Janine Benyus — Biomimicry, an Operating Manual for Earthlings

Janine Benyus — Biomimicry, an Operating Manual for Earthlings

There is a quiet, redemptive story of our time in this conversation — a radical way of approaching the gravest of our problems by attending to how original vitality functions. Biomimicry takes the natural world as mentor and teacher — for, as Janine Benyus puts it, "we are surrounded by geniuses." Nature solves problems and performs what appear to us as miracles in every second, all around: running on sunlight, fitting form to function, recycling everything, relentlessly "creating conditions conducive to life.” Janine launched this way of seeing and imagining as a field with her 1997 book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Today she teaches and consults with all kinds of projects and organizations, including major corporations, as you'll hear.

Welcome to this unfolding parallel universe in our midst, which might just shift the way you see almost everything about our possible futures.

This conversation was part of The Great Northern Festival, a celebration of Minnesota’s signature cold, creative winters.

Janine Benyus is the author of several books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. She is the co-founder of the non-profit Biomimicry Institute and Biomimicry 3.8, a consulting and training company.

Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.

___________

Sign up for The Pause to receive our seasonal Saturday morning newsletter and advance invitations and news on all things On Being.

And: if you can, please take a minute to rate On Being in this podcast app — you'll be bending the arc of algorithms towards this adventure of conversation and living.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(983)

Shai Held — On Love, and Judaism

Shai Held — On Love, and Judaism

From Krista: I'm on record bemoaning across the years that “love” is the most watered-down word in the English language. I know that invoking love feels very soft for our hard realms of politics and w...

26 Mar 1h 17min

Jason Reynolds — On Hopelessness, the Virtue of Stamina, and Showing Grace to Ourselves

Jason Reynolds — On Hopelessness, the Virtue of Stamina, and Showing Grace to Ourselves

From Krista: I was longing for a deep dive on the radiant and common-sense hope that Jason Reynolds embodies after I interviewed him at a Georgetown event last year. I got my chance at the 2025 Aspen ...

19 Mar 51min

Arab Aramin, Robi Damelin, Liora Eilon, Mohamed Abu Jafar — Turning Unbearable Loss Into Ground of Shared Life

Arab Aramin, Robi Damelin, Liora Eilon, Mohamed Abu Jafar — Turning Unbearable Loss Into Ground of Shared Life

From Krista: A few months ago, I was invited to sit with four people sharing a very different Israeli-Palestinian story than that which comes to us in headlines. They are members of the Parents Circle...

12 Mar 1h 6min

Gül Dölen — Psychedelic Science and Radical Healing

Gül Dölen — Psychedelic Science and Radical Healing

From Krista: The word “trauma” is used so widely at present, arguably too widely. But it bespeaks a tenor of our shared reality. This episode is a journey inside what I've come to see as a parallel un...

5 Mar 1h 8min

Joy Harjo and Tracy K. Smith – "This world is full of everything good, everything beautiful."

Joy Harjo and Tracy K. Smith – "This world is full of everything good, everything beautiful."

From Krista: These days I sometimes have to remind myself to keep breathing. I think this is true of human beings across all of our differences and divides. But in a room in New York City just before ...

26 Feb 1h 9min

A New Season for a Tender New Year

A New Season for a Tender New Year

Five new On Being episodes will begin to roll out next week … We begin with the delightful beloved poets (and friends) Joy Harjo and Tracy K. Smith in conversation together with Krista. We move on to ...

19 Feb 1min

Jane Goodall, In Memoriam — What It Means to Be Human

Jane Goodall, In Memoriam — What It Means to Be Human

The great primatologist and humanitarian, Jane Goodall, died on October 1, 2025, at the age of 91. It is a joy and a comfort to revisit our last broadcast of her 2020 conversation with Krista.  Jane G...

3 Okt 202550min

Joanna Macy, In Memoriam — Beauty and Wisdom and Courage (and Rilke) to Sustain Us

Joanna Macy, In Memoriam — Beauty and Wisdom and Courage (and Rilke) to Sustain Us

This rich, gorgeous conversation will fill your soul. The singular and beloved Joanna Macy died at home at the age of 96 on July 20, 2025. She has left an immense legacy of beauty and wisdom and coura...

22 Jul 202550min

Populært innen Vitenskap

fastlegen
tingenes-tilstand
rekommandert
rss-rekommandert
jss
sinnsyn
forskningno
abels-tarn
liberal-halvtime
dekodet-2
rss-inn-til-kjernen-med-sunniva-rose
villmarksliv
rss-nysgjerrige-norge
hva-er-greia-med
fjellsportpodden
rss-paradigmepodden
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
diagnose
vett-og-vitenskap-med-gaute-einevoll
tidlose-historier