I have often been awed by hummingbirds over the years — flashes of magnificent color at feeders and flowers, there and gone all too quickly. Once in a while, I've been quiet enough and lucky enough to deeply witness these remarkable creatures.

As the huge colony of flying foxes — a type of fruit bat — lifted from the mangroves of Pulau Kalong (Bat Island), Indonesia, they filled the sky above us. Thousands of them, wingspans up to five feet, pouring into the sunset toward Flores Island where the fruit trees are plentiful. It was awe-inspiring! I felt like I was watching some sort of bat signal as I was wowed by that all too familiar shape in the sky.

In the latest episode of Resilience Gone Wild, you'll hear coffee's remarkable story — from the brilliant science behind caffeine, pollinators, and the rituals that shaped civilization, to the urgent need to shift toward better ways to grow the world's most beloved crop.

I had a coffee lover's thrill recently while visiting the island of Java. I got to taste Luwak coffee and meet an Asian palm civet, up close and personal. You may have never heard of Kopi Luwak, also known as Civet Coffee. I hadn't. It's the most expensive coffee in the world and for good reason.