The winter solstice is special from various perspectives. Even if you don't get into the spiritual magic of the day, you can still be impressed at what our planet's tilt makes happen as we go around the sun. And you can watch the livestream of this special day from Stonehenge (link below). Happy solstice! (And happy summer solstice to my southern-hemisphere friends!)

Some links:

Winter solstice at Mission San Juan Bautista (source of the audio clip)

A trip to San Juan Bautista on the winter solstice (video)

California Frontier Project (to learn more about the Spanish missions and other parts of California history)

Winter solstice and Stonehenge (English Heritage)

'A time to reflect': crowds celebrate winter solstice at Stonehenge (The Guardian)

Live from Stonehenge winter solstice (livestream)

Burning the clocks 2024

Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast Licence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0

It's National Poinsettia Day in the US! Make it a good one by learning more about these ubiquitous "flowers." Or listen after the fact to prepare for next year.

A few resources:

Poinsettias at Christmas

8 fun facts to know about poinsettias

How to keep a poinsettia alive

Cuetlaxochitl: a cultural history of the poinsettia

The checkered history of the poinsettia’s namesake and the flower’s origins get new attention

The complicated history of the poinsettia

Joel Roberts Poinsett: Namesake of the poinsettia, enslaver, secret agent and perpetrator of the 'Trail of Tears'

Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast Licence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0

Why am I doing this podcast anyway? Peek behind the curtain of my motivations in this short episode. Hint: because it's fun, and because awe and wonder are good for us and for society.

Dacher Keltner's website, with info about his book Awe: The Transformative Power of Everyday Wonder

Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast Licence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0