Nature’s Genius is a Bioneers podcast series exploring how the sentient symphony of life holds the solutions we need to balance human civilization with living systems. For all the talk about

Nature’s Genius is a Bioneers podcast series exploring how the sentient symphony of life holds the solutions we need to balance human civilization with living systems. For all the talk about the Age of Information, what we’re really entering is the Age of Nature. As we face the reality that, as humans, we have the capacity to destroy the conditions conducive to life, avoiding this fate requires a radical change in our relationship to nature, and how we view it. Looking to nature to heal nature, and ourselves, is essential. 


Traditional Indigenous wisdom and modern science show us that everything is connected and that the solutions we need are present in the sentient symphony of life. We can learn from the time-tested principles, processes, and dynamics that have allowed living systems to flourish during 3.8 billion years of evolution. 


In this enlightening series, we visit with scientists, ecologists, Indigenous practitioners of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, community organizers, and authors reporting from the frontlines of ecological restoration. They explore the intelligence inherent in nature and show us how to model human organization on living systems.


Guests featured in the series include: Jeannette Armstrong - Co-Founder, Enwokin Centre; Brock Dolman - Co-Founder and Program Director, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center; Erica Gies - Author and Journalist; Brett KenCairn - Founding Director of Center for Regenerative Solutions (https://naturebasedclimate.solutions/) ; Toby Kiers - Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Co-Founder of SPUN (https://www.spun.earth/) ; Kate Lundquist - Water Institute Co-Director, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center; Samira Malone - Urban Forestry Program Manager, Urban Sustainability Directors Network; Teresa Ryan - Teaching and Learning Fellow, Forest and Conservation Sciences Dept., Univ. of British Columbia; Merlin Sheldrake - Biologist and Author; Suzanne Simard - Author and Prof. of Forest Ecology, Univ. of British Columbia; Rowen White - Seedkeeper/Farmer and Author from the Mohawk community of Akwesasne


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


Producer: Teo Grossman


Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey


Post Production Assistants: Monica Lopez and Kaleb Wentzel-Fisher


Graphic Designer: Megan Howe

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/)

Introduction of the show topic, permaculture, and the show's guest