大象传媒

What is awe, and where do we find it? Exploring how the elusive emotion of awe can be a vital force in our lives.

As something usually associated with intense experiences and extreme environments, for many of us awe can often seem difficult to attain. Science journalist Jo Marchant tracks down individuals who live awe-filled lives, uncovering where we might find it ourselves and how it can alter body and mind.

Episode two: Jo is in the depths of Wookey Hole caves with one of the most experienced divers in the world, Phil Short, who calls them his spiritual home. Phil has discovered one of the world's deepest caves in Mexico, has recovered ancient artefacts from shipwrecks and reunited the sunken remains of veterans from crashed World War II aircraft with their families. Yet he reflects on how a life of awe has led him to appreciate wonder in the smallest of things.

Featuring: Phil Short, cave diver and underwater training lead at DEEP research labs;
Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Awe: The Transformative Power of Everyday Wonder;
Helen De Cruz, Professor of Philosophy at St Louis University, Missouri and author of Wonderstruck: How Wonder and Awe Shape the Way We Think.

Presented by Jo Marchant, author of Cure, The Human Cosmos and Decoding the Heavens.

Producer: Eliza Lomas
Editor: Chris Ledgard