Week of wonder

WBUR's On Point brings you a 'Week of wonder': A selection of shows from the past year reveling in the wonder of the world we live in. Over the course of the week, we explore what captivates our mind, illuminates our humanity and both delights and confounds us.

Episode 1. The Great Salt Lake is drying up. Can it be saved?

The Great Salt Lake is central to environmental and economic life in Utah. It holds great religious significance, too. But it's rapidly drying up. Hear it on July 22.

Episode 2. Returning to the wild

In places where human beings have done everything they can to pave and plow over nature, what might happen if we just left those places alone? Inside the rewilding movement. Hear it on July 23.

Episode 3. 'Are we alone?'

Unexplained aerial phenomena. Is the government covering up what it knows? Hear it on July 24.

Episode 4. The surprising gift of being unsure

No matter how much order, sense, or predictability we try to bring to our lives, uncertainty and the anxiety it can create are always there. But new thinking on uncertainty shows us how it can be a good thing. Hear it on July 25.

Episode 5. Author Amy Tan's 'backyard bird chronicles'

Author Amy Tan is a passionate birder and nature artist. Her new book describes the transformative experience of birding in her own backyard. Hear it on July 26.

Radio

Podcast

Meghna Chakrabarti is the award-winning host and editor of On Point. Based in Boston, she is on the air Monday through Friday.

The Alliance for Women in Media has honored On Point with three Gracie Awards. In 2023 'An invisible epidemic,' a program about survivors of domestic violence, won in the Investigative Feature category, while 'Behind the decades-long fight to close the boyfriend loophole' won in the Public Affairs category.

In 2022, On Point's episode "A Look Back at 1992 Los Angeles And America Since Rodney King" won a national Gracie Award for Best News Documentary. The Alliance for Women in Media also gave Meghna an honorable mention for best nationally syndicated non-commercial correspondent/host.

On Point's episode on Los Angeles since Rodney King also won a 2022 regional Edward R. Murrow award for best news documentary. In 2021, On Point won a National Edward R. Murrow award for best news documentary for "What the President Knew." The show examined presidential decision-making before 9/11 and the COVID pandemic. In 2023, On Point's series Smarter health was given a first-place award by the Association of Health Care Journalists.

Chakrabarti is the former host of Radio Boston, WBUR’s acclaimed weekday local show. She's the former host of Modern Love: The Podcast, a collaboration of WBUR and The New York Times (2016-2020) and was the primary fill-in host for Here & Now, NPR and WBUR's midday show. She reported on New England transportation and energy issues for WBUR’s news department.

Episode 1. In defense of darkness

Earth needs darkness just as much as it needs light. Learn how human light pollution is pushing back the dark and changing the natural world. Hear it on August 21.

Episode 2. How animals perceive the world

What if you could taste the world’s electrical fields? Hear vibrations in a leaf? See magnetic currents guiding you home? Science writer Ed Yong helps us perceive the world the way animals do – through eyes, ears, antennae and more. Hear it on August 22.

Episode 3. Awe: Science's answer to your search for happiness

How do you find deep happiness? Researcher Dacher Keltner says the answer is to seek and experience more awe. Hear it on August 23.

Episode 4. The case for preserving parasites

Parasites are the cause of numerous debilitating diseases, so it’s easy to think of them as doing no good. But losing parasites could have devastating consequences for our ecosystem. Hear it on August 24.

Episode 5. The healing power of music

Many of us turn to music to feel better. But music can also help us physically heal. Studies show music can affect our blood pressure and our heart rate – and even help us manage pain. Hear it on August 25.