The Blue Time
For two months a year, in a small Norwegian city, the sun never goes above the horizon. One researcher visits to find out why its citizens are happy despite the lack of light.
28m Feb 12, 2019
28m
Quiet Transmission
Poetry and the night are some of the last remaining domains of “unknowing”; places where it’s acceptable to digest the world slowly and without conclusion, and where one can linger in, and traverse, experiences like solitude, impermanence, and...
29m Jan 08, 2019
29m
Finding the Void
What makes a place home? Is it a place that feels like a refuge? Is it somewhere you sleep really, really well? What if the place that feels like home is a secret apartment in the bowels of a giant mall?
29m Dec 11, 2018
29m
Stay Warm, Be Careful
This crazy thing happens in NYC as night approaches – as rush hour picks up and the streets get evermore hectic than normal, delivery men on bikes start racing through the streets to get people their restaurant food while it’s still hot.
30m Nov 13, 2018
30m
Big news for Nocturne
Nocturne is now distributed by KCRW!
1m Nov 08, 2018
1m
I Don’t Get Lost
Sometimes it takes losing your way in the dark, to realize that you were already lost. Read more → The post I Don’t Get Lost appeared first on Nocturne.
28m Oct 02, 2018
28m
Ubiquitous Terrifying Force
Something is happening to the animals. Can we all coexist on a crowded planet? Read more → The post Ubiquitous Terrifying Force appeared first on Nocturne.
28m Sep 05, 2018
28m
Into the World
The shift into the darkness of night triggers our bodies to relax. Perhaps this is why so many babies begin their journey into the world at night. Read more → The post Into the World appeared first on Nocturne.
29m Aug 08, 2018
29m
Careening
Traveling at night as a passenger is an act of trust. As the sensations of movement lull you to the edge of sleep or beyond, you surrender to dislocation; disconnecting from place and time. The only constant is motion.  As your consciousness bobs up into the present moment, in the darkness you could be anywhere, or nowhere at all. Read more → The post Careening appeared first on Nocturne.
26m Jul 09, 2018
26m
Candle Hour
There has never before been a time when human beings have had constant access to the breadth of human suffering. Our technology bathes us in this information, and it can be a challenge to not dissolve into a mass of emotion, or just go numb. Julia Scott found herself facing this dilemma, and intuitively creating a ritual for herself, the seeds of which were planted decades earlier. Read more → ...
27m Jun 06, 2018
27m
The Dark Triad
Research in 2013 found a connection between night owls and those with a sinister constellation of personality traits, ominously labeled, “The Dark Triad”. The study got a lot of attention in the media, with headlines claiming that night owls are more likely to be psychopaths and narcissists. There was just one problem. Read more → The post The Dark Triad appeared first on Nocturne.
28m May 09, 2018
28m
Blackfish
Malcolm Saunders is a fisherman in Cornwall, on the southern tip of the UK. While most of the old fishing ports have transformed into tourist attractions, there are still some working fishing boats, manned by seasoned weathered fisherman. They’re holding onto to an almost forgotten way of life – one that ties their livelihood to nature, with all of the thrill and hardship that goes along with i...
44m Apr 11, 2018
44m
The Nocturnist
Hospitals are amazing places. They’re emblems of the modern medical technology that saves and improves our lives in countless ways every day. But if you’ve ever roamed the halls of a hospital in the middle of the night, with its shiny echoey surfaces, background hum of anxiety, and distant monitors chiming like beacons of peril, you’re in no rush to return. But if you must, you’ll want someone ...
30m Mar 13, 2018
30m
Lay Down, Lamb
One of the things that changes instantly when you have a baby is your relationship to sleep. It usually becomes scarce and precious, and everyone has advice. Much less talked about is the continuing nighttime struggle between parents and their young kids. Because by the time your child is a year or two old, any competent parent has it under control, right? Kids go to sleep and parents get to ha...
29m Feb 13, 2018
29m
The Weight of the River
Our relationship to the darkness can shift over time. One of the main ways that this happens is by walking into the dark, both literally and metaphorically. By walking toward the thing that scares us the most, or causes the most pain, we have the potential to almost magically transform it into something completely different. Read more →
28m Jan 16, 2018
28m
The Weight of the River
Our relationship to the darkness can shift over time. One of the main ways that this happens is by walking into the dark, both literally and metaphorically. By walking toward the thing that scares us the most, or causes the most pain, we have the potential to almost magically transform it into something completely different. Read more → The post The Weight of the River appeared first on Noctu...
28m Jan 16, 2018
28m
Tree People
There’s a funny thing about Christmas in New York: In a city where most of the living trees are clumped together in just a few areas, right around Thanksgiving new clumps of trees start popping up all over this mostly concrete and asphalt setting. The tree stands sprinkled throughout the city create a festive air, but there’s another dimension to the world of Christmas trees in New York City at...
41m Dec 18, 2017
41m
Tree People
There’s a funny thing about Christmas in New York: In a city where most of the living trees are clumped together in just a few areas, right around Thanksgiving new clumps of trees start popping up all over this mostly concrete and asphalt setting. The tree stands sprinkled throughout the city create a festive air, but there’s another dimension to the world of Christmas trees in New York City at...
41m Dec 18, 2017
41m
Life Is But a Dream
Beverly D’Urso is a lucid dreaming celebrity. She was a subject of Stephen LaBerge’s research at the Stanford Sleep Lab in the 1980’s, has written numerous articles and given classes on lucid dreaming, and has been featured in multiple television programs and magazine articles. She’s done pretty much everything you can do in your dreams. But she’s decided to focus on being awake, instead. Read ...
28m Nov 14, 2017
28m
Ep. 34 – Life Is But a Dream
Beverly D’Urso is a lucid dreaming celebrity. She was a subject of Stephen LaBerge’s research at the Stanford Sleep Lab in the 1980’s, has written numerous articles and given classes on lucid dreaming, and has been featured in multiple television programs and magazine articles. She’s done pretty much everything you can do in your dreams. But she’s decided to focus on being awake, instead. Read ...
28m Nov 14, 2017
28m
Interloper
The built environment consists of structures that humans make - including spaces where people live, work and play. For the most part, these places are inhabited during the day. But at night, new aspects of the built environment are revealed. Some people are drawn to explore these spaces, not to vandalize or create mischief - just to see and to appreciate. But society has a name for that – it’s ...
32m Oct 12, 2017
32m
Ep. 33 – Interloper
The built environment consists of structures that humans make - including spaces where people live, work and play. For the most part, these places are inhabited during the day. But at night, new aspects of the built environment are revealed. Some people are drawn to explore these spaces, not to vandalize or create mischief - just to see and to appreciate. But society has a name for that – it’s ...
32m Oct 12, 2017
32m
The Dream You Should Be Having
The Sleepless project is two things: It's a voicemail that people can call when they can't sleep, so they can talk about what's on their mind and hopefully get back to sleep. It’s also an art project where the creator of the project makes short videos to accompany the voice messages. She came to the project through her own sleepless nights. Read more →
21m Sep 12, 2017
21m
Ep. 32 – The Dream You Should Be Having
The Sleepless project is two things: It's a voicemail that people can call when they can't sleep, so they can talk about what's on their mind and hopefully get back to sleep. It’s also an art project where the creator of the project makes short videos to accompany the voice messages. She came to the project through her own sleepless nights. Read more → The post Ep. 32 – The Dream You Should Be...
21m Sep 12, 2017
21m
Shortboard
On a beautiful day in April, Matthew Bryce went out to surf by himself off a remote beach in Scotland.  Usually he goes out for 3 or 4 hours, and then goes about his life. This time was different. Read more →
43m Aug 10, 2017
43m
Ep. 31 – Shortboard
On a beautiful day in April, Matthew Bryce went out to surf by himself off a remote beach in Scotland.  Usually he goes out for 3 or 4 hours, and then goes about his life. This time was different. Read more → The post Ep. 31 – Shortboard appeared first on Nocturne.
43m Aug 10, 2017
43m
A Catalogue of Nights
In January I left my home for 6 months of wandering, and of course one of the main things I explored were the infinite shades of night in each new place. What I noticed more than ever is that every night is a finger print - each is unique, with no one the same as another. The sounds tell the stories. Read more →
25m Jun 06, 2017
25m
Ep. 30 – A Catalogue of Nights
In January I left my home for 6 months of wandering, and of course one of the main things I explored were the infinite shades of night in each new place. What I noticed more than ever is that every night is a finger print - each is unique, with no one the same as another. The sounds tell the stories. Read more → The post Ep. 30 – A Catalogue of Nights appeared first on Nocturne.
25m Jun 06, 2017
25m
3am
Have you every woken up in the wee hours of the night to find that you’re gripped by fears and anxieties that just didn’t exist in the light of day? You can lie there awake in bed, in your comfortable home, maybe even next to a loved one, and find your thoughts circling like persistent vultures. And then the morning rolls around, and it’s almost impossible to recreate the sense of foreboding t...
21m Apr 28, 2017
21m
Ep. 29 – 3am
Have you every woken up in the wee hours of the night to find that you’re gripped by fears and anxieties that just didn’t exist in the light of day? You can lie there awake in bed, in your comfortable home, maybe even next to a loved one, and find your thoughts circling like persistent vultures. And then the morning rolls around, and it’s almost impossible to recreate the sense of foreboding t...
21m Apr 28, 2017
21m
They’re All Asleep
Lots of museums have regular evening hours or events, often lasting until 8 or 9pm. But I wonder - what do these worlds become in the wee hours, when the last visitor has heeded the call to leave, and the doors are locked? What transformations take place when no one is watching? Read more →
16m Mar 31, 2017
16m
Ep. 28 – They’re All Asleep
Lots of museums have regular evening hours or events, often lasting until 8 or 9pm. But I wonder - what do these worlds become in the wee hours, when the last visitor has heeded the call to leave, and the doors are locked? What transformations take place when no one is watching? Read more → The post Ep. 28 – They’re All Asleep appeared first on Nocturne.
16m Mar 31, 2017
16m
The Radical Shift
In that place where darkness and isolation meet, fear can take hold in a particularly visceral way. When you’re alone in the dark, every sense works overtime. It can feel like the darkness and the fear are interchangeable. One comes to represent the other. The darkness can paralyze you. Or you can walk straight into it. Read more →
26m Feb 26, 2017
26m
Ep. 27 – The Radical Shift
In that place where darkness and isolation meet, fear can take hold in a particularly visceral way. When you’re alone in the dark, every sense works overtime. It can feel like the darkness and the fear are interchangeable. One comes to represent the other. The darkness can paralyze you. Or you can walk straight into it. Read more → The post Ep. 27 – The Radical Shift appeared first on Nocturne.
26m Feb 26, 2017
26m
Ep. 26 – Moon Shadow
In September 2015 the full moon crossed into the Earth’s shadow and turned redish gold. It was the first blood moon, or total lunar eclipse of a super moon, in over 30 years, and it wouldn’t happen again for almost twenty more. The moon was old and strange, and we were seeing it in a form that occurs only very rarely. It was something we had to show up for, because it wasn’t available on demand...
12m Jan 30, 2017
12m
Ep. 25 – A Word of Hope
The night can be a desperate and lonely place. Fortunately, there’s a group of people who make it their mission to bring comfort and hope to people in the night. Read more → The post Ep. 25 – A Word of Hope appeared first on Nocturne.
28m Dec 30, 2016
28m
Ep. 24 – The Kindness of Others
The ethos of randonneuring emphasizes personal challenge and comraderie. Randonneurs share the goal of having everyone make it to the finish line. They take care of each other, because what they’re doing is kinda crazy and a little dangerous. Read more → The post Ep. 24 – The Kindness of Others appeared first on Nocturne.
35m Nov 29, 2016
35m
Ep. 23 – Proof of Passage
Picture it. You’re biking along a winding country road, 30 miles from the nearest town. The air is cool, there’s a slight wind, maybe a gentle mist. It’s three o’clock in the morning. You’ve been awake for 23 hours. Read more → The post Ep. 23 – Proof of Passage appeared first on Nocturne.
29m Oct 31, 2016
29m
Ep. 22 – Freedom and Control
The police play an important role in civil society. Their first mandate is to serve and protect - the ultimate goal being the maintenance of social order. Often this is accomplished with out undue assaults on individual liberty. But many factors come into play in the tension between freedom and order. It can be a fine balancing act, without clear edges. And it only takes one dark night to color...
30m Sep 30, 2016
30m
Ep. 21 – To Separate Chambers
Some surveys suggest that up to a quarter of couples sleep in separate beds. Dave and Sue have both experienced the need to sleep alone, and while they miss things about sharing a bed all night, the arrangement seems tolerable to both of them. This is not the case for another couple I spoke to. Brooke and Bob have been struggling for years to find a solution to what seems like an insurmountable...
36m Aug 25, 2016
36m
Ep. 20 – A Luminous Bubble
The night bus rolls through the city like a small enclosed world. You never know who you’ll meet or what you’ll see. One night, Helen Zaltzman’s bus ride home from the movies took a dark turn. The post Ep. 20 – A Luminous Bubble appeared first on Nocturne.
26m Jul 22, 2016
26m
Ep. 19 – The Vampire Beat
Jade Walker hates the daylight so much that most of her neighbors have rarely seen her. The sun is a personal affront to her. But she’s not disconnected from life. In fact, she sees it all. And because of her, so do we. The post Ep. 19 – The Vampire Beat appeared first on Nocturne.
31m Jun 29, 2016
31m
Ep. 18 – Look Up!
The stars are always there in the sky, even when we can’t see them. Why should we look? Why should we care? Paul Salazar cares, and he has compelling reasons why you should, too. The post Ep. 18 – Look Up! appeared first on Nocturne.
29m May 31, 2016
29m
Ep. 17 – I Was Flying
Our dreams can allow us to experience things that are – impossible. Yeah, some dreams take us where we’d rather not go. But others invite us into a world filled with joy, and ease, and wonder. They connect us to a forgotten part of ourselves. It feels realer than real, this realm we can only inhabit when we’re sleeping. The post Ep. 17 – I Was Flying appeared first on Nocturne.
15m Apr 30, 2016
15m
Ep. 16 – Standing Over The Bed
Sometimes the world of our dreams can be unsettling; even terrifying. The fear can be like an echo or a shadow of true emotion; or it can be utterly real, even justified. At times the fearful experiences we have at night can introduce questions into the nature of reality, itself. Many explanations have been offered for some of the most terrifying intrusions into sleep, but questions are not alw...
29m Mar 28, 2016
29m
Nocturne Bake Sale
Please consider supporting Nocturne on Patreon. Go to http://www.patreon.com/nocturnepodcast . Music: Taiga, Kent Sparling Johnny Bear, Jeffrey Foster and Kent Sparling Artwork: Robin Galante The post Nocturne Bake Sale appeared first on Nocturne.
8m Mar 23, 2016
8m
Ep. 15 – To A Distant Continent
Lynne Cox has spent her life swimming vast distances and pushing herself to the edges of possibility. Since the beginning, she has thrived on exploring uncharted territories, including the ocean at night. The post Ep. 15 – To A Distant Continent appeared first on Nocturne.
27m Feb 29, 2016
27m
Ep. 14 – Best Feeling in the World
The night can be like the great frontier to a kid; a forbidden zone; the perfect place to explore autonomy and independence. At first it might be tempting for parents to just lay down the law. But they're up against a lot. They're up against the best feeling in the world. The post Ep. 14 – Best Feeling in the World appeared first on Nocturne.
24m Jan 28, 2016
24m
Ep. 13 – Letting Go
Sleep can serve as both refuge and captor. That’s the case for Monica, who’s blessed with the enviable ability to consistently sleep through the night, almost without fail, no matter what’s going on. During one of the most difficult times of her life, this gift became a painful liability. The post Ep. 13 – Letting Go appeared first on Nocturne.
26m Dec 30, 2015
26m
Ep. 12 – Stars in Unison
The moon, the stars and the tides are through-lines connecting us to the beginning of life on our planet. These lines can flicker in and out of awareness in the glare of modern culture. But there are ancient creatures living among us, for whom every breath is a reflection of the moon on the water. One in a thousand hatchling sea turtles survive to make it back to the beach of their birth, lay t...
22m Nov 23, 2015
22m