Wind down by escaping into nature. Part soundscape and part bedtime story, The Sleeping World is an intimate journey through ecologies around the world.

Dung beetles might sound dirty, but the ancient Egyptians believed their god took the form of a dung beetle to roll the morning sun across the sky every day. In this episode, we roll with dung beetles around the world as they push their precious dung—often in balls many times larger than they are—over Florida pastures, Armenian highlands, and the vast South African savanna.

This is the world in its natural state, defined by seasons, routines, and cycles. As we roll with these glittering beetles, we can imagine a giant dung beetle slowly rolling our planet through the solar system, rotating us gently into each coming night, and safely into each new day.

Produced by Audible and Mumble Media
Written by Cara Ehlenfeldt and Jake Young
Narrated by Cynthia Kimola
Executive Producers for Mumble Media: Cara Ehlenfeldt and Jake Young
Executive Producer for Audible: Anna Stitt
Sound Design and Mix: Mumble Media
The Mumble Media team is Jaymeson Catsouphes, Cara Ehlenfeldt, Chester Gwazda, Liz Mak, Lee Mengistu, Renée Vargas, and Jake Young
Dung Beetle Consultant: Rachel Stone
Fact-Checker: Andrea López-Cruzado
Head of Creative Development at Audible: Kate Navin
Chief Content Officer at Audible: Rachel Ghiazza

Available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.