97. How Smart Is a Forest?

Twenty years ago, before the Freakonomics book tour, Bill McGowan taught Steve Levitt to speak in public. In his new book he tries to teach everyone else. SOURCES:Bill McGowan, founder and C.E.O. of Clarity Media Group. RESOURCES:Speak, Memorably: The Art of Captivating an Audien ... Show More

Former professional poker player Annie Duke wrote a book about Steve’s favorite subject: quitting. They talk about why quitting is so hard, how to do it sooner, and why we feel shame when we do something that’s good for us. SOURCES:Annie Duke, author and former professional poker ... Show More

Psychologist David Yeager thinks the conventional wisdom for how to motivate young people is all wrong. His model for helping kids cope with stress is required reading at Steve’s new high school. SOURCES:David Yeager, professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. ... Show More

We talk about trees and how they can communicate and help each other. 

If we want to better understand the environment and combat climate change, we need to look deep underground, where diverse microscopic fungal networks mingle with tree roots to form symbiotic partnerships, says microbiologist Colin Averill. As we learn more about which of these f ... Show More

Did you know? We are back with another episode of Sleep Tight Science and in this episode we are going to learn about trees. Have you ever wondered about how trees grow? How can you tell how old they are? or Why are trees so important? In this episode we are going to talk about a ... Show More

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by Ted Lasso's Brendan Hunt, Professor of forest ecology and author of "The Mother Tree", Suzanne Simard and botanist Mark Spencer to discover how trees and plants communicate and what they are saying. Suzanne's incredible discovery that trees ... Show More

In an era of divisions over the climate breakdown, tree planting seems to bring everyone together. But are there situations where tree planting can cause more harm than good? And how much can it help us counteract global heating? Patrick Greenfield leads you through the science a ... Show More

Wildfires can impact so many things, from ecosystems to the air quality, to even the economy. But in this week’s episode, both of our storytellers take a look at the more personal impacts of forest fires. Part 1: In college, Nick Link almost burns down the entire neighborhood whe ... Show More

There have been big promises about tree-planting numbers over the last few years - but is there much point in planting more trees, if we're not looking after the ones we've already got? The Woodland Trust estimates that only 7% of the UK's native woodlands are in good ecological ... Show More

We pretend to whistle with an acorn cap today, bring our hands near our mouth. Feel free to skip this one and/or make sure everyone has washed their hands right before listening. Did you know that trees talk to each other? They do! Mother trees can send food to their saplings. Tr ... Show More

Trees have the remarkable ability to pass knowledge down to succeeding generations and to survive the ravages of climate change, if only we’d let them alone, according to the German forester Peter Wohlleben. In The Power of Trees (translated by Jane Billinghurst) he explains the ... Show More