Imagine an underground web of mind-boggling complexity, a bustling cosmopolis beneath your feet. Quadrillions of miles of tiny threads in the soil pulsate with real-time messages, trade vital

Imagine an underground web of mind-boggling complexity, a bustling cosmopolis beneath your feet. Quadrillions of miles of tiny threads in the soil pulsate with real-time messages, trade vital nutrients, and form life-giving symbiotic partnerships. This is the mysterious realm of fungi. Acclaimed visionary biologists Toby Kiers and Merlin Sheldrake guide us through the intricate wonders of the mycorrhizal fungal networks that make life on Earth possible.


This is an episode of Nature's Genius, a Bioneers limited series. Visit the series page to learn more.


Featuring


Toby Kiers, Ph.D., is the Executive Director and Chief Scientist of SPUN (the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks) (https://www.spun.earth/) and a Professor of Evolutionary Biology at VU, Amsterdam.


Merlin Sheldrake, Ph.D., is a biologist and writer with a background in plant sciences, microbiology, ecology, and the history and philosophy of science. He is currently a research associate of the Vrije University Amsterdam, works with the SPUN, and sits on the advisory board of the Fungi Foundation (https://www.ffungi.org/) .


Credits



•
Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel


•
Written by: Cathy Edwards and Kenny Ausubel


•
Produced by: Cathy Edwards


•
Senior Producer: Stephanie Welch


•
Program Engineer and Music Supervisor: Emily Harris


•
Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey


•
Producer: Teo Grossman


•
Graphic Design: Megan Howe



Resources


Merlin Sheldrake – How Fungi Make our Worlds (https://bioneers.org/merlin-sheldrake-fungi-make-worlds-zstf2404/) | Bioneers 2024 Keynote


Merlin Sheldrake and Toby Kiers – Mapping, Protecting and Harnessing the Mycorrhizal Networks that Sustain Life on Earth (https://bioneers.org/merlin-sheldrake-and-toby-kiers-mapping-protecting-and-harnessing-the-mycorrhizal-networks-that-sustain-life-on-earth/) | Bioneers 2024 Panel Discussion


Interview with Merlin Sheldrake, Author of Entangled Life (https://bioneers.org/interview-merlin-sheldrake-entangled-life-ztvz2007/)


Deep Dive: Intelligence in Nature (https://bioneers.org/intelligence-in-nature-media-collection/)


Earthlings: Intelligence in Nature (https://bioneers.org/earthlings/) | Bioneers Newsletter


SPUN (the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks) (https://www.spun.earth/)


Fungi Foundation (https://www.ffungi.org/)

Over 7,000 languages are spoken around the world. Each one reflects a rich ecosystem of ideas - seeds that grow into a multitude of worldviews. Today, many of these immeasurably precious knowledge

Over 7,000 languages are spoken around the world. Each one reflects a rich ecosystem of ideas - seeds that grow into a multitude of worldviews. Today, many of these immeasurably precious knowledge systems are endangered - often spoken by just a handful of people. We hear from two Indigenous language champions, Jeannette Armstrong and Rowen White. They reflect on the words, stories, songs and ideas that influence our very conception of nature, and our place within it.

This is an episode of Nature’s Genius, a Bioneers podcast series exploring how the sentient symphony of life holds the solutions we need to balance human civilization with living systems. Visit the series page to learn more. (https://bioneers.org/natures-genius/)

Featuring

Jeannette Armstrong, Ph.D., (Okanagan) is an Indigenous author, teacher, ecologist, and a culture bearer for her Native language. She is also Co-founder of the En'owkin Centre (https://enowkincentre.ca/) .
Rowen White (Mohawk) is a seed keeper and farmer, and part of the Indigenous Seed Keepers Network. She operates a living seed bank called Sierra Seeds (https://sierraseeds.org/) .

Resources
En’owkin Centre 
Indigenous Seed Keepers Network, Sierra Seeds, Language Keepers
Hand Talk, Native American Sign Language, Native Seed Rematriation

Credits
Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel, Written by: Cathy Edwards and Kenny Ausubel
Produced by: Cathy Edwards, Senior Producer and Station Relations: Stephanie Welch
Associate Producer: Emily Harris, Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey
Program Engineers: Kaleb Wentzel Fisher and Emily Harris, Producer: Teo Grossman
Graphic Designer: Megan Howe

The Butterfly Effect with Catharine MacKinnon

Equality seakers spread your wings! Under the right conditions, small simple actions in a collective context can produce large complex effects

The Butterfly Effect with Catharine MacKinnon

Equality seakers spread your wings! Under the right conditions, small simple actions in a collective context can produce large complex effects and change. Pioneering lawyer and activist for women’s rights Catharine A. MacKinnon argues that seemingly minor interventions in the legal realm can have a butterfly effect that generates major social and cultural transformations.

Watch Catharine MacKinnon, lawyer and activist, in our latest RSA Spotlight - the edits which take you straight to the heart of the event! Loved this snippet? Watch the full talk here. 

Substantive Equalty, Multidimensional Political Thinking, Principled Creativity, Inspired Intervention, Open debates on strategy, old and new forms of organizing. 

Catharine A. MacKinnon is the Elizabeth A. Long Professor of Law at Michigan Law and the long-term James Barr Ames Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She holds a BA from Smith College, a JD from Yale Law School, and a PhD in political science from Yale. She specializes in sex equality issues under international and domestic (including comparative, criminal, and constitutional) law. 

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of "The Serviceberry" and "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of "The Serviceberry" and "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants," which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, "Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses," was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain and numerous scientific journals. In 2022, "Braiding Sweetgrass" was adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith. This new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us.

This short film is part of The Arachne Project, a gathering convened in May 2024 by the Spring Creek Project at Oregon State University, with support by the Shotpouch Foundation. A diverse thinking community of writers, conservation biologists, Indigenous leaders, philosophers and others came together to consider what emerging visions and values should guide conservation practices as the world enters a radically uncertain future. Learn more at https://beav.es/arachne.