Emerging research has shown us that plants have the ability to communicate with other plants, react to sound and touch, store memories, deceive animals to their benefit, and protect themselves and their kin. These scientific discoveries challenge us to rethink the ways we conceive of agency, intelligence, and consciousness. Are plants intelligent, even conscious? Join us as Zoë Schlanger, author of “The Light Eaters” and staff writer for The Atlantic, welcomes us into the unseen world of plants.

Zoë Schlanger is a staff writer at The Atlantic, and her writings on climate change and the environment have appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, NPR, and Quartz. She was the recipient of a 2017 National Association of Science Writers reporting award for coverage of air pollution in Detroit, and a finalist for the 2019 Livingston Award for a series on water politics at the Texas-Mexico border.

Robert Perkinson (moderator) is an associate professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and director of the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The project is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Community Foundation, and Kamehameha Schools.

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