Thoughtforms Life

Michael Levin

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.

  1. Bioelectricity: A Bridge Between Physics and Cognition, by Way of Biology

    SEP 23

    Bioelectricity: A Bridge Between Physics and Cognition, by Way of Biology

    This is a ~54 minute talk I gave, titled ""Bioelectricity: a bridge between physics and cognition, by way of biology", at the National Institute of Health Interest Group "Quantum SIG" (https://oir.nih.gov/sigs/qis-quantum-sensing-biology-interest-group). My talk doesn't contain any quantum biology content per se, but I discuss the idea of top-down control and cognition all the way down, from abstract mental goals to molecular pathways, with bioelectricity as a tractable medium for the communicat... CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

    54 min
  2. Intrinsic Motivation in Evolved, Engineered, and Hybrid Systems

    SEP 20

    Intrinsic Motivation in Evolved, Engineered, and Hybrid Systems

    This is a ~1 hour talk I gave at the Oxford Robotics Institute called "Intrinsic motivation in evolved, engineered, and hybrid systems: the interface of biophysics, computer science, and behavioral science". It covers our work from the perspective of motivations - what are they (in various unconventional agents, spaces, and scales), how can we predict/change them, and where they "come from". CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

    57 min
  3. Against Mind-Blindness: Recognizing and Communicating with Agential Materials by Michael Levin

    SEP 2

    Against Mind-Blindness: Recognizing and Communicating with Agential Materials by Michael Levin

    This is a 1 hour 11 minute talk by me called "Against Mind-Blindness: recognizing and communicating with Agential Materials and Beyond". It is a slightly longer, updated version of this talk from last month, containing a bit of new material and a somewhat differently-ordered presentation. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

    1h 11m
  4. Biological and Technological Information Processing

    AUG 18

    Biological and Technological Information Processing

    This is a ~35 minute talk on commonalities and differences between biological and technological information processing, and the implications for AI (given at the AGI-25 conference in Iceland). The full program, including Hananel Hazan's talk (which is the 2nd half of mine), is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdftA37yZJw. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

    36 min
  5. Unconventional Embodiments of Consciousness: A Diverse Intelligence Research Program - Michael Levin

    AUG 6

    Unconventional Embodiments of Consciousness: A Diverse Intelligence Research Program - Michael Levin

    This is a ~46 minute talk given at a conference on consciousness, presenting my lab's data on cognition in body organs outside the brain and then some speculations about the mind-body connection more generally (fleshing out my Platonic space model with symmetries between brain:mind relationships and mathematics:physics relationships). CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

    47 min
  6. Against Mind-blindness: Recognizing and Communicating with Agential Materials and Beyond - Michael Levin

    JUL 22

    Against Mind-blindness: Recognizing and Communicating with Agential Materials and Beyond - Michael Levin

    This is a ~1 hour 7 minute talk I gave at the SEMF Interdisciplinary School (July 2025, https://semf.org.es/school2025/#speakers-container) on agency ways to think about expanding our ability to detect and communicate with unconventional minds. The same talk but with a lengthy Q&A will be up on the SEMF website. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

    1h 7m
  7. Beyond Complexity & Emergence: Taming Multiscale Competency in Agential Materials

    JUL 19

    Beyond Complexity & Emergence: Taming Multiscale Competency in Agential Materials

    This is a ~54 minute talk given at a workshop on complexity. Many of the examples are the same ones I often talk about but this talk is focused on explaining how biology deals with complexity, and ways to think about complex patterns of form and behavior beyond the conventional approach of emergence. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

    54 min
  8. Engineering Agential Materials

    JUL 11

    Engineering Agential Materials

    This is a ~18 min talk plus ~10 min Q&A on a top-down approach to bioengineering and robotics that I gave at the Biohybrid Robotics Symposium in Switzerland in July 2025 (https://biohybrid-robotics.com/). CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

    27 min
See All (141)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Levin
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    141
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Michael Levin / Thoughtforms Life
  • Show Website
    Thoughtforms Life

You Might Also Like