A podcast by Professor Michael Levin exploring the frontiers of biology, cognition, and emergence. Engage in conversations about morphogenesis, bioelectricity, and synthetic life — and uncover how intelligence and agency emerge from the most fundamental levels of nature.

Latest episodes

Discussion with Marsha Hewitt (Platonic Space and related ideas)

September 24, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min

This is a ~1 hour 3 minute conversation with Marsha Hewitt (https://www.trinity.utoronto.ca/profiles/hewitt-marsha/), who wanted to clarify some issues around the Platonic Space and related ideas from the perspective of her teaching…
"Life, Machines, and a Foundation for Synthbiosis" by Michael Levin

September 22, 2026 · 22 min

This is a ~21-minute talk titled "Life, Machines, and a Foundation for Synthbiosis" that I gave to the Santa Fe Institute (https://santafe.edu/) conference on "Symbiogenesis in the Age of Machine intelligence" (https://w…
Biology, AI, and Diverse Intelligence by Michael Levin

September 21, 2026 · 53 min

"Biology, AI, and Diverse Intelligence: what we know and don't know about embodied minds" - a 53-minute talk I gave on what the field of diverse intelligence has to say to AI research (to an audience of non-experts in AI, so it's not very…
A conversation with Andrey Vyshedskiy about the evolution of language and brain development

September 13, 2026 · 59 min

This is a ~1 hour conversation with Andrey Vyshedskiy (https://www.bu.edu/prsocial/profile/andrey-vyshedskiy/) about the evolution of language, brain mechanisms, implications for autism and developmental disorders, and Andrey's work to…
Conversation #1 with Diego Bohórquez and Mijail D. Serruya: how information moves levels in bodies

September 3, 2026 · 59 min

This is a ~59 minute working meeting where I introduce two very interesting neuroscientists to each other - Diego Bohórquez (https://medicine.duke.edu/profile/diego-v-bohorquez) and Mijail D. Serruya (https://www.jeffers…
Conversation #1 with Steven Strogatz

August 22, 2026 · 56 min

This is a ~56 minute conversation with mathematician Steven Strogatz (https://www.stevenstrogatz.com/) covering issues of explanation in mathematics, Platonism, and related questions. CHAPTERS: (00:00) Mathematical explanation and…
"Inspiration Across Substrates: free lunches, diverse intelligence and surprise" by Michael Levin

August 21, 2026 · 52 min

This is a ~52 minute talk on inspiration across substrates and my model of "free lunches" and the Platonic space. CHAPTERS: (00:00) The concept of inspiration (03:47) Defining the free lunch (08:47) Surprising biological…
Conversation #1 with Alexey Tolchinsky, Anthony Weiss and Chris Fields

July 29, 2026 · 1 hr 2 min

This is a ~1 hour conversation on the future of mental health from the perspective of the diverse intelligence field, with Alexey Tolchinsky (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=tiBKmrsAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate)…