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Thoughtforms Life

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

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.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes186Foundeda year ago
Number of ListenersCategories
EducationScience

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Artwork for Thoughtforms Life

Latest Episodes

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

This is a ~1 hour working meeting with Thomas Pollak (www.kcl.ac.uk/people/thomas-pollak, drtompollak.substack.com/) and David King (profiles.stanford.edu/361883, breakingconvention.co.uk/performers/dave-king) about th... more

This is a ~54 minute talk titled "Diverse Intelligence: a new frontier for Origins, Possibilities, and Diseases of the Mind(s)" which I gave for an audience composed of mental health professionals and neuroscientists.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Roadmap and ... more

This is a ~57 minute talk titled "Energy Constraints and Tradeoffs: the mitochondrial daily energy expenditure MDEE study" by Martin Picard (www.neurology.columbia.edu/profile/martin-picard-phd) and a brief set of ideas by me at the end, pres... more

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Recent Guests

Martin Picard
Professor and researcher
Episode: "Energy Constraints and Tradeoffs" by Martin Picard
Jaan Aru
Researcher contributing to discussions on consciousness, computation, and substrate dependence
Research in computational neuroscience and consciousness
Episode: Computationalism and consciousness with Nic Rouleau, Jaan Aru, and Borjan Milinkovic.
Borjan Milinkovic
Researcher contributing to discussions on embodiment, autonomy, and computational biology
Research in bioelectricity and morphogenesis
Episode: Computationalism and consciousness with Nic Rouleau, Jaan Aru, and Borjan Milinkovic.
Richard Watson
Participant in discussion on ontology and causation
Episode: Discussion #1 with Amahury Jafet Lopez Diaz, Carlos Gershenson-Garcia, and Richard Watson
Amahury Jafet Lopez Diaz
Participant discussing metaphysical frameworks and empirical testing
Episode: Discussion #1 with Amahury Jafet Lopez Diaz, Carlos Gershenson-Garcia, and Richard Watson
Carlos Gershenson-Garcia
Participant offering pragmatic perspectives on emergence, causation, and modeling
Episode: Discussion #1 with Amahury Jafet Lopez Diaz, Carlos Gershenson-Garcia, and Richard Watson
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

Host

Michael Levin
Host of Thoughtforms Life, professor and researcher with focus on biology/cognition.

Chart Rankings

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

Apple Podcasts
#158
United States/Science
Apple Podcasts
#183
United Kingdom/Science
Apple Podcasts
#105
Australia/Science
Apple Podcasts
#162
France/Science
Apple Podcasts
#23
Finland/Science
Apple Podcasts
#41
Norway/Science
Apple Podcasts
#73
New Zealand/Science
Apple Podcasts
#111
Switzerland/Science
Apple Podcasts
#112
Singapore/Science
Apple Podcasts
#232
Belgium/Science

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Conversation #1 with Alexey Tolchinsky, Anthony Weiss and Chris Fields
Q: What is the best-case scenario for treatment if everything goes well?
A scenario where diagnostic maps are accurate enough to predict meaningful actions, leading to interventions that improve patients' ability to navigate uncertainty, with therapies that adapt to dynamic, real-world contexts rather than relying on static labels.
"Energy Constraints and Tradeoffs" by Martin Picard
Q: Can you summarize how mitochondria influence stress responses and aging in living organisms?
Mitochondria act as dynamic, interconnected networks that regulate energy production and signaling; when their function is perturbed, organisms show magnified and qualitatively different stress responses, which can accelerate aging. The brain and body exchange energy signals through metabolites and hormones, leading to a coordinated, multi-system energy budget that impacts healthspan and lifespan.
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.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Thoughtforms Life

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

Thoughts and debates at the intersection of biology, cognition, emergence, and morphogenesis drive engaging conversations with scientists and thinkers from neuroscience, philosophy, and complex systems. Episodes frequently explore bioelectricity, developmental biology, and the nature of intelligence and agency as they emerge from cellular and organismal processes. Guests span researchers, philosophers, and interdisciplinary thinkers who probe how mind, body, and environment co-create meaning, often challenging reductionist views and proposing new frameworks for understanding life and cognition. The show stands out for its hands-on, experimental tilt, willingness to entertain speculative ideas (from xenobots to memory transfer) alongside rig... more

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How many episodes of Thoughtforms Life are there?

Thoughtforms Life launched a year ago and published 186 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Thoughtforms Life?

Recent guests on Thoughtforms Life include:

1. Martin Picard
2. Jaan Aru
3. Borjan Milinkovic
4. Richard Watson
5. Amahury Jafet Lopez Diaz
6. Carlos Gershenson-Garcia
7. Nic Rouleau
8. Lisa Barrett

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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