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Host Michael Taft talks with bestselling author Michael Pollan about his new book, The World Appears, and the enduring mysteries of consciousness. They explore the hidden biases of consciousness researchers, the limits of scientific materialism, the embodied nature of emotion, and what literature, meditation, psychedelics, and art can reveal that experimental science cannot. The conversation turns to artificial intelligence and the disturbing possibility that machines may have ego-like structures without true internal consciousness, raising urgent questions about emotional attachment to algorithms and the need for “conscious hygiene.” We also discuss the disintegration of the ego, the surprising impact of the microbiome on mind and behavior, how the lines between self and world are becoming increasingly blurred, and practical ways to become more fully conscious through meditation, nature, travel, art, gardening, animals, time away from technology, and more.
Michael Pollan is one of America’s most influential writers on the intersection of human life and the natural world, particularly food, agriculture, consciousness, and spirit. He is the author of numerous best-selling books, including The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, Cooked, How to Change Your Mind, and This Is Your Mind on Plants. He teaches at both the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University, and is a co-founder of the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Psychedelic Science. His work has earned him many major literary and scientific honors, and Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
For more information, visit michaelpollan.com.
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