Life is the sum total of the time between birth and death. But have you ever really wondered, what is life? It’s mysterious - and even science doesn’t quite have an answer. But there’s a new biology of life that’s overturning decades of assumptions. We report from a gathering of biologists, geologists and artists at the Island of Knowledge in Tuscany.Original Air Date: July 12, 2025Interviews In This Hour: <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/interview/why-we-need-new-theory-life">Why we need a new theory of life</a> — <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/interview/beyond-genome-new-science-life">Beyond the genome: A new science of life</a> — <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/interview/how-humans-can-learn-be-animal">How humans can learn to be animal</a>Guests: <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/people/marcelo-gleiser">Marcelo Gleiser</a>, <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/people/bob-hazen">Bob Hazen</a>, <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/people/phil-ball">Phil Ball</a>, <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/people/melanie-challenger">Melanie Challenger</a> Never want to miss an episode? <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/TTBOOK">Subscribe to the podcast.</a> Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? <a href="https://ttbook.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=3cb4c021b28e511db7dc0b1ca&id=64562fd7d9">Subscribe to our newsletter.</a>

Life is the sum total of the time between birth and death. But have you ever really wondered, what is life? It’s mysterious - and even science doesn’t quite have an answer. But there’s a new biology of life that’s overturning decades of assumptions. We report from a gathering of biologists, geologists and artists at the Island of Knowledge in Tuscany. Original Air Date: July 12, 2025 Interviews In This Hour: Why we need a new theory of life — Beyond the genome: A new science of life — How humans can learn to be animal Guests: Marcelo Gleiser, Bob Hazen, Phil Ball, Melanie Challenger Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Life is the sum total of the time between birth and death. But have you ever really wondered, what is life? It’s mysterious - and even science doesn’t quite have an answer. But there’s a new biology of life that’s overturning decades of assumptions. We report from a gathering of biologists, geologists and artists at the Island of Knowledge in Tuscany.Original Air Date: July 12, 2025Interviews In This Hour: <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/interview/why-we-need-new-theory-life" rel="noopener noreferrer">Why we need a new theory of life</a> — <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/interview/beyond-genome-new-science-life" rel="noopener noreferrer">Beyond the genome: A new science of life</a> — <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/interview/how-humans-can-learn-be-animal" rel="noopener noreferrer">How humans can learn to be animal</a>Guests: <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/people/marcelo-gleiser" rel="noopener noreferrer">Marcelo Gleiser</a>, <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/people/bob-hazen" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bob Hazen</a>, <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/people/phil-ball" rel="noopener noreferrer">Phil Ball</a>, <a href="https://www.ttbook.org/people/melanie-challenger" rel="noopener noreferrer">Melanie Challenger</a> Never want to miss an episode? <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/TTBOOK" rel="noopener noreferrer">Subscribe to the podcast.</a> Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? <a href="https://ttbook.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=3cb4c021b28e511db7dc0b1ca&amp;id=64562fd7d9" rel="noopener noreferrer">Subscribe to our newsletter.</a>

Island of Knowledge: What is Life?

Wonder Cabinet is an independent podcast from Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson, Peabody Award-winning creators of public radio's To The Best Of Our Knowledge. For 35 years, that show brought long-form conversations to 200+ stations nationwide; its interviews are <a href="https://americanarchive.org/special_collections/ttbook">now archived in the Library of Congress</a>. Episodes feature intimate, long-form conversations with scientists, philosophers, writers, and artists who are re-imagining our relationship with the planet. Some study black holes or quantum entanglement; others map mycelial networks or count ancient tree rings. And some explore dream worlds, myths, and fairy tales to revive ways of knowing that challenge what we think we understand about the nature of reality. The name references Enlightenment-era cabinets of curiosities—private collections of shells, fossils, astronomical instruments, and saints' relics that existed at a moment when the scientific revolution was still in conversation with older ways of knowing the world. Today, another shift is taking place, as mechanistic models give way to more holistic, relational understandings of life on a sentient planet. Wonder Cabinet lives at that threshold. About the hostsAnne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson co-founded To The Best Of Our Knowledge. Steve hosts Luminous, a podcast about the science and philosophy of psychedelics, and is the author of <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/atoms-and-eden-9780199743162?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;">Atoms and Eden</a>. Learn more at <a href="http://wondercabinetproductions.com">wondercabinetproductions.com</a>.

Society & Culture

Philosophy

Wonder Cabinet is an independent podcast from Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson, Peabody Award-winning creators of public radio's To The Best Of Our Knowledge. For 35 years, that show brought long-form conversations to 200+ stations nationwide; its interviews are now archived in the Library of Congress. Episodes feature intimate, long-form conversations with scientists, philosophers, writers, and artists who are re-imagining our relationship with the planet. Some study black holes or quantum entanglement; others map mycelial networks or count ancient tree rings. And some explore dream worlds, myths, and fairy tales to revive ways of knowing that challenge what we think we understand about the nature of reality. The name references Enlightenment-era cabinets of curiosities—private collections of shells, fossils, astronomical instruments, and saints' relics that existed at a moment when the scientific revolution was still in conversation with older ways of knowing the world. Today, another shift is taking place, as mechanistic models give way to more holistic, relational understandings of life on a sentient planet. Wonder Cabinet lives at that threshold. About the hosts Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson co-founded To The Best Of Our Knowledge. Steve hosts Luminous, a podcast about the science and philosophy of psychedelics, and is the author of Atoms and Eden. Learn more at wondercabinetproductions.com.

Wonder Cabinet is an independent podcast from Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson, Peabody Award-winning creators of public radio's To The Best Of Our Knowledge. For 35 years, that show brought long-form conversations to 200+ stations nationwide; its interviews are <a href="https://americanarchive.org/special_collections/ttbook" rel="noopener noreferrer">now archived in the Library of Congress</a>. Episodes feature intimate, long-form conversations with scientists, philosophers, writers, and artists who are re-imagining our relationship with the planet. Some study black holes or quantum entanglement; others map mycelial networks or count ancient tree rings. And some explore dream worlds, myths, and fairy tales to revive ways of knowing that challenge what we think we understand about the nature of reality. The name references Enlightenment-era cabinets of curiosities—private collections of shells, fossils, astronomical instruments, and saints' relics that existed at a moment when the scientific revolution was still in conversation with older ways of knowing the world. Today, another shift is taking place, as mechanistic models give way to more holistic, relational understandings of life on a sentient planet. Wonder Cabinet lives at that threshold. About the hostsAnne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson co-founded To The Best Of Our Knowledge. Steve hosts Luminous, a podcast about the science and philosophy of psychedelics, and is the author of <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/atoms-and-eden-9780199743162?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Atoms and Eden</a>. Learn more at <a href="http://wondercabinetproductions.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">wondercabinetproductions.com</a>.

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Island of Knowledge: What is Life?

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