Astro-physicist Jen Gupta and comedian Alice Fraser travel the parallel worlds of science and sci-fi.

 Summer listening: here is  a fascinating - and important - discussion of what is being discovered about how plants communicate. It's a must for all of us who are keen to understand more about the diversity and interwoven-ness of communication. We know various preschools keen to better undertand symbiosis in the plant world as well as in the human one - this is a valuable contribution, and a lively discussion to listen to this summer.

Talking Plants [click the link to listen]

In this episode, Jen and Alice investigate the science behind Sue Burke's book, Semiosis, about a mysterious breed of intelligent plants. They talk to Sue about how watching her houseplants formed the inspiration for the book. Then they ask the linguist Dr Hannah Little if we could ever learn the language of something that has a completely different understanding of what communication means. Finally, Professor Lilach Hadany explains how a radical new study might show plants are listening to each other - and maybe even to us.

This programme builds on the one which we listened t last year, on the subject - If you haven't heard it you can access it via our blog here:

Communication and relationships under our feet ...