Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

Author: NC Museum of Natural Sciences June 1, 2022 Duration: 29:55

Artist Benjamin Von Wong’s work lies at the intersection of fantasy and photography, combining everyday objects with shocking statistics. His YouTube videos have generated over 100 million views for causes like ocean plastics, electronic waste and fashion pollution. Von Wong’s art focuses on amplifying a positive impact by visualizing how humans interact with and impact nature through our actions. Discover why he believes “it’s fun to be a person who doesn’t love nature but is an environmentalist” with the latest episode of the Love Nature podcast.


Produced by the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Love Nature is built on a simple, powerful idea: our curiosity about the living world is a profound and shared starting point. This isn't a lecture series, but a series of conversations where that innate fascination leads the way. Each episode introduces you to a different voice-a scientist in the field, a researcher analyzing data, an artist interpreting patterns-who brings a unique perspective to our relationship with the environment. What unites them is a palpable passion, a personal story of connection that goes beyond academic interest. You'll hear the enthusiasm in their voices as they discuss not just what they study, but why it matters to them personally and what it reveals about our place in a complex, changing system. The discussions are lively and nuanced, often circling around a central theme of care and stewardship. By tuning into this podcast, you're invited into a space where expertise meets heartfelt advocacy, where learning about intricate ecosystems or animal behavior is intertwined with genuine hopes for their future. The goal is to leave each episode feeling that infectious spark of inspiration, equipped with a richer, more textured understanding of the natural forces around us and a clearer sense of how we, as inherently curious beings, can engage with them more thoughtfully. It’s about deepening that connection we all instinctively feel, one conversation at a time.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 32

Love Nature
Podcast Episodes
Rue Mapp and Outdoor Afro: Building a Bridge to Nature [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:11
In less than a decade, Rue Mapp grew her passion for nature from a blog to a national network of over 45,000 trained volunteers that comprise the organization Outdoor Afro. Rue and her organization seek to connect histor…
Dueling Dinosaurs: A 67 Million-Year-Old Whodunit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:27
Dinosaurs! Is it the mystery, the problem solving, or the discovery that interests us most? For Lindsay Zanno, Head of the Museum’s Paleontology Unit and Associate Research Professor at North Carolina State University, i…
Meet The Hosts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:02
Have you been wondering about the gentlemen behind this podcast? Well, wonder no more. Today you get to meet the hosts in a special interview hosted by the Museum's Science Correspondent, Chris Smith.
Urban Nature [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:03
Deja Perkins is an urban ecologist, an advocate for nature exploration and one of the co-organizers of Black Birders Week. As a Chicago native, Deja understands it is important for city residents to have access to nature…
Cold Nose, Warm Heart [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:23
What do you do with a sick pet goldfish or iguana? What about a turtle or snake who has encountered trouble on the road? Dr. Greg Lewbart has seen it all caring for a range of creatures as a professor of aquatic animal m…
Lights, Camera…Ants! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:50
Did you know the Museum has our own “Ant-Man”? Meet Dr. Adrian Smith, Head of the Museum’s Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Research Lab. On social media, his exciting videos inspire curiosity and fascination as he provid…
The World’s Largest Natural Habitat Zoo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:03
Meet Pat Simmons, Director & CEO of the North Carolina Zoological Park. “One of the things zoos do best,” she notes, “is reach out to large masses of people and give them that up-close personal experience with nature. A…
Studying the Species in Peoples’ Lives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:31
Join us as we chat with Dr. Rob Dunn, Professor of Applied Ecology at NC State University and author of five popular science books, including “Every Living Thing” and “The Wild Life of our Bodies.” From bellybutton micro…
Part II: E.O. Wilson and the Half-Earth Project [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:32
Part II of our conversation with Dr. E.O. Wilson explores his concept of Half-Earth, a call to protect half the Earth’s land and sea in order to manage sufficient habitat to reverse the species extinction crisis and ensu…
Meet Legendary Biologist E.O. Wilson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:16
The inaugural episode of the Love Nature podcast explores humans’ innate desire to connect with nature, a desire legendary biologist and author Dr. E.O. Wilson termed “biophilia.” Join us to meet the hosts and to hear fr…