Zoë Schlanger: Do plants think? Why eating a salad may never feel the same again

The Wild with Chris Morgan

KUOW News and Information

Science, Nature

4.8 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Maybe you’re eating an apple, or a piece of lettuce right now. Could be a broccoli stem or perhaps a lovely juicy tomato. If you are, are you wondering how intelligent that plant is? I’d guess not. But here’s a conversation that might make you think twice.

Zoë Schlanger, a science writer for the Atlantic, has written an eye-opening book on the topic. It’s called The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth.

On today’s episode, Chris sits down with Zoë to talk about what it means for a plant to be intelligent, even without a brain, and how this revolutionary field of research might help us look at plant life a little differently.

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THE WILD is a production of KUOW, Chris Morgan Wildlife, and the NPR Network. This episode was produced by Lucy Soucek and edited by Jim Gates. THE WILD is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.

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Transcript

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0:39.6	Maybe you're eating an apple or a piece of lettuce right now. Could be a broccoli stem or perhaps a lovely juicy tomato.
0:49.2	If you are, are you wondering how intelligent that plant is? I'd guess not. But today, I have a
0:58.0	conversation that might make you think twice. Zoe Schlanger has written an eye-opening book on the topic.
1:04.9	She's also a science writer for the Atlantic. My conversation starts with something most of us
1:10.6	are probably familiar with. A lonely old sweet potato sitting on the kitchen counter.
1:16.1	I had a huge pot of soil left over from a plant I'd given a friend, and I also had a sweet potato on my counter that had sprouted from all of its eyes as anyone who sometimes procrastinates eating a sweet potato can
1:28.6	probably relate to.
1:32.8	Your first instinct might be to cut the sprouts off, toss them in the garbage, and continue on.
1:39.1	But Zoe decided to plant hers and see what would happen.
	...

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