Michael Pollan on the Mind-Blowing Idea of Consciousness

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In retrospect, it seems absolutely crazy that I thought I had any qualification to write a book about consciousness.

[laughs]

It's a really difficult topic. People have been cracking their head on it for thousands of years. But I figured, well, you know, I'm a curious human who happens to be conscious, and I'm pretty good at explaining things, so I went ahead and took the plunge. [laughs]

That's renowned author Michael Pollan not quite giving himself the credit he deserves. Michael's written half a dozen bestsellers that have reshaped our understanding of everything from food to psychedelics. His latest book is called A World Appears. It tackles the complex subject of consciousness, which he defines simply as subjective experience.

It is kind of a, a mind-blowing idea. Wow, there's something mediating my relationship to reality. What is it? And why is it that way and not this way?

[upbeat music] On today's show, an awe-inspiring, brain-tickling exploration of human consciousness. I'm Maya Shankar, a scientist who