Main content

Trees of Knowledge

How plants shape our thinking with a forester-turned writer, a botanist-turned-philosopher, a tree photographer with a science background and a memoirist.

Why Are We Here? What is a sentient being? These are questions we don't normally explore using plants but perhaps we should. Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough hears how identifying more closely with living beings who produce our oxygen and store the Sun's energy is a good way of navigating existential angst and have much to teach us about co-operation and mutual support and the unifying principles of life.

Peter Wohlleben The Hidden Life of Trees: The Illustrated Edition is out now
Emanuele Coccia The Life of Plants: A Metaphysics of Mixture is out now
Marion Sidebottom: https://www.marionsidebottom.co.uk/
Luke Turner has written Out of the Woods - a memoir about the way Epping Forest helped him deal with depression and his identity which is out in New Year.

Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Main image: Beech Tree, Epping Forest
Photographer: Marion Sidebottom (c)

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Tue 18 Dec 2018 22:00

Broadcast

  • Tue 18 Dec 2018 22:00

Featured in...

The Arts & Ideas Podcast

The Arts & Ideas Podcast

You can download all the past episodes of Radio 3's Free Thinking

Discussions and talks from the Free Thinking Festival 2019

Discussions and talks from the Free Thinking Festival 2019

Angry politics, what we can’t say, being diplomatic, weeping, emotion in music, film & TV

Click to listen to discussions, talks and music as the Free Thinking Festival 2019 Gets Emotional

Click to listen to discussions, talks and music as the Free Thinking Festival 2019 Gets Emotional

Angry politics, what we can’t say, being diplomatic, weeping, emotion in music, film & TV

CLICK to LISTEN & SEE programmes from the Free Thinking Festival 2018: The One & the Many

CLICK to LISTEN & SEE programmes from the Free Thinking Festival 2018: The One & the Many

We examine the fast-changing relationship between the individual & the crowd

CLICK to LISTEN & SEE all programmes, images, clips & features from 2017's festival

Free Thinking Festival 2017: The Speed of Life