Special Collections:
Bioneers
Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, a renowned conservation ecologist and captivating science communicator, studies apex predators and the relationship between humans, animals, and place. Drawing from her memoir "Wild Life," she shares her journey in science, emphasizing our roles as stewards for nature and community.
A wildlife ecologist researching human impact on carnivores, Dr. Wynn-Grant hosts the podcast "Going Wild" (PBS' Nature) and co-hosts "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom." She is a National Geographic Society Research Fellow and an advocate for diversity in science. This keynote was delivered at the 2024 Bioneers Conference. See other talks at www.bioneers.org.
Fungi, a diverse and largely unseen kingdom, sustain nearly all living systems through ancient mycorrhizal networks. Despite their critical role, climate change and conservation efforts largely overlook them, focusing on plants and animals. This oversight is detrimental, as destroying fungal networks accelerates climate change, biodiversity loss, and disrupts vital global nutrient cycles.
Biologist Merlin Sheldrake, author of *Entangled Life*, emphasizes fungi's critical importance. He discusses the visionary work of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) in mapping and protecting global mycorrhizal communities, alongside research on carbon and nutrient flow within these networks. This keynote was delivered at the 2024 Bioneers Conference.
Join Dr. Anita Sanchez, messenger of the Eagle Hoop Prophecy, in a transformative course. She will share the Four Sacred Gifts, insights from 27 Indigenous Elders worldwide, to help you cultivate life-giving connections with yourself, others, and the Earth.
To learn more, visit www.bioneerslearning.org.
Indigenous Pacific peoples possess centuries of deep ocean knowledge. Today, commercial farming, overfishing, resource extraction, and global warming severely threaten these vital ocean ecosystems, intensifying the climate crisis.
A panel of three leaders, intimately familiar with land-ocean relationships, will explore strategies to restore balance to the Pacific and the planet. Moderated by Alexis Bunten, the discussion features Loa Niumeitolu, Kiana Frank, and Andrea Kealoha. This talk was delivered at the 2023 Bioneers Conference.
Explore the meaning of #LandBack and how to engage with this vital movement. This panel, delivered at the 2023 Bioneers Conference, features leaders sharing diverse approaches to the return and "rematriation" of ancestral territories. Discussions cover organizational, fundraising, and legal strategies for tribal members, alongside guidance for non-Native allies.
The panel was moderated by Cara Romero, with PennElys Droz, Corrina Gould, Tom Little Bear Nason, and Kawenniiosta Jock. Learn more at bioneers.org.
Amid growing success in Indigenous-led #landback campaigns and triumphs over extraction, this session highlights the crucial link between land restoration and addressing collective trauma. It explores how #landback efforts can benefit from including Black and other marginalized groups, and critically examines if ‘call out culture’ hinders decolonization movements.
Moderated by Eriel Deranger, with Jodie Geddes and Carlee Loft, panelists will share practical strategies. These include an intergenerational focus, ceremony, and spending time on the land.
This talk was delivered at the 2023 Bioneers Conference. Learn more at bioneers.org.
Corrina Gould (Lisjan Ohlone), from Huichin (Oakland, CA), chairs the Confederated Villages of Lisjan and co-founded Indian People Organizing for Change, sponsoring Shellmound Peace Walks. She advocates for Shellmound protection, tribal sovereignty, and Indigenous land rights globally. Her work established Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, a women-led Bay Area organization healing colonization's legacies.
This talk was delivered at the 2023 Bioneers Conference. Learn more at bioneers.org.
Wildchoir, formerly Thrive Choir, is an Oakland, CA-based ensemble of diverse vocalists, artists, and activists. This politically and socially engaged group unites in harmony.
They have performed with acclaimed artists like Rising Appalachia, Climbing PoeTree, and MaMuse, and shared stages with leaders such as Bernie Sanders, Ericka Huggins, and Joanna Macy. Their music inspires thousands at events across California.
After years as the musical voice of the Thrive Network, Wildchoir is now an independent ensemble, grateful for past collaboration and excited for its new journey. Learn more at Bioneers.org.
Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage, Director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley, and founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center, is a leading labor organizer. Author of four books, including *One Fair Wage: Ending All Sub-minimum Pay in America*, she is recognized for her creative and effective work.
Jayaraman discusses her two decades organizing restaurant and low-wage workers. She highlights the current historic worker revolt in the U.S., exploring its significant implications for climate justice and democracy.
Learn more at www.bioneers.org
Indigenous Peoples, comprising 5% of the global population, safeguard 80% of the world's biodiversity. This fact underscores their critical role as experts in resource management and climate action, yet their knowledge is often undervalued in institutional spaces.
To move beyond mere acknowledgment, we must center and strengthen Indigenous rights in climate initiatives. Indigenous Rights activist Jade Begay will share insights on the progress of Indigenous leadership and how to empower it—a necessity for planetary survival.
This keynote was presented at the Bioneers 2023 Conference. Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org.
Kim Stanley Robinson is an acclaimed science fiction writer, celebrated for over 20 award-winning books translated into 26 languages. His influential works, notably *Ministry for the Future*, brilliantly explore global ecological, economic, and socio-political crises, offering visionary solutions for a climate-disrupted future. He was a featured speaker at COP-26.
Robinson's extensive accolades include the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards. In 2016, asteroid 72432 was named "Kimrobinson" in his honor.
Learn more at www.bioneers.org.
The energy transition is critical, with the 2020s marking a decisive decade for climate justice. As fossil fuels peak, we must rapidly scale renewables, ensuring an equitable new energy economy. Visionary "green" entrepreneur Danny Kennedy, founder of New Energy Nexus, proposes a "3D" clean energy future: distributed, decentralized in ownership, and democratized in control, driven by global grassroots entrepreneurship.
Kennedy, a seasoned eco-activist and clean-tech leader, co-founded Sungevity and Powerhouse. He now serves as CEO of New Energy Nexus, a global nonprofit providing funds, accelerators, and networks to advance clean energy innovation and adoption worldwide.
Learn more at bioneers.org.
Bioneers' co-founder and Chief Relationship Strategist Nina Simons traditionally opens each conference. With clarity and passion, she outlines Bioneers' history and core values, emphasizing reverence for nature, biological, and human diversity.
Simons stresses the importance of balancing our inner and outer worlds. This balance is crucial for fostering a new civilization built on relationships, rather than material possessions.
Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org
Third Act empowers people over 60 to drive social change, leveraging their wisdom and energy to support younger generations in building a healthy, equitable world. Co-founded by Bill McKibben, this vital movement is explained by renowned activist and leadership educator Akaya Windwood.
Akaya, an award-winning transformation facilitator and author, brings extensive experience from various leadership roles to her work as Lead Advisor for Third Act. Her insights guide how we can participate in this exciting new movement.
Learn more at bioneers.org.
Massive clean energy investments are poised to transform the American economy, with opportunities to reach 80% clean power by 2030 and achieve deep decarbonization across sectors. Success, however, requires widespread action.
Join award-winning author, political scientist, and climate expert Dr. Leah Stokes for a deep dive into clean energy policy. She will explore how American households and businesses can leverage new climate incentives to realize our electric future.
Dr. Stokes, a leading expert and author of "Short Circuiting Policy," is an Anton Vonk Associate Professor at UC Santa Barbara and co-host of "A Matter of Degrees." Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org.
The 1980s ushered in an era of "neo-liberal" economics, granting markets and corporations vast power, which led to escalating wealth inequality. A new global movement, Community Wealth Building, is now pushing back, fighting to democratize the economy and build wealth for the many. This movement is taking hold in diverse locations worldwide.
Renowned journalist Laura Flanders, host of The Laura Flanders Show on public television, will explain why this growing movement for a democratic economy may be the most important economic movement of our time. Flanders is an Izzy-Award winning independent journalist and bestselling author.
Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org
Human-designed products often involve unsustainable processes, creating materials incompatible with living systems. John Warner, a co-founder of green chemistry, offers a solution: by embracing nature's "materials metabolism," we can design and build products that are truly in harmony with the environment.
Dr. Warner's extensive career includes over 300 patents and 100 publications. He co-founded the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry and Beyond Benign, a non-profit dedicated to green chemistry education. An award-winning researcher and advisor, he has significantly advanced sustainable design.
Learn more at www.bioneers.org
At 14, Amara Ifeji mobilized a grassroots effort against racism in her high school. She initially viewed her love for nature and racial justice as distinct, until youth of color revealed their complete intertwining. This awakening profoundly shaped her subsequent work as an effective organizer and advocate, centering storytelling to advance environmental justice, climate education, and outdoor learning for all youth.
Now 21, Amara is an award-winning climate justice activist (2021 National Geographic Young Explorer, 2022 Brower Youth Award) and Director of Policy at the Maine Environmental Education Association. Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org.
Erin Matariki Carr, a Maori lawyer and member of RIVER, is a leader in Aotearoa New Zealand's movement for constitutional transformation, honoring Te Tiriti o Waitangi 1840. This movement challenges human superiority over land. A key initiative is the legal personhood granted to Te Urewera rainforest, ancestral homelands of Ngāi Tūhoe. This innovative approach removes human ownership, establishing a new kawa (law) focused on management for the land's benefit.
Carr previously helped implement policies for Te Urewera's legal personhood. As a project lead at RIVER, she continues to advance constitutional transformation, collaborating with groups like Tūmanako Consultants and Te Kuaka NZA.
Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a former Bioneers participant, organizer, and activist, shares her "inside-outside" theory of change in a personal video. This approach, developed as an organizer and employed as a legislator, aims to build power and enact policy shifts. She chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, representing Washington's 7th District.
As the first South Asian American woman elected to the House, Rep. Jayapal is a highly influential leader on progressive policies, including immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate. Her work builds on decades of advocacy for women's, immigrant, and human rights. She authored "Use the Power You Have." Learn more at Bioneers.org.
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The Thinking Game | Full documentary | Tribeca Film Festival official selection
The inside story of the AI breakthrough that won a Nobel Prize.
The Thinking Game takes you on a journey into the heart of leading AI lab DeepMind, capturing a team striving to unravel the mysteries of intelligence and life itself.
Filmed over five years by the award-winning team behind AlphaGo, the documentary examines how DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis’s extraordinary beginnings shaped his lifelong pursuit of artificial general intelligence. It chronicles the rigorous process of scientific discovery, documenting how the team moved from mastering complex strategy games to solving the 50-year-old "protein folding problem" with AlphaFold - a breakthrough that would win a Nobel Prize.
Following its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival and a successful international tour, the film is now available here to watch for free.
Interested in hosting a screening of The Thinking Game for your classroom, community, or workplace? Visit: https://rocofilms.com/films/the-thinking-game/
Director Greg Kohs
Producer Gary Krieg
Executive Producers Tom Dore, Jonathan Fildes
Co-Producer Greg Kohs
Editor Steve Sander
Cinematographer Greg Kohs
Composer Dan Deacon






















