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Artwork for Thoughtforms Life

Thoughtforms Life

Michael Levin
Bioelectricity
Cognition
Regenerative Medicine
Morphogenesis
Collective Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
Xenobots
Neuroscience
Consciousness
Developmental Biology
Cancer
Evolution
Biology
Language
Intelligence
Regeneration
Planaria
Synthetic Life
Cognitive Science
Biomedicine

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.

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes176Foundeda year ago
Number of ListenersCategories
ScienceEducation

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Artwork for Thoughtforms Life

Latest Episodes

This is a ~1.5 hour talk + discussion, titled "A Multiscale Logic of Collective Intelligence" by Donald Hoffman ( and Chetan Prakash ( with Robert Chis-Ciure ( and Chris Fields ( and me.

CHAPTERS:

(00:01) Beyond space-time physics

(10:10) Minimal ... more

This is a ~1 hour discussion with Lisa Maroski ( and Richard Watson ( about the role of language in shaping our thinking in the field of diverse intelligence and beyond.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Language and systems thinking

(04:25) Parts wholes and reso... more

This is a ~1 hour meeting with Richard Watson ( Alexey Tolchinsky ( Mark Solms ( and Karl Friston ( where we discuss issues of memory (especially, the role of forgetting) in diverse intelligence (human patients and beyond), and a bit on dreams and ps... more

This is a ~55 minute discussion following up on Nic's talk and our brief conversation ( comprising part 2 of a conversation with a really interesting young neuroscientist, as well as friend, collaborator, and our Center member, Nicolas Rouleau ( We c... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Recent Guests

Nic Rouleau
Assistant Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University; Affiliate Scientist at the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts
Wilfrid Laurier University; Allen Discovery Center at Tufts
Episode: Conversation with Nic Rouleau, part 1: "Some thoughts on the mind as material"
Lisa Barrett
Guest on the episode
Episode: Conversation 2 with Lisa Barrett, Ben Lyons, and Karen Quigley
Ben Lyons
Guest on the episode
Episode: Conversation 2 with Lisa Barrett, Ben Lyons, and Karen Quigley
Karen Quigley
Guest on the episode
Episode: Conversation 2 with Lisa Barrett, Ben Lyons, and Karen Quigley
Thomas Seyfried
Leading researcher presenting mitochondrial metabolism theory of cancer
expert group in metabolic oncology
Episode: Cancer: mitochondria and metabolism - a discussion with Thomas Seyfried and his group
Thomas Duraj
Researcher contributing to ketogenic metabolic framework for glioblastoma
Metabolic Oncology group
Episode: Cancer: mitochondria and metabolism - a discussion with Thomas Seyfried and his group
Darren Iammarino
Expert in mathematical patterns and their applications in biological systems.
Episode: Conversation with Darren Iammarino #1
Jordi Vallverdú
Philosopher and researcher focused on embodied cognition and artificial intelligence
Episode: Discussion with Jordi Vallverdú #1
Robert Gatenby
Cancer researcher and innovator in cancer treatment strategies
Moffitt Cancer Center
Episode: Aastha Jain and I interview Robert Gatenby

Host

Michael Levin
Professor of Biology and host focusing on biology, cognition, and emergence; leads conversations about bioelectricity, morphogenesis, and synthetic life.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#217
Canada/Science
Apple Podcasts
#47
Finland/Science
Apple Podcasts
#113
Singapore/Science
Apple Podcasts
#165
Belgium/Science
Apple Podcasts
#247
Norway/Science

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Conversation with Nic Rouleau, part 1: "Some thoughts on the mind as material"
Q: How do you reconcile the idea of a transmissive brain with productive brain activity?
The transmissive model is not mutually exclusive with productive brain function; the brain can perform biological processing while also being influenced by external electromagnetic content, forming a layered understanding of cognition.
Conversation with Nic Rouleau, part 1: "Some thoughts on the mind as material"
Q: What is your working definition of free will, and do you think the term is useful or obsolete?
Free will, in my view, is a subjective experience of control that arises from misattributed causality; it is not true authorship of actions but a perception of predictions realized by the brain.
Discussion: Richard Watson, Alexey Tolchinsky, Mark Solms, Michael Levin, and Karl Friston
Q: What is the role of forgetting in agency and the potentiation of agency?
Forgetting functions as a mechanism to sharpen the causal signal and balance generalization; by discarding redundant or conflicting details, the system can form a more adaptable and efficient model of the world that supports future actions.
A Conversation with Mark Solms on Life and Mind
Q: Is there a difference between humans and other creatures regarding narrative making?
All active agents are storytelling, sense-making creatures that continuously try to create and update narratives about themselves and their world to enable adaptive actions.
A Conversation with Mark Solms on Life and Mind
Q: How do you view the concept of free will?
I think we have free will on a temporally extended scale, which means that through consistent effort, we can alter our behaviors and align our actions with our values over time.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
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Frequently Asked Questions About Thoughtforms Life

What is Thoughtforms Life about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show delves into how biology, cognition, and emergence shape intelligence and agency at a systems level. Across episodes, listeners encounter deep discussions on bioelectricity, morphogenesis, and multi-scale brain dynamics, often linking developmental biology to cognitive processes and even synthetic life. The conversations frequently explore how information, computation, and environment intertwine—from cellular signaling and tissue patterning to bioengineered interfaces and novel life forms like xenobots and anthropobots. A notable thread is the reframing of intelligence as something that emerges from distributed, energy-constrained processes rather than from single, isolated computational layers, with ethical and philosophical impli... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Thoughtforms Life?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Thoughtforms Life:

1. Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal
2. Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
3. The Michael Shermer Show
4. Philosophy For Our Times
5. Closer To Truth

How many episodes of Thoughtforms Life are there?

Thoughtforms Life launched a year ago and published 176 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Thoughtforms Life?

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What guests have appeared on Thoughtforms Life?

Recent guests on Thoughtforms Life include:

1. Nic Rouleau
2. Lisa Barrett
3. Ben Lyons
4. Karen Quigley
5. Thomas Seyfried
6. Thomas Duraj
7. Darren Iammarino
8. Jordi Vallverdú

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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