poinsettias: notice them in a new way (you might as well since they're everywhere!) | It's National Poinsettia Day in the US! Make it a good one by learning more about these ubiquitous "flowers." Or listen after the fact to prepare for next year. A few resources: Poinsettias at Christmas 8 fun facts to know about poinsettias How to keep a poinsettia alive Cuetlaxochitl: a cultural history of the poinsettia The checkered history of the poinsettia’s namesake and the flower’s origins get new attention The complicated history of the poinsettia Joel Roberts Poinsett: Namesake of the poinsettia, enslaver, secret agent and perpetrator of the 'Trail of Tears' Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 10m 11s | ||||||
| 12/5/24 | Awe and wonder are good for us! Here's why I'm doing this... | Why am I doing this podcast anyway? Peek behind the curtain of my motivations in this short episode. Hint: because it's fun, and because awe and wonder are good for us and for society. Dacher Keltner's website, with info about his book Awe: The Transformative Power of Everyday Wonder Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 7m 51s | ||||||
| 11/14/24 | The enormous solar furnace of Uzbekistan: be blown away by the engineering, and brave the creepy staircase to the top! | I can hardly begin to describe how cool this place was, in an industrial sort of way. I'll tell you about it here, but please visit the link to see what the place looks like. This is a fantastic engineering marvel, although in a way it's so simple — harnessing the sun to heat things up.By the way, I mention 3000 degrees, and that's Celsius. In degrees Fahrenheit it would be 5432 degrees.Burnt by the sun: Uzbekistan's spectacular solar furnace Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 7m 24s | ||||||
| 10/28/24 | Samarkand and the marvelous observatory: did you ever think a place of serious science could look so magnificent? | Samarkand is a city of gorgeous tiled architecture, but in a way the most interesting site is the observatory of Ulugh Beg. You can only see the remaining sextant now, although a small bit of the observatory building has been reconstructed to help visitors imagine its earlier splendor. The astronomical discoveries made here are awe-inspiring enough, but the architecture must have been dazzling even to people who had no idea what the building was for. Have a look at the photos on these sites to bring the place to life: Observatory of Ulugh Beg, Samarkand (the first picture shows what the huge sextant looks like today; scroll down to see a very partial reconstruction and the model of how it may have looked when it was in use) The clever prince Ulugh Beg built — and used — an ingenious observatory in the 15th century (Astronomy Magazine online) Registan Square (see some photos of Samarkand's old buildings and read about the old city's central square) Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 7m 21s | ||||||
| 10/15/24 | The wonders of travel: spend 9 minutes in the surprising city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan | Visiting new places inspires wonder by giving us fresh perspectives on daily life (among other reasons). Join me for a few minutes in Tashkent and learn some things that may surprise you about this city that you probably don’t know much about. Uzbekistan’s secret underground - in pictures Uzbekistan Travel Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 7m 03s | ||||||
| 9/29/24 | Sea otters: because near-extinction stories are wonderful (and the otters are so darned cute) | I wrote my fourth-grade animal report about sea otters — so you know I love them! I hope you'll love them too after learning about their magnificent fur (which almost led to their extinction) and their inspiring comeback, as well as some other reasons they're important and interesting. After listening, search "sea otter photos and videos," or use some of the links below, to see how cute they are. Oregon Encyclopedia: Sea Otter 12 facts about sea otters for Sea Otter Awareness Week (US Dept. of the Interior) Sea otters crack open oysters and clams (YouTube video, Oregon Zoo) The "extinct" sea otter swims back to life (Life Magazine, 20 June 1938 — click on page 30) Lost and Found Nature: Searching for the southern sea otter History of sea otters (Sea Otter Foundation & Trust) Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0Baby sea otter clip from https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=sea%20otter, recordist(s): Mimi DeGruy | 9m 16s | ||||||
| 9/2/24 | Ketchup: you’ll never think about this ubiquitous American condiment in the same way again | Even mundane things in your kitchen can inspire wonder — or at least be interesting — if you pay attention. If you've never wondered about the history of ketchup, or why it's called ketchup, or what ketchup was like in the olden days, now's your chance to wonder.Edit: I made a mistake when I talked about the "mystery" EZ Squirt ketchup. It apparently didn't have all those colors together. Rather, the mystery was which color you would get. That does make more sense! A few resources: 11 ketchup facts that go well with everything (Mental Floss) The fascinating medicinal origins of ketchup (Tasting Table) A bottle to beckon with (Heinz ad) Woman is shocked when she compares ingredients in American ketchup vs. Canadian ketchup (Yahoo! Life) Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseastLicence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 | 9m 32s | ||||||
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