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

Learn more about Youth Leadership at https://bioneers.org/category/youth/

This video is part of a series called "Seeding the Field: 30 Years of Transformative Solutions," which

Learn more about Youth Leadership at https://bioneers.org/category/youth/

This video is part of a series called "Seeding the Field: 30 Years of Transformative Solutions," which celebrates some of the best moments of the Bioneers conference through the last 30 years.

Founders Kenny Ausubel and Nina Simons, who organized these brilliant lectures, were gracious enough to assist in the curation of the keynotes selected for the production of these videos.

Many thanks go to the Bioneers organization, its staff and partners, and all those who proudly call themselves Bioneers.

Video Credits:

Directed by: Maximilian DeArmon
Edited by: Brandon Pinard
Sound Mix: Stephanie Welch

Produced by: Maximilian DeArmon and Theo Badashi for Cosmogenesis Media Group

Photo Credits:
"Greta Thunberg" - Anders Hellberg of Effekt magazine

Dr. Shane Gero, a visionary marine biologist, is angling to crack the code of sperm whale communication. His mind-bending research is transforming what we thought we knew about these ancient

Dr. Shane Gero, a visionary marine biologist, is angling to crack the code of sperm whale communication. His mind-bending research is transforming what we thought we knew about these ancient leviathans. It’s calling on us to embrace the reality that perhaps we’ve long suspected: Sperm whales are living meaningful, intelligent and complex lives whose cultures suggest that whales are people too. What can whale culture teach us, and can deep listening help us learn to coexist respectfully in kinship with these guardians of the deep?
Featuring


Shane Gero, Ph.D., is a Canadian whale biologist, Scientist-in-Residence at Ottawa’s Carleton University, and a National Geographic Explorer. He is the founder of The Dominica Sperm Whale Project (http://www.thespermwhaleproject.org/)  and the Biology Lead for Project CETI (https://www.projectceti.org/) . His science appears in numerous magazines, books, and television; and most recently was the basis for the Emmy Award winning series, Secrets of the Whales. Learn more at shanegero.com (http://www.shanegero.com/) .


Credits



•
Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel


•
Written by: Teo Grossman and Kenny Ausubel


•
Senior Producer and Station Relations: Stephanie Welch


•
Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey


•
Program Engineer and Music Supervisor: Emily Harris


•
Special Engineering Support: Eddie Haehl at KZYX



Resources


Shane Gero – Preserving Animal Cultures: Lessons from Whale Wisdom | Bioneers 2023 Keynote (https://bioneers.org/shane-gero-preserving-animal-cultures-lessons-from-whale-wisdom-zstf2304/)


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






This is an episode of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature series. Visit the podcast homepage (https://bioneers.org/bioneers-radio/)  to learn more.

Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant shares her personal odyssey as a wildlife ecologist, conservation biologist and co-host of the famed TV nature show “Wild Kingdom.” As a scientist dedicated to

Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant shares her personal odyssey as a wildlife ecologist, conservation biologist and co-host of the famed TV nature show “Wild Kingdom.” As a scientist dedicated to protecting and conserving the diversity of the web of life, she reminds us that, as human beings, we are part of nature. It’s all connected, and it’s high time to bring about peaceful coexistence, not only with nature, but with one another.


Rae Wynn-Grant, Ph.D., is a wildlife ecologist and conservation biologist, creator of the award-winning podcast “Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant,” co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom,” and author of “Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World (https://zandoprojects.com/books/wildlife/) .”
Resources


Rae Wynn-Grant – Wild Life: How Personal Journeys are Essential to Sustainable Leadership in Environmental Science (https://bioneers.org/rae-wynn-grant-wild-life-personal-journeys-essential-sustainable-leadership-environmental-science-zstf2404/)  | Bioneers 2024 Keynote


Rae Wynn-Grant – Becoming a Wildlife Ecologist in a Rugged World (https://bioneers.org/test-rwg-excerpt-ze0z2404/)  | Excerpt from “Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World”
Credits



•
Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel


•
Written by: Leo Hornak and Kenny Ausubel


•
Senior Producer and Station Relations: Stephanie Welch


•
Program Engineer and Music Supervisor: Emily Harris


•
Producer: Teo Grossman


•
Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey


•
Production Assistance: Leo Hornak and Monica Lopez







This is an episode of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature series. Visit the radio and podcast homepage (https://bioneers.org/bioneers-radio/)  to learn more.Saving Nature Means Saving Ourselves | Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant

Bioneers’ founder (back in 1990!), Kenny Ausubel, has become renowned for his eagerly-anticipated yearly passionate orations that lay bare with ruthless analysis and humor specific sectors

Bioneers’ founder (back in 1990!), Kenny Ausubel, has become renowned for his eagerly-anticipated yearly passionate orations that lay bare with ruthless analysis and humor specific sectors of malfeasance in our society that are seeking to derail progress to protect their wealth and privilege. This year he dissected the history and current machinations of corporations as they exert ever more dominance of our economy and political system and urged us to fully grasp their strategies and to resist and curb the power of these forces of inertia and reaction while we still can.

This keynote talk was delivered at the 2024 Bioneers Conference. To see other talks from the conference, visit http://www.bioneers.org