Leaving Academia and a Ceremonial Burning

Monica describes quitting academia, burning lab books, and embracing a different identity and scientific practice.

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Episode notes

Plants are our ancient teachers, whispering and nudging… if only we’d listen. Dr. Monica Gagliano is an evolutionary ecologist who has turned the green world into something wonderfully surprising. Her research reveals plants that listen, remember, make choices and even teach one another. Some can sense eclipses before they happen. Others communicate in ways we’re only just beginning to catch up with.

In 2008, Monica did something bold: she stepped out of academia and followed her curiosity into the forest, literally. Blending scientific experimentation with Amazonian plant ceremonies and the guidance of shamans, she helped spark the field now known as plant intelligence. Since then, her work has captured imaginations around the world, appearing in The New York Times and the National Geographic.

In this episode, we explore:

✦ Pushing back against the scientific status quo

✦ Letting nature show you what it knows

✦ Welcoming indigenous plant teachings into scientific practice

✦ Paying attention as a joyful act of devotion

Monica invites us into a playful and daring question: what do plants actually know… and what might they be trying to tell us?

Chapters

0:00 Intro: Science, wonder, and pushing boundaries

03:03 Initiation on the Great Barrier Reef

12:53 “Plants rescued the scientist in me”

20:57 Monica’s first experiments with plants

27:10 Bringing empathy into science