As a biology professor and a published writer, Steven Peck spent his entire life closely observing everything around him. But then his world was overturned by a brain infection that caused severe hallucinations, and he was plunged into a terrifying realm of assassin-children, evil doctors, and river-rafting MRI machines. Emerging from that chaos, Peck grappled with the power of the human brain to construct and alter the reality we experience. In this episode of Constant Wonder, he talks about how such a horrific and mind-altering experience led to an increased capacity for compassion.

Steven Peck, professor of biology at BYU and author of over forty short stories and novels