Wonderstruck

When her mother died, Hiroko Yoda was brought to her knees. What pulled her back was something that had been there all along, the ancient spiritual traditions of her home country, Japan. What followed was a decade-long journey through shrines and temples, sacred mountains, and waterfalls, culminating in her latest book, Eight Million Ways to Happiness.The title comes from an ancient Japanese idea: that eight million spiritual beings inhabit everything around us. Not as a precise count, but as a way of saying the sacred is everywhere, in everything.Recorded inside an ancient Shinto shrine deep within the sacred mountains of Kumano, located at the end of a pilgrimage route walked for over a thousand years, Wonderstruck's host Elizabeth Rovere sits down with Hiroko to explore:✦ How "kami" spirit exists in everything✦ How the concept of "half-belief, half-disbelief" makes room for mystery without demanding certainty✦ Why gratitude, not belief, is the core of Japanese spirituality and the seed of happiness✦ The flexibility of Japanese spirituality and what it offers a world grown rigid in its certainties✦ The spirituality found in your favourite animeThrough Hiroko's journey, from grief to gratitude, from loss to a world where everything has a spirit, we begin to see that happiness isn't something to be chased or achieved. It's something to be noticed, in the smallest of things, in the spaces we walk past every day without looking.Chapters: 00:00:00 Welcome to the Kumano Shrine00:01:54 Kami: 8 Million Spiritual Beings00:05:19 Rigid Society, Flexible Spirituality00:16:32 Walking Through Grief00:20:35 Gratitude, Not Belief00:25:07 Half-belief, Half-disbelief00:27:50 Mysteries of the Waterfall00:35:52 Itadakimasu: Spirituality in Everyday Words00:39:03 Meeting Itako, The Blind Shamaness00:45:15 Masakado: Anger and Love00:51:15 Anime, Yokai, and HealingFollow Hiroko: Website: https://www.hirokoyoda.com/Substack: https://blog.hirokoyoda.com/Book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/eight-million-ways-to-happiness-9781526672162/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hi_yoda_1Follow Wonderstruck:Website: https://wonderstruck.orgSubstack: https://newsletter.wonderstruck.org YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wonderstruckpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderstruckpod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wonderstruckpodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wonderstruckpodApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wonderstruck/id1671879661 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fS5boWGwYTShddG7SKlVw

If we understood the true complexity of the natural world, would we call it conscious? Would we begin to question the boundaries we put between ourselves and everything around us?We explore these questions with biologist Merlin Sheldrake and science journalist Zoë Schlanger. Their bestselling books, "Entangled Life" and "The Light Eaters", required monk-like study and deep immersion in the natural world. What they discovered quietly dismantles some of our most basic assumptions about intelligence, memory, and what individuality really means. Recorded during Harvard Divinity School's "Thinking with Plants and Fungi" conference, this special episode brings together Merlin, Zoë, host Elizabeth Rovere, and guest co-host Rachael Peterson, the "Thinking with Plants and Fungi" Initiative Program Lead at Harvard, to explore:✦ Whether plants have personalities and why they might be kinder to kin ✦ How a brainless slime mold can navigate its way out of an IKEA faster than a human✦ How flatworms put into question where memory actually lives✦ Whether it's possible to ferment a book and drink itWhen we stop centering the individual and truly reckon with the entangled nature of all living things, something shifts. The question stops being how do we include more-than-human perspectives… it starts being whether that separation even makes sense to begin with. Chapters:00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:10 How to Write About the Hidden World 00:04:45 The Myth of the Individual 00:09:53 We Are Polluting Our Own Home 00:15:14 The Problem Isn't Science. It's Language. 00:18:18 The Plant That Can Copy Anything 00:24:25 As Temperatures Rise, Fungi Are Evolving 00:28:31 Do Plants Have Personalities and Prefer Their Family?Follow Merlin Sheldrake:Website: https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merlin.sheldrakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/merlinsheldrake Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566795/entangled-life-by-merlin-sheldrake/ Follow Zoë Schlanger: Website: https://www.zoeschlanger.com/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/zoeschlanger.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoeschlanger/ The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-light-eaters-zoe-schlanger?variant=41096248295458 Follow Wonderstruck:Website: https://wonderstruck.orgSubstack: https://newsletter.wonderstruck.org YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wonderstruckpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderstruckpod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wonderstruckpodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wonderstruckpodApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wonderstruck/id1671879661 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fS5boWGwYTShddG7SKlVw

Mystic poet Chelan Harkin doesn't write poems, she transmits them. At 21, after giving herself permission to write a "bad poem" every day, a creative channel cracked open and poems have flowed through her ever since. Her work has drawn comparisons to Rumi, Hafiz and Khalil Gibran. Poets whose words slip beneath the thinking mind to reach something deeper, older and more alive within us. Celebrating World Poetry Day this month, this episode features Chelan speaking with Wonderstruck's Elizabeth Rovere about:✦ How a Hafiz poem she heard at 17 unlocked her heart and set her entire path in motion✦ The "bad poem experiment" and how permission to fail became the key to creative flow✦ How praying to her favourite dead poets led to a synchronicity that changed everything✦ How our deepest fears, when met with consciousness, can transform into our strongest allies✦ The extraordinary story behind her book The Prophetess which stands in conversation with Gibran’s The ProphetThis is a conversation for anyone who has suspected that the sacred isn’t elsewhere, but closer, more available and more alive than we ever dared to believe.00:00:00 Introduction00:07:06 The Poem That Changed Everything00:13:47 The "Bad Poem Experiment"00:19:22 Say Wow: The Poem That Went Viral00:23:44 Praying To Her Favourite Dead Poets00:30:50 The Meaning Of Authentic Service00:35:55 Suffering and Our Great Cocoon00:39:21 Writing The Prophetess00:43:33 Meeting Hajjar Gibran00:51:53 Fear as a Life Force00:58:32 Closing ReflectionsFollow Chelan Harkin: Website: https://chelanharkinpoetry.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelanharkin/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chani.harkin Find all Chelan's books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B08PL55XMD Follow Wonderstruck:Website: https://wonderstruck.orgSubstack: https://newsletter.wonderstruck.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wonderstruckpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderstruckpod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wonderstruckpodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wonderstruckpodApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wonderstruck/id1671879661 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fS5boWGwYTShddG7SKlVw

Can a mountain teach us how to live in peace? In his early twenties, George Thompson was living with intense anxiety and a deep sense of meaninglessness. His body carried constant tension, and the voice in his head told him that he was not good enough. That crisis became the catalyst for a decision that would change the direction of his life.George travelled alone to China’s sacred Wudang Mountains, the birthplace of Tai Chi and a centre of Daoist (Taoist) practice for centuries. There, immersed in mountains, monasteries, and daily practice, he encountered Tai Chi. In this conversation, George and Wonderstruck’s Elizabeth Rovere explore:✦ Tai Chi as a martial art and moving meditation: powerful, peaceful, and beautiful✦ Balance as something dynamic that allows you to hold your centre in the midst of change✦ The inner critic (“the Underminer”) and learning not to identify with the story it tells✦ Why peace can’t be learned, but arises through presence and awareness✦ The universal language of wonder and aweThis episode reminds us to look at what lies beneath the thinking mind, and to discover, as George puts it, that balance is possible.Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction00:05:49 Journey to the Wudang Mountains00:10:22 Finding Balance Through Tai Chi00:18:14 Spirituality as a Form of Activism00:24:45 Hope & The Vinegar Metaphor00:29:58 Love, Connection & Fierce Compassion00:35:29 Is Eminem Daoist?00:42:04 Awe and Wonder Predates Language00:46:27 Nature, AI, and the Technology Continuum00:49:42 Why Are We Here? Follow George:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@George-Thompson The Subtle Art of Losing Yourself: https://youtu.be/9KArWcMldPM?si=fHt4OPWFb8-zSuAx Balance is Possible: https://www.balanceispossible.com/ Taoist Wellness Community: https://www.taoistwellness.online/community Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/george.thompson._/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@george.thompson_Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/georgethompson.uk Follow Wonderstruck:Website: https://wonderstruck.orgSubstack: https://newsletter.wonderstruck.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wonderstruckpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderstruckpod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wonderstruckpod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wonderstruckpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wonderstruck/id1671879661 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fS5boWGwYTShddG7SKlVw

Plants are our ancient teachers, whispering and nudging… if only we’d listen. Dr. Monica Gagliano is an evolutionary ecologist who has turned the green world into something wonderfully surprising. Her research reveals plants that listen, remember, make choices and even teach one another. Some can sense eclipses before they happen. Others communicate in ways we’re only just beginning to catch up with.In 2008, Monica did something bold: she stepped out of academia and followed her curiosity into the forest, literally. Blending scientific experimentation with Amazonian plant ceremonies and the guidance of shamans, she helped spark the field now known as plant intelligence. Since then, her work has captured imaginations around the world, appearing in The New York Times and the National Geographic. In this episode, we explore:✦ Pushing back against the scientific status quo✦ Letting nature show you what it knows✦ Welcoming indigenous plant teachings into scientific practice✦ Paying attention as a joyful act of devotionMonica invites us into a playful and daring question: what do plants actually know… and what might they be trying to tell us?Chapters0:00 Intro: Science, wonder, and pushing boundaries03:03 Initiation on the Great Barrier Reef12:53 “Plants rescued the scientist in me”20:57 Monica’s first experiments with plants 27:10 Bringing empathy into science32:37 "More-than-human" is a place37:33 It's the human that needs saving42:44 Indigenous science and plant communication50:54 The ancient tree that spoke to her56:14 Trees synchronize during solar eclipse01:03:51 Attention is the beginning of devotionFollow Monica:Website: https://www.monicagagliano.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_monicagagliano_Follow Wonderstruck:Website: https://wonderstruck.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wonderstruckpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderstruckpodTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wonderstruckpodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wonderstruckpodApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wonderstruck/id1671879661 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fS5boWGwYTShddG7SKlVw

Mark Vernon is a former priest turned psychotherapist who has spent the last 30 years exploring one central question: how do we find meaning in a secular age?After a crisis of faith pulled him away from the Church’s inner sanctum in his youth, Mark turned to Plato and Jung in pursuit of a deeper understanding of purpose, connection, and the soul. Today, his writing bridges ancient philosophy, religion, and modern psychology, a powerful triad he also applies to his work as a therapist.In this episode, we discuss: ✦  The overwhelm of conflicting meanings and remembering the sacred✦  The spiritual thread connecting Dante, William Blake, and Jesus✦  How wonder helps us access the divine✦  Why psychotherapy is a path for ‘spiritual intelligence’Mark's work invites us into the depths of wonder and spirituality as a necessity for the soul.Chapters0:00 Intro: The modern crisis of meaning5:08 Psychotherapy and the vertical dimension of life11:25 The cloud of unknowing and mystical experiences18:19 Kairos time: Moments of spiritual significance23:01 William Blake on joy and eternity27:04 Death as a transcendent and transformative experience33:08 Early Christianity's deeper mysteries and meanings40:44 Humility as an expansive spiritual virtue50:56 Owen Barfield and the evolution of consciousness57:35 Ontological shocks and transformative experiences1:02:41 Outro: The importance of sacred experiencesFollow Mark:Website: https://www.markvernon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/platospodcasts/?hl=en-gb X: https://x.com/platospodcasts YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PlatosPodcasts Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/awake/ Follow Wonderstruck:Website: https://wonderstruck.orgNewsletter:  https://newsletter.wonderstruck.org  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wonderstruckpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderstruckpod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wonderstruckpodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wonderstruckpodApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wonderstruck/id1671879661 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fS5boWGwYTShddG7SKlVw

What if the cracks in our world aren't flaws, but thresholds into the unknown? In this episode of Wonderstruck, we sit with philosopher, poet, and playful trickster Bayo Akomolafe. Bayo's vision invites us to linger in mystery rather than rush to solutions. He takes us into the unfolding terrain of post-activism, where possibility, not certainty, becomes our guide.In this conversation, we explore:✦ How physics becomes philosophy… and poetry offers a new way of seeing✦ How AI unsettles our ideas of consciousness and what it means to be human✦ His vision of an “autistic politics,” shaped by those who move differently through the world✦ The role of sanctuary and sacred spaces in times of upheavalThis is less a conversation of answers than of reimagining; an invitation to pause, to listen otherwise, and to encounter the mystery shimmering inside the fractures of our time. In these transformational times, Bayo is a rare and radical voice, urging us to reimagine how we see the world.This episode of Wonderstruck invites you into that space. Chapters0:00 Introduction5:31 Autistic perception and expanded awareness12:30 AI is redefining intelligence18:58 The Ship of Theseus and posthumanism25:50 A moment of wonder at the moon40:00 Second sound and postactivism 55:38 Liminality and the Cracks1:06:50 Death, Eshu and Jesus as trickster 1:14:51 Making sanctuary and examining life's glitchesFollow Bayo:Website: https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bayoakomolafe/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bayoakomolafeampersand Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayo.akomolafe/Emergence Network: https://www.emergencenetwork.org/ Follow Wonderstruck:Website: https://wonderstruck.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wonderstruckpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderstruckpod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wonderstruckpodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wonderstruckpodApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wonderstruck/id1671879661 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fS5boWGwYTShddG7SKlVw

Fungi are everywhere. Under our feet, in our food, in our medicines. Yet they remain one of the most overlooked kingdoms of life. In this episode of Wonderstruck, we speak to mycologist Giuliana Furci, a self-taught champion for fungi and founder of the first NGO in the world dedicated to fungal conservation, the Fungi Foundation. She reveals how mushrooms shape ecosystems, inspire culture, and hold ancient knowledge. They are alchemists of decay, transforming death and toxins into the fertile ground of new life. From sacred candlelit ceremonies to songs created with a cloud forest that has rights, Giuliana’s stories may change how you see the world forever.We explore:How fungi sustain life on Earth and make our survival possibleDocumenting indigenous relationships with fungi, from birth control to healingThe Song of the Cedars with Robert Macfarlane, Cosmo Sheldrake, César Rodríguez-Garavito Sacred mushrooms, Mazatec culture and Maria SabinaWhy protecting fungi may shape the future of our planetGiuliana’s story is a testament to what can happen when we follow our calling and, in the words of Giuliana's mother, that something doesn't have to be done in order for us to do it! Chapters: 0:00 Intro: A fateful encounter with fungi5:56 Mycology 101: Fungi's role in life on Earth9:37 Studying fungi with experience and intuition15:07 Don Pfister’s invitation to Harvard23:13 The Song of the Cedars and forest rights30:13 Documenting indigenous relationships with fungi37:38 Surprising fungal uses across cultures41:27 Fungi communication and sacred ceremonies47:49 National Geographic award and impactFollow Giuliana: Website: https://giulianafurci.com/Instagram: @giulifungiFungi Foundation https://www.ffungi.org/LET THINGS ROT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpjWh1TXthMFlora, Fauna, Funga Documentary National Geographic Society: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DsnWcWeyoIThe Song of the Cedar by Cosmo Sheldrake and Robert Macfarlane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH_timp2S3E&list=RDHH_timp2S3E&start_radio=1Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455147/is-a-river-alive-by-macfarlane-robert/9780241624814 Follow Wonderstruck:Newsletter: https://newsletter.wonderstruck.orgWebsite: https://wonderstruck.orgInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderstruckpod/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wonderstruckpodApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wonderstruck/id1671879661Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fS5boWGwYTShddG7SKlVw