Exciting news: I have a new book coming out! It’s called In Search of Now: the science and mystery of the present moment, and I’d love to share some of the ideas in it with you, so here is a one-off special episode to ask: What is Now?

The present moment has always fascinated me because on the one hand it’s all around us: everything we do, everything we are. We feel that Now is where we meet the world, where stuff happens, where we feel, think, choose, act. But physicists can’t find it anywhere, and some insist it doesn’t exist at all. So if there’s no physical Now out in the universe, where does our sense of each unfolding moment come from? And is it really an illusion, or could it be a clue that reality is very different from what we thought?

Rather than me interviewing a guest this week, I’ve asked my good friend, Ian Sample, to come on as guest host and grill me for a change! You might know him as the host of the Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast, although he’s here in a personal capacity.

In Search of Now is out in the UK on 12 February, published by Canongate, and in the US in March, published by Liveright.

In Search of Now (UK edition)

https://canongate.co.uk/books/4351-in-search-of-now-the-science-and-mystery-of-the-present-moment/

In Search of Now (US edition)

https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324097488

Do follow the show so you don't miss season 2, when we’ll be talking to scientists – and perhaps some philosophers as well – who’ll be helping us to stretch our minds, rethink our assumptions and imagine very different worlds.

*** Follow us on Instagram @wildthoughts_pod

*** Edited highlights on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhB4lyBDyjTliuz_h5oHwN6H8HoxS7qWL

Hosted by Jo Marchant:

https://jomarchant.com

Produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada:

https://www.yada-yada.net/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since September we've met 16 scientists, in fields from neuroscience and quantum physics to archaeology and ecology, who are asking wild questions, exploring the world in different ways, wondering what if the world isn't how we thought. They've all been surprising, brilliant and creative in different ways: for me, each chat has been like a glimpse into a fascinating, hidden world.

To finish the season, this week's episode is a bit different. I've asked my lovely producer, Julian Mayers (who also happens to be a cosmologist), to join me for a look back over some of our favourite moments from the interviews, from falling whales and Neolithic virtual reality to improvising ponds and moments of utter bliss...

As we take a pause over Christmas, thanks to all our guests so far and to you for listening. This first season has been successful far beyond our expectations - we've been recommended by publications including New Scientist and Smithsonian, we were featured by Apple as a top new science show, and we've had listeners in more than 80 different countries, from Madagascar to Mongolia to Montenegro.

We'll be back in the new year with season 2, so if you've enjoyed the show do subscribe now so you don't miss that when it comes.

Bye for now! And see you next time on Where the Wild Thoughts Are.

*** Subscribe for new episodes every Mon

*** Follow us on Instagram @wildthoughts_pod

*** Edited highlights on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhB4lyBDyjTliuz_h5oHwN6H8HoxS7qWL

Hosted by Jo Marchant:

https://jomarchant.com

Produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada:

https://www.yada-yada.net/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens if we let go of our expectations about nature – all the things we think it is, or isn’t, or should be – and just… listen?

Our guide into the unknown this week is award-winning sound artist and ecologist David de la Haye. I first met him at this year’s New Scientist Live in London: I was giving a talk about the science of awe and David came up to me afterwards to tell me about the awe he finds though his work with sound. Essentially he puts hydrophones into the water and records the submerged soundscapes of ponds. He calls it sonic pond dipping.

Rather than dissecting out individual noises or creatures – although that can provide valuable information – David’s work is primarily about listening to an ecosystem in an immersive and very personal way – almost like a meditation. He doesn’t stop at listening, though, he also answers back, creating music – often improvising in real time – with the ponds!

I asked him how he ended up listening underwater, and what he thinks we can learn from these tiny wild spaces that we so often overlook.

David’s home page

www.daviddelahaye.co.uk

Sonic pond dipping

https://sonic-pond.net/

With Ears Underwater

https://daviddelahaye.bandcamp.com/album/with-ears-underwater

Bionic and the Wires (a separate project where mushrooms and plants are wired up to play instruments)

https://bionicandthewires.com/

Clip 1: Pond at Wheatfen nature reserve, Norfolk, UK

Clip 2: Rockpool at Saint Abbs, Scotland

Clip 3: Underwater seals at Mingulay, Scotland

Clip 4: Pond at Wheatfen nature reserve, Norfolk, UK

Clip 5: Photosynthesising plants

Clip 6: With Ears Underwater: Plant based patterns

Clip 7: Pond session: Bliss

Clip 8: Awe response: First ever dawn chorus

*** Subscribe for new episodes every Mon

*** Follow us on Instagram @wildthoughts_pod

*** Edited highlights on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhB4lyBDyjTliuz_h5oHwN6H8HoxS7qWL

Hosted by Jo Marchant:

https://jomarchant.com

Produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada:

https://www.yada-yada.net/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.