More than Human Life: Advancing Rights for The Natural World

More than Human Life: Advancing Rights for The Natural World

Author: Bioneers February 25, 2026 Duration: 29:02
Scientific evidence is increasingly supporting the theory that the Earth is alive and replete with intelligence. In fact, the wild diversity of earthly organisms exhibits the characteristics that human beings attribute to personhood. How is it then, by the law, that a corporation is a person, but nature is not? What if we expand the anthropocentric boundaries of our systems of laws, rights and responsibilities to encompass ALL living beings? How would this new legal story affect our relationship with our vast other-than-human Earth family? In this episode, we imagine a planet with rights for all, with visionary lawyer César Rodríguez-Garavito. This is an episode of Nature’s Genius, a Bioneers podcast series exploring how the sentient symphony of life holds the solutions we need to balance human civilization with living systems. Visit the series page to learn more. César Rodríguez-Garavito, a Professor of Clinical Law, Chair of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, and founding Director of the More Than Human Life (MOTH) Program and the Earth Rights Advocacy Program (all based at NYU School of Law), is a human rights and environmental justice scholar and practitioner whose work and publications focus on climate change, Indigenous peoples’ rights, and the human rights movement. Resources More-Than-Human-Life (MOTH) Report Assessing the Implementation of the Los Cedros Ruling in Ecuador | MOTH César Rodríguez-Garavito – More-Than-Human Rights: Pushing the Boundaries of Legal Imagination to Re-Animate the World | Bioneers 2025 Keynote Deep Dive: Intelligence in Nature Earthlings: Intelligence in Nature | Bioneers Newsletter Credits Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel Written by: Cathy Edwards and Kenny Ausubel Producer: Cathy Edwards Senior Producer and Station Relations: Stephanie Welch Producer: Teo Grossman Associate Producer: Emily Harris Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey Production Assistance: Mika Anami Graphic Designer: Megan Howe

There's a quiet revolution unfolding, one that draws its most profound ideas not from boardrooms or labs alone, but from the living world itself. Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature gives voice to that movement, presenting conversations that feel both urgent and deeply grounded. This award-winning podcast, curated by Bioneers, acts as a gathering place for some of the most compelling social and scientific thinkers of our era. Each episode explores how the genius of natural systems can inform our approach to modern crises. You’ll hear detailed discussions on topics ranging from practical biomimicry and ecological design to the interconnected realms of social justice, indigenous wisdom, and restorative psychology. The series refuses to silo these subjects, instead weaving them into a coherent vision for transformation. What emerges is a kaleidoscopic view of solutions that are as much about healing our communities as they are about restoring the planet. Tuning in, you encounter a rare depth of perspective, where the separation between ecological and social health dissolves. It’s a space where leading-edge ideas feel less like abstract concepts and more like a viable path forward, all explored through genuine dialogue and a celebration of human ingenuity working in concert with nature’s intelligence. This is a podcast for those looking to move beyond the headlines and into the heart of what it means to build a truly regenerative future.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature
Podcast Episodes
Shamans and Scientists: Changing the Landscape of Power [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:15
As we hurtle into the Sixth Age of Extinctions, we face the cataclysmic loss of half the world’s biological diversity. 80% of the remaining biodiversity is on Indigenous lands. Ethnobotanist and Indigenous rights advocat…
Whale Whisperers: Making Deep Contact [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:15
In the late 20th century, a handful of scientists proved that aquatic mammals have advanced communication capabilities and a consciousness strikingly similar to humans. Author and adventurer James Nestor leads us on a de…
Wild Pharmacies: How Animals Heal Themselves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:19
Humans have harnessed many plants, fungi, and even animals, for our medicines. But we aren’t the only species that can do this. From chimpanzees to dolphins to geese, a striking range of animals use remedies that grow na…
Breaking the Male Code: The Tyranny of Masculinity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:05
To transform our culture from its focus on dominance and hierarchy to one of connection, empathy and collaboration, it’s vital that we re-envision the essential (or archetypal) masculine, which changes everything. This r…
Saving Democracy Means Ending Extreme Inequality [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:17
Labor organizer Saru Jayaraman makes a clarion call to action: support workers across the United States who are saying there’s always been an affordability crisis and are asking politicians what has democracy done for me…
Patriarchy: Thousands of Years Old But Only a Few Days Deep [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:15
What will it take to begin to heal the deep wounds between women and men? What is the role of men in this transformation? Cynthia Brix and Will Keepin from ⁠Gender Reconciliation International⁠ say that only by bringing…
Nature’s Phoenix: Fire As Medicine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:15
Contemporary Western fire science is integrating what Indigenous Peoples discovered over thousands of years of observation, and trial and error: fire is key to optimizing forest vitality and biodiversity. The merging of…
3-D Ocean Farming: Making a Living on a Living Planet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:15
What if there are ways to sustainably harvest protein and nutritious vegetables from the seas in ways that restore coastlines, local economies, produces abundant food, and sequesters vast amounts of carbon dioxide? Pathf…
Challenging American Patriarchy at Its Roots [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:15
Sociologist, storyteller, and best-selling author Anna Malaika Tubbs calls for dismantling the key system that has determined who actually gets to be considered human in the United States: The American patriarchy. She sa…