September 10, 2020 - 3:54pm

Podcast version:

What have fungi got to do with politics, philosophy, Covid-19 or any of the great crises we face?

Well, potentially rather a lot.

Merlin Sheldrake is a biologist and expert on the mysterious world of fungi, and has just published a book on the subject, Entangled Life, that grabbed our attention.

He’s a fascinating character and we’ve all found ourselves rather mesmerised with the story he has to tell about the fungal world, its possibilities as well as its challenges to our politics and philosophical assumptions.

We start with the basics, and get increasingly abstract – come minute 37 you might think differently about things! Enjoy.


Freddie Sayers is the Editor-in-Chief & CEO of UnHerd. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of YouGov, and founder of PoliticsHome.

freddiesayers