Episode Details

Right now, in labs and lecture halls all around the world, there’s a war raging. Not a physical war of fists and gunfire, but a war of ideas, and of research and of fact.

The battle ground is this: Could it be that we animals are not alone in our ability to make decisions, to feel the world around us, to listen and communicate, maybe even be conscious. In short, could it be that plants are intelligent too?

Today’s guest is Zoë Schlanger, a staff writer at The Atlantic covering the environment, and the author of The Light Eaters, a book exploring the fascinating science of plant intelligence and behaviour.

She argues that plants are more than just a green blob in the ecosystem, but an active part of it; one with the agency to decide its own destiny, and, fundamentally, one which we humans should show respect and reverence towards.

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