Gordon Hempton has spent his entire career trying to answer that question. You may remember Gordon from our earlier episode about searching for silence. We headed out to the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula, to the Hoh Rainforest, looking for what Gordon calls One Square Inch of Silence.

Gordon refers to himself as The Sound Tracker. He travels the world looking for natural soundscapes that are free from human-caused sounds. His hope is to draw attention to these areas and keep them free from noise pollution.

I talked to Gordon for well over an hour for that earlier episode. He said a lot. Much more than we could include in the original show. 

So we decided to include some of that interview with Gordon in a special bonus episode of The Wild. In it Gordon shares what it means to him to listen. To truly and completely open your ears to the world.

Now, I have a special request for this episode. 

We are going to play you a few of Gordon’s field recordings. But I don’t want you to just hear them...I want you to listen to them. Here’s the request part...grab a pair of headphones and find a quiet place where you can focus….and for the next 10 minutes let yourself melt into the sounds of nature.

A special thanks to Gordon Hempton and Matt Mikkelson who made these recordings possible. You can learn more about their work at Quiet Parks International.