Nocturne
Episodes
Our Precious Time
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the documentary film, Nocturnes, the tiny fluttering nocturnal creatures who inhabit the Himalayan forest between India and Bhutan offer an exquisi...
Live Event Info + Rebroadcast of Tree People
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hello dear listener, Vanessa here. First off, I want to let you know about a unique in-person event that Nocturne will be part of in the San Fran...
How We Say Goodnight
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lullabies and goodnight wishes are thought to soothe both the giver and the receiver. They're an anchor in time, as we send each other off into the ...
Ultra
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Michael Koppy was a kid, he fell in love with running, logging a thousand miles in one summer. In his eighth decade, he's still pushing himself, ...
Shared Space
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists have dubbed this time period the Lunar Anthropocene, a new geological epoch in which human's have become the dominant force shaping the moo...
The Night Self
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us have struggled with insomnia at various times in our lives. Annabel Abbs' journey through insomnia led her to discoveries that completely c...
Impression
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nathanael Gray paints dramatic landscapes of wild nature. He paints them in the dark. Support Nocturne by donating at www.patreon.com/nocturnepodcast...
Henry 1
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Henry 1" is the Sonoma Country Sheriff's Office helicopter rescue unit. They're available 24/7, and are one of the busiest programs of their kind i...
Into Under Through Again
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nocturne is turning 10 YEARS OLD next month! In honor of this huge milestone, we are revisiting an early listener favorite, with a twist. It turns out...
Tom and Savannah
02 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An early tragedy led Tom Turcich to examine what he wanted out of life, so over the course of seven years, he and Savannah walked around the globe. To...
Noctalgia
01 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As the world changes around us, how do we balance grief and gratitude? How do we stay connected enough to what we love, to be able to mobilize the ene...
Balaclava
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As winter fades into memory in the northern hemisphere, many breathe sighs of relief, looking forward to longer days and the warmth of the sun invitin...
Merlin Tuttle
02 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about the only mammal that can fly, one that's reviled, but actually pretty darned gentle, unlike in the vampire stories that sprung u...
Nocturnalia
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There's a lot to be sad, stressed and upset about in the world right now. It's important to give those things our focus and attention and action, but ...
Season of Night
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere - the longest night of the year. Come along as we gather with a group of strangers and walk throug...
East of Nowhere
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What leads a 21-year-old to leave the college of her dreams and travel clear across the country to live off grid, in the middle of a vast barren deser...
The Light That Gives
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2013, Ben Davis had the crazy idea to light up the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for it's 75th birthday, and turn it into a nightly art installa...
On the North Face
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. Forest Service defines wilderness as having, "outstanding opportunities for solitude". When Adam Danielson summited Mount Shasta, he got more...
The Nyctalops
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Many sighted people envision being blind as inhabiting an endless night, but the realities of blindness are often much richer and more varied. Andrew ...
Angel Shot
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it’s to hear live music, to hang out, or to hook up, bars and clubs are a big part of nightlife for a lot of people. But going out to a bar ...
Nightways
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Until fairly recently, there was no distinct focus on the archeology of the night. Lacking a specific nighttime lens through which to view relics from...
Bump in the Night
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
An unexplained sound at night is like an actor on a stage, or a mystical beast drawing power from the moon. Without all the other noise competing for ...
In Shadow Places
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cristina Gil began her career as an architect in Colombia. As she worked and traveled, she started thinking about how lighting could be part of the s...
Hot for Teacher
24 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In most major urban and suburban areas in the U.S., it’s easy to take for granted that the streets are for cars – that’s just the way it is almo...
Meals 4 Heels
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In a world where the nutritional needs of sex workers is not given much consideration, Nikeisah Newton feeds strippers the most scrumptious, healthy t...
Tree Time
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From tree surfing to sleeping in trees, Peter Jenkins has done it all. And he’s spent more than half his life teaching others how to do it, too. ...
Fresh Out the Grease
18 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are some experiences that, while wonderful at any time, are amplified in their wonderfulness when they happen at night. This is one of them. ...
Manhunt on Bohemian Highway
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Monte Rio is a tiny peaceful Northern California town, nestled in a hilly forest of redwoods, beside a river. Who’s starting all the fires?
Dream Walk: The Gate
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what it would feel like to take a long walk through a dark, dark night, without fear. So, I decided to take mys...
Light Enough
22 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You won't find the word "Tenebrisology" in the dictionary - yet. It means, "the study of natural darkness", and it was created by Jane Slade. Working ...
What Would You Do?
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I rarely talk about the fact that I pretty much always feel hyperaware, if not nervous, when I'm out alone at night. I'm embarrassed to admit that. Bu...
Into the Wave
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda and her husband went out on a guided nighttime kayaking tour for their anniversary. What they'd hoped would be a relaxing, romantic excursion i...
Time Warp
18 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Some things can only really be experienced in a dark theater full of people. The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with its midnight shows spanning more than...
Happy Rumbles
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you're at the Oakland Zoo at night you can see the glow of the city in the sky overhead. But down on the ground, in amongst the animals, it's an ...
Dogma
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Pedram's dog, KitKat, is the most important thing in his life - their close emotional bond is a source of comfort and delight. But this bond also come...
Erosion
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Astronomer James Lowenthal gave a TEDx talk in 2016 warning that with the availability of cheap LED lights, light pollution around the world was about...
Elemental
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dvora has interacted with elemental spirits since she was a child. She's learned to set boundaries, so as not to be attacked or taken advantage of. ...
3-2-1!
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Danny's first skydiving experience set him on course to do something that most people would never dream of doing, something that for most people would...
The Red Flower
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Clustering around the warmth and power of a campfire, it feels like the edges of people get softened - we speak and listen to each other differently -...
Through the Fog
21 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are only 6000 tule elk left in the world, all of them found in California. Some of them roam along the coastal hills of Point Reyes National Sea...
Traveler
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kim felt an irresistible pull toward life on the road - the traveler's lifestyle, without schedules or responsibilities. Hopping freight trains and se...
The Same Stars
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Grace felt everything deeply from an early age. She was having panic attacks at 9 years old, and separation anxiety in middle school. The anxiety came...
A Whole Night for the Future
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tonight, as you're lying in bed, take a moment to think about the fact that in the night sky right above you, a massive river of birds is on an epic, ...
Notes in the Trees
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Most parents would never consider leaving their kids in the dark woods at night, and letting them find their way back. The Dutch do just that, and the...
86 Days
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Lia Ditton set out from San Francisco to row alone across the Pacific Ocean she was confident that she would make it to Hawaii. But when you le...
Perimeter
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I've been thinking about fear, and movement, and exploration, and safety. I've been thinking about barriers, and perimeters - those we create and thos...
Rest for Them
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The night represents a slowing, quiet contemplation, autonomy, dreams ... the dominion of rest. But Grind Culture tells us that our worth is in our pr...
One Road Out
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alec had spent countless summer days near Mammoth Pool Reservoir, in the Sierra National Forest. His memories were filled with fun and relaxation. As ...
Home
09 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The challenges of being unhoused are almost too many to count. They take on a distinct flavor at night.
The Drop
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A walk through a park, an urban rooftop, a forest trail - all of these are one experience in broad daylight, and entirely another after nightfall. The...
The Last Dream
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Sally lost her brother to suicide, a friend advised her to be open to the possibility that he would try to visit her from beyond. Despite her ini...
Can You Hear That?
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What if, out of nowhere, you started hearing a low-frequency rumble, like a truck idling right outside your home, in the middle of the night, every n...
Two Owls
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
To connect with an owl, even in a small way, is a rare gift. There is no animal more emblematic of the night. Elusive, mysterious and powerful: owls ...
Zebra
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While graffiti is seen by some as blight, and by others as art, the act of hiding in the shadows and stealthily scrawling your name on a wall is ultim...
Filling in the Blanks
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this high tech world, you're never without a camera, and can take a picture anywhere you go. But do these images convey the feelings of awe, exci...
Newt Brigade
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you look closely enough at this seemingly idyllic stretch of road, nestled between a lake and a steep hillside in Northern California, you'll notic...
Do the Thing
11 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The black belt test at Studio Naga is a 48-hour ordeal with no sleep. By the second night, students are running on pure adrenaline when they arrive t...
Speak San Pedro
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The night is a perfect canvas for the ancient magic of Peruvian shamanism. In the darkness, your mind opens, allowing spirits to find a place to land
You Are a Candle
10 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Candles were a lifeline until they became merely ornamental. So, how do the candles feel about this?
As a Weapon
12 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Comfort turns to horror when the night becomes weaponized - used to terrorize and control. This is the most ominous embodiment of the night. Its most...
I’m a Monster
08 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Getting into character and scaring people silly is one of Campbell Harmon's favorite things in life. But his relationship to being a monster goes de...
Like a Light Bulb
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Kristin’s daughter was just 16 years old when she began to struggle with drug addiction - methamphetamine, heroin, and more. It brought Kristin to h...
In Magdalenian Footsteps
13 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There is a cave in southern France that contains some of the world’s most deeply hidden secrets. To get there you must crawl on your belly through a...
The Sound of Moonlight
09 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There are over 3500 species of crickets and each has a different song. One man fills his apartment in Brooklyn with their music, and then takes them o...
Elk River Road
11 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Zoe and Sarah were young, free explorers on a spontaneous summer road trip. As darkness began to fall, the map on Zoe’s phone directed them to a sho...
The Dark Revolt
14 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since he was a child, Clark Strand has awoken in the middle of the night and gone out walking. One night a voice spoke directly in his ear, sayin...
Overnights (Bonus Episode)
23 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is it about the night, about what happens in the darkness, when most people are asleep? Vanessa and radio host, Rod Quinn muse about this and muc...
On The Air
09 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There’s really nothing else like late night call in shows on the radio – other humans, in real time, just chatting. It can bring comfort and norma...
Big Life
12 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Katie Nelson is a journalist based in Kenya, where she covers human rights and global health issues. Her work puts her in dangerous and challenging si...
The Blue Time
12 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 d...
Quiet Transmission
08 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Finding the Void
11 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Stay Warm, Be Careful
13 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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 s...
I Don’t Get Lost
02 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes it takes losing your way in the dark, to realize that you were already lost.
Ubiquitous Terrifying Force
05 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Something is happening to the animals. Can we all coexist on a crowded planet?
Into the World
08 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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. Tha...
Careening
09 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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 dislocat...
Candle Hour
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
There has never been a world without tragedy and heartache and injustice. But there has also never before been a time when human beings have had const...
The Dark Triad
09 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Research in 2013 found a connection between night owls and those with a sinister constellation of personality traits, ominously labeled, “The Dark T...
Blackfish
11 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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 attracti...
The Nocturnist
13 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Lay Down, Lamb
13 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Weight of the River
16 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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 metaphori...
Tree People
18 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 T...
Life Is But a Dream
14 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 writt...
Interloper
12 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The built environment consists of structures that humans make - including spaces where people live, work and play. For the most part, these places are...
The Dream You Should Be Having
12 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 hope...
Shortboard
10 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 the...
A Catalogue of Nights
06 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 pla...
3am
28 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 da...
They’re All Asleep
31 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 Radical Shift
26 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 wor...
Moon Shadow
30 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 sup...
A Word of Hope
30 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Kindness of Others
29 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The ethos of randonneuring emphasizes personal challenge and comraderie. Randonneurs share the goal of having everyone make it to the finish line. The...
Proof of Passage
31 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
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 mis...
Freedom and Control
30 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
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 or...
To Separate Chambers
25 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
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 the...
A Luminous Bubble
22 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Vampire Beat
29 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
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 disconne...