Wonder Cabinet

Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson spent 35 years hosting "To The Best Of Our Knowledge" on public radio, interviewing thousands of scientists, philosophers, writers, and artists across more than 200 stations. Their interviews were archived in the Library of Congress. Now they are doing it again under a new name, and the format is just as good as before: long-form, intimate conversations with people who think deeply about the world. Wonder Cabinet is named after the Enlightenment-era cabinets of curiosities — those rooms where collectors gathered strange and beautiful objects to inspire wonder. That is the ethos here. Recent guests include writer Rebecca Solnit, physicist Carlo Rovelli, and mythologist Sophie Strand. Episodes run about 38 to 39 minutes and come out biweekly. The conversations cover physics, quantum mechanics, ecology, mythology, and philosophy, and they move at a pace that gives ideas room to breathe. The show carries a 4.6 rating from nearly 940 reviews on Apple Podcasts, many of which are carried over from the original show's loyal audience. Listeners who remember "To The Best Of Our Knowledge" are thrilled to have the hosts back, and new listeners will find a podcast that treats curiosity as something worth taking seriously. This is not fast-paced or flashy. It is thoughtful, beautifully produced, and genuinely nourishing for anyone who wants to think more carefully about what it means to be alive on this planet.