In this week’s episode Monica Gagliano speaks with Joanna about: a scientific exploration of the acoustic behavior of plants; a dream connection with the Shipibo and teacher plants; dieting and communing with the green wisdom; a word of gratitude from the plant world; remembering the undivided world; the heart of the sequoia; a mysterious experience with water; exploring a new kind of science; learning from a playful ambassador; the Biological Intelligence lab; realizing that we are the other; a message from tobacco plant.

Monica Gagliano, PhD, is Research Associate Professor of Evolutionary Ecology at the Centre of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Western Australia, a Research Affiliate at the Sydney Environment Institute at the University of Sydney, and former Fellow of the Australian Research Council. She is the author of numerous scientific articles in the fields of animal and plant behavioral and evolutionary ecology, and is the co-editor of The Green Thread: Dialogues with the Vegetal World (Lexington Books, 2015) and The Language of Plants: Science, Philosophy and Literature (Minnesota University Press, 2017). Her work has extended the concept of cognition (including perception, learning processes, memory and consciousness) in plants. Gagliano has pioneered the brand-new research field of plant bioacustics, for the first time experimentally demonstrating that plants emit their own ‘voices’ and, moreover, detect and respond to the sounds of their environments. Her newest book is Thus Spoke the Plant: A Remarkable Journey of Groundgreaking Scientific Discoveries and Personal Encounters with Plants (North Atlantic Books, 2018).

“I Can’t Sit Still”, original music by Evarusnik

Episode Navigator