Cordyceps and the Zombie Ant Fungus: Art, Science, and the Question of Control

Overview

The podcast examines the biology of the zombie ant fungus and how artistic practice can illuminate intricate biological mechanisms and their philosophical implications. Featuring cultural entomologist Bridget Nicholls and guests Merlin Sheldrake, Mark Brown, Laurie Lixenberg, Philip Ball, Noor Sidadus, and Jason Singh, the show explores how fungi hijack insect behavior, the interface between science and art, and the broader question of what it means to feel in control when biological processes invisibly shape our actions. The discussion also draws parallels to zombie narratives in popular culture and contemporary questions about artificial intelligence and autonomy.

• Key topics include fungal manipulation of ants, summit disease, and the concept of agency in biology.
• The episode foregrounds cross-disciplinary collaboration between science and the arts to communicate complex ideas.
• Connections are drawn to modern tech anxieties and philosophical zombie debates, including references to ChatGPT.

Introduction and Core Idea

The podcast centers on cordyceps fungi, particularly Ophio cordyceps unilateralis, and how these fungi can control the behavior of carpenter ants. The host Bridget Nicholls, a cultural entomologist who curates events linking nature, science and the arts, introduces the phenomenon of summit disease in which an infected ant ascends to a specific height before dying, enabling the fungus to release its spores. Merlin Sheldrake, a biologist and writer, expands on the biology of cordyceps, noting that the fungus lacks a muscular structure and instead uses the ant’s body as a vehicle to spread its life cycle. The listener learns that an infected ant becomes a ‘fungus in ants clothing,’ a striking metaphor for the parasite’s integration into the host’s biology.

Art and Science at the Interface

The conversation shifts to the relationship between art and science. Nicholls explains that science gives us causal mechanisms and ecological dynamics, while the arts offer embodied, philosophical, and experiential understandings of what that science implies. Guests include Mark Brown, a Cambridge evolutionary biologist and museum director, who discusses how narrative and emotion have become central to scientific communication, while still requiring rigorous data to support inferences. The exchange highlights how performance art and sound design can convey what is otherwise invisible in scientific literature.

Artists, Musicians and the Cordyceps Story

The program features Laurie Lixenberg, a mezzo-soprano who collaborates on an experimental piece in which a mushroom voice is imagined and sung. Her concept is to explore what a mushroom might sound like if it could express itself through human voices, incorporating songs in many languages that name mushrooms. The discussion broadens with contributions from Philip Ball, a science writer who emphasizes that art can critique science by exploring social and ethical implications beyond what data alone can reveal.

Science, Agency and Free Will

Noor Sidadus, a cognitive neuroscience lecturer, brings a human perspective on how we make decisions and how agency arises from neural processes. The conversation broadens to consider how fungi, microbiomes, and parasitic relationships illustrate a continuum between control and autonomy, prompting reflections on our own sense of self and the extent to which we are shaped by unseen biological systems. The hosts also consider how the concept of possession appears across cultures and mythologies and how modern media like The Last of Us reflect real biological phenomena through narrative forms.

Interdependence and the Larger Evolutionary Picture

Jason Singh, a sound artist, describes biosonification projects in which living systems generate signals that are transformed into audible music, allowing audiences to hear the drama of the natural world. The episode closes by tying cordyceps to broader topics in biology such as parasitism, symbiosis, and the microbiome, underscoring the idea that individuality is a flexible, evolving concept within networks of life. The hosts remind listeners that humans are part of a larger ecological network and that art can help illuminate the beauty and complexity of these interactions, offering a sense of both humility and shared responsibility.