Wainwright Prize

Cal Flyn is a journalist whose work has appeared in National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, and Granta.

Her latest book, The Savage Landscape, has been shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize.

I'm Marcus Smith, and this is Constant Wonder.

When you were there in Romania, in Transylvania, and once you had met up with some people who could be your guides and keep you safe, you went out.

He writes about nature and he's written two books about night walking.

He's won the Wainwright Prize a couple of times.

He's a farmer as well and he writes amazingly about nature.

I've read two of his night walking books and he talks about that it's not dark.

Dr. Pilcher is a science writer with a PhD in cell biology who regularly contributes to some of the biggest outlets, The Guardian, BBC Wildlife, BBC Science Focus.

And she's written many popular science books, including Life Changing, which was named a Science Book of the Year by The Times and was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation.

Her new book is about something completely different and completely fascinating and very personal to both of us.

It is called This Book May Cause Side Effects, The Curious and Dangerous Power of the Nocebo Effect, Placebo's Evil Twin.

She's worked behind the scenes on BBC Springwatch, spent years working in conservation, and has built a wonderful following by sharing her curiosity for wildlife we so often overlook.

Her new book, Love Is A Toad: Exploring Our Relationship With Nature, has been shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.

So today, we're talking about why we fall in love with nature, why that love can sometimes be painful, and ultimately, what our relationship with the natural world says about us.

Lucy, welcome to the podcast.