The Sleeping World: Rolling Under the Milky Way with a Dung Beetle

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.