Merlin Sheldrake Explained

Merlin Sheldrake (born 1987) is a British mycologist and writer known for his work on mycorrhiza.

Early life and education

Merlin Sheldrake was born in 1987 in London to Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist and author, and Jill Purce, a therapist.[1] [2] He grew up near Hampstead Heath in London.[3] His brother, Cosmo Sheldrake, is a musician. As a teenager, Sheldrake was influenced by Paul Stamets, a self-taught "fungal evangelist," and Karl von Frisch's book Animal Architecture.[4]

Sheldrake received his undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge in biological sciences, where he also earned a master's degree in the history and philosophy of science and later a PhD in tropical ecology.[5] He studied underground fungal networks in Panama's tropical forests as a predoctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.[2] [6]

Career

In 2020, Sheldrake authored his debut book, Entangled Life, which was a bestseller in both The Sunday Times and The New York Times and received the 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize.[7] [8] Entangled Life has positioned Merlin Sheldrake as a leading advocate for fungi.[4] He has presented an IMAX film called Fungi: Web of Life which was narrated by Björk and filmed in Tasmania's Tarkine rainforest.[9] [10]

Inspired by Sheldrake's book, couture designer Iris van Herpen created a collection based on fungi, featuring designs mimicking chanterelle mushrooms and hyphae.[4] [11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheldrake co-founded a business called Sheldrake & Sheldrake with his brother that sells fermented hot sauce.[4]

In 2021, Sheldrake consulted on Stella McCartney's fungal-themed Paris runway show, which featured a soundtrack by his brother, Cosmo Sheldrake that used a device to convert mycelium's electrical signals into musical notes.[4] [12] [13]

Sheldrake works with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, which aims to map and protect global mycorrhizal diversity.[14] He also works with mycologist Giuliana Furci and NYU law professor César Rodríguez Garavito to create legal protections for fungi, contributing to a larger movement that aims to provide legal representation for non-human living entities.[4] [15] Since 2023, he has been a research associate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands.[4]

Personal life

Sheldrake is married to the poet, Erin Robinsong.[4]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ‘Entangled Life’ Review: Digging Into Enigmatic Organisms . Eugenia . Bone . 22 May 2020 . The Wall Street Journal.
  2. Web site: The future is fungal: why the 'megascience' of mycology is on the rise . Rachel . Cooke . 23 August 2020 . The Guardian.
  3. Web site: Merlin Sheldrake wants you to know the mycological ocean of land beneath your feet . Heather Arndt . Anderson . 14 June 2024 . Oregon Public Broadcasting.
  4. Web site: The Man Who Turned the World on to the Genius of Fungi . 8 June 2023 . Jennifer . Kahn. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608090710/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/magazine/merlin-sheldrake-fungi.html . 8 June 2023.
  5. Web site: The Secrets of the Wood Wide Web . Robert . Macfarlane . 7 August 2016 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181107014246/https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-secrets-of-the-wood-wide-web . 7 November 2018 . The New Yorker.
  6. Responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and mycoheterotrophic plants to long-term fertilisation in a tropical forest . Merlin William Alfred . Sheldrake . University of Cambridge. Department of Plant Sciences . Ph.D. . 1 March 2016.
  7. Web site: Merlin Sheldrake: ‘I care about the ways humans conduct themselves in their relationships with the living world’ . . subscription.
  8. Web site: 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize, sponsored by Insight Investment . https://web.archive.org/web/20231208085117/https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/book-prizes/science-book-prize/2021/ . 8 December 2023 . 2021.
  9. Web site: Who is Merlin Sheldrake? . . . 29 November 2023.
  10. Web site: This Björk-narrated fungi documentary is enough to make you trip . Nick . Chen . 12 February 2024 . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240214114056/https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/61918/1/fungi-web-of-life-film-documentary-review-bjork-merlin-sheldrake-interview-2024 . 14 February 2024.
  11. Web site: Iris van Herpen . Laird . Borrelli-Persson . 25 January 2021 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20210201165549/https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2021-couture/iris-van-herpen . 1 February 2021.
  12. Web site: Merlin Sheldrake Will Change the Way You See Mushrooms . 8 December 2023 . Adam . Federman . The New Republic.
  13. Web site: Merlin Sheldrake’s guide to the fantastic world of fungi . . Guy . Kelly . 29 October 2023.
  14. Web site: Unearthing the Secret Superpowers of Fungus . . Somini . Sengupta . 27 July 2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220801071650/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/07/27/climate/climate-change-fungi.html . 1 August 2022.
  15. Web site: Re:wild and IUCN SSC become first global organizations to call for the recognition of fungi as one of three kingdoms of life critical to protecting and restoring Earth . . 3 August 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231213151735/https://www.iucn.org/news/species-survival-commission/202108/rewild-and-iucn-ssc-become-first-global-organizations-call-recognition-fungi-one-three-kingdoms-life-critical-protecting-and-restoring-earth . 13 December 2023.

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