In 'Entangled Life,' Merlin Sheldrake delves into the fascinating world of fungi, discussing their roles in decomposition, fermentation, nutrient distribution, and the production of psilocybin. The book examines how fungi interact with plants and animals, including their ability to manipulate insect behavior and form vast underground networks known as the 'Wood Wide Web.' Sheldrake also explores the historical and modern uses of fungi, from food and medicine to their potential in environmental remediation. The book is both a scientific exploration and a personal account, challenging traditional concepts of intelligence and individuality and offering a new perspective on the interconnectedness of life.
In 'A Cyborg Manifesto,' Donna Haraway introduces the concept of the cyborg as a hybrid of machine and organism, challenging traditional dichotomies such as nature/culture, mind/body, and idealism/materialism. The essay argues that the cyborg represents a new ontology that blurs these boundaries, offering a postmodern and posthuman perspective that rejects essentialism and promotes a non-essentialized, material-semiotic understanding. Haraway sees the cyborg as a symbol of resistance and a tool for feminist and socialist politics, emphasizing the importance of partial, ironic, and intimate identities in a world where technology increasingly mediates human experience[5][4][3].
The book follows the matsutake mushroom, a delicacy in Japan, to explore the unexpected corners of capitalism. It delves into the worlds of Japanese gourmets, capitalist traders, Hmong jungle fighters, industrial forests, and more, highlighting the resilience of the matsutake and the entanglements between various species in surviving and creating new environments. Tsing critiques capitalism and argues for diverse and contingent responses to understand its complexities, emphasizing the importance of multispecies assemblages and the precarious nature of life in the ruins of capitalist systems[3][4][5].
Heather Davis's "Plastic Matters" delves into the complex relationship between humans and plastics, exploring the materiality of plastic and its impact on our lives and the environment. The book examines the social, cultural, and environmental implications of plastic production, consumption, and disposal, highlighting the ways in which plastic shapes our bodies, spaces, and relationships. Davis draws on feminist theory and posthumanism to challenge anthropocentric perspectives and to consider the agency of plastic itself. The book explores the entanglement of humans and non-humans in the plastic age, urging us to rethink our relationship with this ubiquitous material. Through insightful analysis and evocative prose, Davis offers a critical perspective on the pervasive presence of plastic in our world.
There were a number of pieces at SXSW that were centered around embodied interactions including HONEY FUNGUS, which is a series of interactive embodied experiments telling a broader story of cultivating intimacy with ecology. This piece leans more into embodied dream logic rather than clearly articulating a narrative journey, and I had a fascinating conversation with Jonah King who decoded the underlying symbolism. King’s first step of his creative process was to go down a rabbit hole researching queer ecology and the latest research on fungi, and he wrote an essay titled "Unfathomable Intimacies" that lays out his original inspirations. One thing that really stuck with me from the experience was this intriguing AI mash-up of Smithsonian Field Research and amateur erotica designed in order to cultivate a new form of ecological intimacy with the world around us. I appreciated this experience a lot more after having a chance to learn more about additional context provided on the website as well as insights gained from my conversation with King. To me the dream logic in this piece leans a little bit more into personal symbols that need some decoding rather than more universal archetypes that are easier to project the intended meaning upon. But I always love learning more about Fungi since they represent so many paradigm-shattering insights.
This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon.
Music: Fatality
Voices of VR 
