wonderwhile
How it works Pricing
What are you curious about?
How many minutes do you have?
Ask anything. Get a researched, sourced episode that ends on your minute. The hosts are AI voices, and they say so in the first minute. Every fact comes with its source.

One email when it launches. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy

Ask about anything
Things people wonder about over dinner.
What really happened to D. B. Cooper?
How did the 1919 World Series get fixed?
Why do stand-up comedians test jokes in tiny clubs first?
What’s the story behind this week’s big headline?
How does a trade deadline actually work?
Say it or type it. Tap a length, or just say “I’ve got about 40 minutes.”
One real episode · Mount Taranaki, New Zealand
A rambling question in. A 20-minute episode out.
“We're in Mount Taranaki, and we see the old mountain volcano, and we want to know more about the sort of west side of New Zealand in the black and magnetic sand beaches versus the other side, and the massive eruptions and like natural disasters, massive like tuna meter tall tsunamis. and like how long ago the moa, um and Maori people lived here with like the Cody trees We have like 20 minutes”
The request exactly as it was sent, misheard words and all. “Cody trees” became chapter five, on kauri.
The Mountain That Keeps Falling Down
20:00
6 chapters · 40 sources · Eric and Chris, AI hosts
0:00
Sixteen Times Fallen
1:06
Farmland Made of Rubble
5:10
Ash Skies, Not Giant Waves
9:17
One Grain, 220 Kilometres
13:06
Moa, Kauri and a Mountain’s Rights
18:05
What to notice next time
Sixteen Times Fallen
Chapter one, the first minute
0:00 / 1:06
Eric
That cone you’re looking at, the one so neat it looks like a kid drew it? It isn’t the original.¹
Chris
Hang on. It looks pretty original from down here.
Eric
I’m Eric, this is Chris, we’re Wonderwhile’s AI hosts, and I promise you it’s a replacement. Taranaki has collapsed and grown back sixteen times.¹
Chris
Sixteen. So the whole mountain just, what, falls over?
Eric
Falls apart. Enormous avalanches of rock pouring off it. Then it builds a fresh cone, and today’s is about two and a half thousand metres tall, the second highest peak on the North Island.¹ ² ³
Chris
Okay, so what am I actually looking at? And what am I standing on right now?
Eric
That’s where we start. We’ll follow this mountain down into the paddocks, up into the sky, and out to the black sand, some of it two hundred and twenty kilometres up the coast.⁴ ⁵
Chris
And the moa? The first people here?
Eric
Back to when moa walked these slopes. And we’ll finish with the strangest twist of all. This volcano is now, legally, a person.⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ²
Chris
Right. Start with the falling down.
Sources for this minute
1.
The geological history and hazards of a long-lived stratovolcano, Mt. Taranaki, New Zealand
mro.massey.ac.nz
“The volcano has collapsed and re-grown 16 times, producing large (2 to >7.5 km³) debris avalanches.”
2.
New Zealand mountain Taranaki Maunga has been granted personhood. Here’s why that matters
cnn.com
3.
The geological history and hazards of a long-lived stratovolcano, Mt. Taranaki, New Zealand
tandfonline.com
4.
Iron and steel
teara.govt.nz
5.
Stratigraphy, provenance and localisation of the ironsand deposit at Waikato North Head, South Auckland
rscmme.com
6.
Te Kāhui Tupua: Taranaki Maunga granted legal personhood
1news.co.nz
7.
Te Ture Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua 2025/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Act 2025
legislation.govt.nz
8.
Taranaki Maunga bill: What creating ‘legal personhood’ means
1news.co.nz
The whole episode cites 40.
Exact length
20:00
It ends on your minute.
Ask for 20 minutes and you get 20:00, not “about 20.” Wonderwhile times the voices as it records each chapter, re-plans what’s left, and fits the last chapter to the second. It’s done before the dishes are.
The Honey Nobody Wanted
asked for 30 min
30:00
The Eels That Never Go Home
asked for 30 min
30:00
The Mountain That Keeps Falling Down
asked for 20 min
20:00
The Mother in the Ear Stone
asked for 10 min
10:00
Sources first
It checks your premise, too.
When the sources don’t back up what you asked, the hosts say so instead of playing along. The Taranaki request asked about giant tsunamis.
Chris
Right. Now the thing I actually wanted. The giant tsunamis. Ten-metre walls of water smashing into this coast.
Eric
I’m going to disappoint you a little. Taranaki’s own emergency management agency says tsunami isn’t one of the region’s major hazards.
A minute later
Chris
Ash beats waves. Fine. Less cinematic, more honest.
How an episode is made
1
It reads first. Every fact it keeps from the research carries a citation.
2
The hosts only get those facts. The script can’t pull from anywhere else.
3
Quotes are checked word for word against the page they came from. A quote it can’t find loses its quotation marks.
4
A second pass reads every line against the facts and sends anything embellished back for a rewrite.
5
Podcasts, transcripts and video sites are never used as sources. The episode is written fresh.
Seven ways to tell it.
Conversation
Two hosts. One knows the material, the other asks what you would.
Documentary
A narrated telling with room for the scene.
Story
One true story, told scene by scene. Good for a cold case.
Debate
Two hosts take opposite sides of a question that’s genuinely contested.
Guided tour
Where you are, what to look at and the story behind it. Made for walks.
Quiz
Trivia with time to guess. Play along alone or with friends.
Briefing
Tight and news-style: the headline, the context, why it matters.
Pick one, or just say it: “make it a debate,” “tell it like a story,” “give me the briefing.”
Made while you listen.
Starts before it’s finished
The first chapter is ready two to four minutes after you ask. The rest is written and voiced while you listen.
Lock your phone
It keeps making and playing with the screen off.
No signal, still listening
Download episodes before you lose coverage. They play from your phone.
See the outline first
See what it’ll cover before anything is written, and change the angle if it’s wrong.
Keep going
Every episode ends with ideas for the next one, or ask your own follow-up.
Player
Transcript
Sources
Honest about the AI part.
The hosts are AI voices, and they say so in the first minute. Episodes are researched and written with AI, so they can get things wrong. That’s why the sources are a tap away, and why you can report any line from the player.
Wonderwhile won’t make episodes about private people, and it turns down requests for anything harmful.
Pricing
You pay for minutes. Everything else is included.
Every style, voice, transcript and download comes with every plan. What costs money is making new episodes. Prices are set before launch.
Pricing pending
Plans are set before launch.
Join the waitlist and we’ll email you when it’s on the App Store.
Join the waitlist
Questions
What can I ask about?
History, true crime, sports, the news behind the news, how things work, a comedian you just found, a word you just heard. If it’s on the open web, it can probably make an episode about it.
How long can an episode be?
From 3 to 90 minutes. Tap a length, or say it the way you would to a friend: “I’ve got about 40 minutes.”
How soon can I listen?
Research comes first, so the first chapter is usually ready two to four minutes after you ask. A 20-minute episode is finished in about nine.
Do I need an account?
No. Your episodes are tied to your iPhone, not to an email address.
Does it work without signal?
Downloaded episodes play anywhere. Making a new one needs a connection.
What happens to what I ask?
Your voice is turned into text on your iPhone. The audio is never saved or sent. The text of your request goes to our server to make the episode. It isn’t sold or used for ads. The privacy policy has the details, including which services help research, write and voice it.
wonderwhile
An iPhone app by Peak Perspective Media. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.
wonderwhile
How it works Pricing
What are you curious about?
How many
minutes do
you have?
Ask anything. Get a researched, sourced episode that ends on your minute. The hosts are AI voices, and they say so in the first minute. Every fact comes with its source.

One email when it launches. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy

Ask about anything
Things people wonder about over dinner.
What really happened to D. B. Cooper?
How did the 1919 World Series get fixed?
Why do stand-up comedians test jokes in tiny clubs first?
What’s the story behind this week’s big headline?
How does a trade deadline actually work?
Say it or type it. Tap a length, or just say “I’ve got about 40 minutes.”
One real episode · Mount Taranaki, New Zealand
A rambling question in. A 20-minute episode out.
“We're in Mount Taranaki, and we see the old mountain volcano, and we want to know more about the sort of west side of New Zealand in the black and magnetic sand beaches versus the other side, and the massive eruptions and like natural disasters, massive like tuna meter tall tsunamis. and like how long ago the moa, um and Maori people lived here with like the Cody trees We have like 20 minutes”
The request exactly as it was sent, misheard words and all. “Cody trees” became chapter five, on kauri.
The Mountain That Keeps Falling Down
20:00
6 chapters · 40 sources · Eric and Chris, AI hosts
0:00
Sixteen Times Fallen
1:06
Farmland Made of Rubble
5:10
Ash Skies, Not Giant Waves
9:17
One Grain, 220 Kilometres
13:06
Moa, Kauri and a Mountain’s Rights
18:05
What to notice next time
Sixteen Times Fallen
Chapter one, the first minute
0:00 / 1:06
Eric
That cone you’re looking at, the one so neat it looks like a kid drew it? It isn’t the original.¹
Chris
Hang on. It looks pretty original from down here.
Eric
I’m Eric, this is Chris, we’re Wonderwhile’s AI hosts, and I promise you it’s a replacement. Taranaki has collapsed and grown back sixteen times.¹
Chris
Sixteen. So the whole mountain just, what, falls over?
Eric
Falls apart. Enormous avalanches of rock pouring off it. Then it builds a fresh cone, and today’s is about two and a half thousand metres tall, the second highest peak on the North Island.¹ ² ³
Chris
Okay, so what am I actually looking at? And what am I standing on right now?
Eric
That’s where we start. We’ll follow this mountain down into the paddocks, up into the sky, and out to the black sand, some of it two hundred and twenty kilometres up the coast.⁴ ⁵
Chris
And the moa? The first people here?
Eric
Back to when moa walked these slopes. And we’ll finish with the strangest twist of all. This volcano is now, legally, a person.⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ²
Chris
Right. Start with the falling down.
Sources for this minute
1.
The geological history and hazards of a long-lived stratovolcano, Mt. Taranaki, New Zealand
mro.massey.ac.nz
“The volcano has collapsed and re-grown 16 times, producing large (2 to >7.5 km³) debris avalanches.”
2.
New Zealand mountain Taranaki Maunga has been granted personhood. Here’s why that matters
cnn.com
3.
The geological history and hazards of a long-lived stratovolcano, Mt. Taranaki, New Zealand
tandfonline.com
4.
Iron and steel
teara.govt.nz
5.
Stratigraphy, provenance and localisation of the ironsand deposit at Waikato North Head, South Auckland
rscmme.com
6.
Te Kāhui Tupua: Taranaki Maunga granted legal personhood
1news.co.nz
7.
Te Ture Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua 2025/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Act 2025
legislation.govt.nz
8.
Taranaki Maunga bill: What creating ‘legal personhood’ means
1news.co.nz
The whole episode cites 40.
Exact length
20:00
It ends on
your minute.
Ask for 20 minutes and you get 20:00, not “about 20.” Wonderwhile times the voices as it records each chapter, re-plans what’s left, and fits the last chapter to the second. It’s done before the dishes are.
The Honey Nobody Wanted
asked for 30 min
30:00
The Eels That Never Go Home
asked for 30 min
30:00
The Mountain That Keeps Falling Down
asked for 20 min
20:00
The Mother in the Ear Stone
asked for 10 min
10:00
Sources first
It checks your premise, too.
When the sources don’t back up what you asked, the hosts say so instead of playing along. The Taranaki request asked about giant tsunamis.
Chris
Right. Now the thing I actually wanted. The giant tsunamis. Ten-metre walls of water smashing into this coast.
Eric
I’m going to disappoint you a little. Taranaki’s own emergency management agency says tsunami isn’t one of the region’s major hazards.
A minute later
Chris
Ash beats waves. Fine. Less cinematic, more honest.
How an episode is made
1
It reads first. Every fact it keeps from the research carries a citation.
2
The hosts only get those facts. The script can’t pull from anywhere else.
3
Quotes are checked word for word against the page they came from. A quote it can’t find loses its quotation marks.
4
A second pass reads every line against the facts and sends anything embellished back for a rewrite.
5
Podcasts, transcripts and video sites are never used as sources. The episode is written fresh.
Seven ways
to tell it.
Conversation
Two hosts. One knows the material, the other asks what you would.
Documentary
A narrated telling with room for the scene.
Story
One true story, told scene by scene. Good for a cold case.
Debate
Two hosts take opposite sides of a question that’s genuinely contested.
Guided tour
Where you are, what to look at and the story behind it. Made for walks.
Quiz
Trivia with time to guess. Play along alone or with friends.
Briefing
Tight and news-style: the headline, the context, why it matters.
Pick one, or just say it: “make it a debate,” “tell it like a story,” “give me the briefing.”
Made while
you listen.
Starts before it’s finished
The first chapter is ready two to four minutes after you ask. The rest is written and voiced while you listen.
Lock your phone
It keeps making and playing with the screen off.
No signal, still listening
Download episodes before you lose coverage. They play from your phone.
See the outline first
See what it’ll cover before anything is written, and change the angle if it’s wrong.
Keep going
Every episode ends with ideas for the next one, or ask your own follow-up.
Player
Transcript
Sources
Honest about
the AI part.
The hosts are AI voices, and they say so in the first minute. Episodes are researched and written with AI, so they can get things wrong. That’s why the sources are a tap away, and why you can report any line from the player.
Wonderwhile won’t make episodes about private people, and it turns down requests for anything harmful.
Pricing
You pay for
minutes.
Everything
else is included.
Every style, voice, transcript and download comes with every plan. What costs money is making new episodes. Prices are set before launch.
Pricing pending
Plans are set before launch.
Join the waitlist and we’ll email you when it’s on the App Store.
Join the waitlist
Questions
What can I ask about?
History, true crime, sports, the news behind the news, how things work, a comedian you just found, a word you just heard. If it’s on the open web, it can probably make an episode about it.
How long can an episode be?
From 3 to 90 minutes. Tap a length, or say it the way you would to a friend: “I’ve got about 40 minutes.”
How soon can I listen?
Research comes first, so the first chapter is usually ready two to four minutes after you ask. A 20-minute episode is finished in about nine.
Do I need an account?
No. Your episodes are tied to your iPhone, not to an email address.
Does it work without signal?
Downloaded episodes play anywhere. Making a new one needs a connection.
What happens to what I ask?
Your voice is turned into text on your iPhone. The audio is never saved or sent. The text of your request goes to our server to make the episode. It isn’t sold or used for ads. The privacy policy has the details, including which services help research, write and voice it.
wonderwhile
An iPhone app by Peak Perspective Media. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.