Michael Pollan’s journey to understand consciousness

Science journalist Michael Pollan has written extensively about the therapeutic benefits of mind-altering psychedelics. His new book, ‘A World Appears,’ asks, what is consciousness? “Consciousness has kind of become the secular substitute for the soul,” he tells Terry Gross. Pollan also talks about current studies on consciousness and whether plants and artificial intelligence have consciousness.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy