Michael Pollan
Author & Science Journalist, Harvard
About
Michael Pollan is an American author, journalist, and professor at Harvard University and UC Berkeley. Known for bestselling books on food systems like The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, he expanded into consciousness research with How to Change Your Mind (2018), exploring psychedelics and their therapeutic potential. His latest book, A World Appears (2026), investigates the nature of consciousness across plants, animals, AI, and psychedelic experience — arguing that genuine thought requires embodiment and feeling, qualities he believes AI fundamentally lacks. He co-founded UC Berkeley's Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
Key Contributions
- Authored How to Change Your Mind, reshaping public discourse on psychedelics
- Co-founded UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics
- Wrote A World Appears, exploring consciousness and AI's limits
- Named one of TIME's 100 most influential people (2010)
- Bridged food systems, consciousness, and philosophy for general audiences
Videos & Interviews
A Mindblowing Conversation About Humanity With Michael Pollan
The Interview — wide-ranging conversation on consciousness, food, psychedelics, and what makes us human
Watch on YouTube
I Don't Think That AI Will Become Conscious
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Pollan on why embodiment and feeling are essential to genuine consciousness
Watch on YouTube
