Merlin Sheldrake

Merlin Sheldrake
Born1987 (age 38–39)
London, England
EducationUniversity of Cambridge (PhD)
OccupationsMycologist, writer
OrganizationSociety for the Protection of Underground Networks
Known forAdvocacy for fungi
Notable workEntangled Life
SpouseErin Robinsong
Parent(s)Rupert Sheldrake and Jill Purce
RelativesCosmo Sheldrake (brother)
AwardsRoyal Society Science Book Prize (2021)
Websitemerlinsheldrake.com

Merlin Sheldrake (born 1987) is a British mycologist and writer known for his popular science writings on fungi.

Early life and education

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

Sheldrake studied at the University of Cambridge, where he was a scholar of Clare College. After being awarded his undergraduate degree in biological science, he subsequently earned a master's degree in the history and philosophy of science, and later a PhD in tropical ecology. He studied underground fungal networks in Panama's tropical forests as a predoctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Career

In 2020, Sheldrake published his first book, Entangled Life, which appeared on The Sunday Times and The New York Times bestseller lists and received the 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize. Inspired by Sheldrake's book, couture designer Iris van Herpen created a collection based on fungi, featuring designs mimicking chanterelle mushrooms and hyphae. He later presented the IMAX documentary Fungi: Web of Life, which was narrated by Björk and filmed in Tasmania's Tarkine rainforest.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheldrake and his brother co-founded Sheldrake & Sheldrake, a company that produces fermented hot sauce.

In 2021, Sheldrake consulted on Stella McCartney's fungal-themed Paris runway show. The show featured a soundtrack by his brother, Cosmo Sheldrake, who used a device to convert mycelium's electrical signals into musical notes.

Sheldrake serves on the advisory board of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, an organization focused on mapping and protecting mycorrhizal diversity. He has also worked with mycologist Giuliana Furci and NYU law professor César Rodríguez Garavito on efforts to develop legal protections for fungi and other non-human organisms. Since 2023, Sheldrake has been a research associate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He is part of a group called "Bopeas", or "Bohemian Peasants", a term used for a cultural trend combining creative expression with a rural or neo-medieval aesthetic.

In 2025, it was revealed that Sheldrake had briefly communicated with Jeffrey Epstein in 2018 after being offered scientific funding. Sheldrake did not accept the funding, and broke off all contact after learning about Epstein's criminal activity.

Personal life

Sheldrake is married to the poet Erin Robinsong.

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Bone, Eugenia (22 May 2020). "'Entangled Life' Review: Digging Into Enigmatic Organisms". The Wall Street Journal.
  2. 1 2 Cooke, Rachel (23 August 2020). "The future is fungal: why the 'megascience' of mycology is on the rise". The Guardian.
  3. ↑ Anderson, Heather Arndt (14 June 2024). "Merlin Sheldrake wants you to know the mycological ocean of land beneath your feet". Oregon Public Broadcasting.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kahn, Jennifer (8 June 2023). "The Man Who Turned the World on to the Genius of Fungi". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023.
  5. ↑ Macfarlane, Robert (7 August 2016). "The Secrets of the Wood Wide Web". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018.
  6. ↑ Sheldrake, Merlin William Alfred (1 March 2016). Responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and mycoheterotrophic plants to long-term fertilisation in a tropical forest (Ph.D. thesis). University of Cambridge. Department of Plant Sciences.
  7. ↑ "Merlin Sheldrake: 'I care about the ways humans conduct themselves in their relationships with the living world'". Financial Times.
  8. ↑ "2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize, sponsored by Insight Investment". 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Borrelli-Persson, Laird (25 January 2021). "Iris van Herpen". Vogue. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021.
  10. ↑ Countryfile (29 November 2023). "Who is Merlin Sheldrake?". BBC One.
  11. ↑ Chen, Nick (12 February 2024). "This Björk-narrated fungi documentary is enough to make you trip". Dazed. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024.
  12. ↑ Federman, Adam (8 December 2023). "Merlin Sheldrake Will Change the Way You See Mushrooms". The New Republic.
  13. ↑ Kelly, Guy (29 October 2023). "Merlin Sheldrake's guide to the fantastic world of fungi". The Daily Telegraph.
  14. ↑ Sengupta, Somini (27 July 2022). "Unearthing the Secret Superpowers of Fungus". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022.
  15. ↑ "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". International Union for Conservation of Nature. 3 August 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023.
  16. ↑ Delaney, Evie (17 November 2023). "On England's pleasant pastures seen: Rural rules the roost in the new class of bohemian peasants or 'Bopeas'". Tatler. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  17. ↑ "Age Verification | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  18. ↑ Reporter, Fiona Hamilton, Chief (10 February 2026). "Epstein offered $100,000 to bestselling British mushroom expert". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 8 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)