Michael Pollan’s journey to understand consciousness

Science journalist Michael Pollan has written extensively about the therapeutic benefits of mind-altering psychedelics. His new book, ‘A World Appears,’ asks, what is consciousness? “Consciousness has kind of become the secular substitute for the soul,” he tells Terry Gross. Pollan also talks about current studies on consciousness and whether plants and artificial intelligence have consciousness. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

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This episode was published on February 19, 2026.

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