99. Monsters & Medicines: A Conversation with Bayo Akomolafe

In this week’s episode, Bayo Akomolafe joins Michaela Carlin to explore how the intricate relationship between humanity and the more-than-human world reveals that we are not the centers of existence but interconnected participants in a vast ecosystem. Challenging conventional dualistic thinking, Bayo urges a shift towards recognizing our entanglement with the world around us. He emphasizes that the urgency of our times stems from deeper relational crises, where our responses to climate collapse and social injustices often reflect a misunderstanding of our place within this interconnected web. The conversation delves into Bayo’s concept of “cracks” in our understanding—opportunities that invite new perspectives and growth. Within this dynamic exchange, Bayo cautions against reducing plant medicines to mere tools for personal gain and shares intimate anecdotes about parenting his neurodivergent son, illustrating how chaos can lead to transformative insights. Bayo encourages us to rethink concepts of failure and success, suggesting that by cultivating spaces for reflection we can embrace a more holistic understanding of existence—one that acknowledges the beauty and complexity of being part of a living world.