Finding the truths behind the legend: voyaging, poison, astronomy & ancient traumas “For all The Odyssey’s fantastical tales of monsters and magic, it also gives glimpses into the science, medicine and technology of the Homeric world.” ✍️: @jomarchant.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

What The Odyssey reveals about ancient science — from botany to psychiatry

From intelligent ships to clues about eclipses, Homer’s The Odyssey reveals how Bronze Age Greeks understood the world.

nature.com

Living systems, from bacteria to plants to mammals, all emit a faint light, a byproduct of metabolic activity in cells. Could these 'biophotons' be subtle markers of health? Might other cells even react to light signals? by @jomarchant.bsky.social | @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

All living things emit a faint glow. Could this light be useful?

Ultra-weak ‘biophotons’ might be used to diagnose disease, or could even represent a new signalling mechanism in cells.

nature.com

I had a lot of fun talking about the science of “now” at @rigb.org earlier this week. A brilliant audience as always, throwing out questions on everything from entropy to meditation practices to AI consciousness 😁 (Thanks @kathmath.bsky.social for pics!)

Thank you for having me! I love the RI audience - always such amazing chats and questions!

Katherine Mathieson@kathmath.bsky.social · last mo.

Still feeling very philosophical and calm following @jomarchant.bsky.social’s mesmerising talk last night about the elusive ‘now’ jomarchant.com/in-search-of...

I'll be speaking at the RI on Monday eve - do come and help me search for Now!

Royal Institution@rigb.org · 2mo ago

What is “now”? ⏱️ Physics suggests the present moment may not exist at all, while neuroscience argues it could be something our brains construct for us. Join science writer Jo Marchant as she explores the mystery of the present moment.

I'm really looking forward to talking about the mysteries of Now with Jeff Forshaw and Claudia Hammond - do come if you're in the area! www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/events/in-se...

In Search of Now | Cheltenham Festivals

What if the present moment – the ‘now’ we all inhabit – isn’t just a tick of the clock? Journalist Jo Marchant and physicist Jeff Forshaw embark on a mind-

cheltenhamfestivals.org

“How can you tell a robot from a human? A Mars rover from a Martian? Or a mouse trap from a Venus fly trap?” An excerpt from IN SEARCH OF NOW: THE SCIENCE OF THE PRESENT MOMENT by Jo Marchant @jomarchant.bsky.social, out now from @wwnorton.com. pghrev.com/i-am-the-fire/

I am the Fire - Pittsburgh Review of Books

Traveler, there is no road;you make your own path as you walk.— Antonio Machado

pghrev.com

I'm so excited about this beautiful US edition of In Search of Now - out this week! 😁

Liveright@liveright.bsky.social · 5mo ago

[A] fascinating and wide-ranging investigation into how the human brain registers time.... Thought-provoking.... A rewarding delve into the mysteries of time and consciousness." —Andrew Crumey, @wsj.com @jomarchant.bsky.social's IN SEARCH OF NOW is available... *now*! wwnorton.com/books/978132...

A lovely piece about what our view of the stars means to us as human beings - and what it means to lose them (via @nature.com briefing) www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

Stars are disappearing before our eyes — and something in us is shifting

For most of human history, the night sky has been a shared inheritance, a source of wonder. Now, more than a billion children see barely any stars in the night sky above their homes. So what does that...

abc.net.au

Congrats to Mark Westmoquette & Kiki Kita on publication today of Look Up At Bedtime - it’s a unique and really beautiful kids book that combines science, myth and mindfulness in an exploration of our connections to the stars - I love it! www.waterstones.com/book/look-up...

Look Up at Bedtime by Mark Westmoquette, Kiki Kita | Waterstones

Buy Look Up at Bedtime by Mark Westmoquette, Kiki Kita from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

waterstones.com

A fascinating evening's discussion of Jo's new book - In Search of Now - an attempt to bring together the disciplines of neuroscience, psychology, cosmology and quantum physics to try and capture what it is that we consider to be the 'present moment' @jomarchant.bsky.social @canongate.co.uk

I’m really looking forward to this!

Robyn Waller@robynrwaller.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Interested in #philosophy and #science of time and perception? Join us at @brighthink.bsky.social in Brighton on Feb 17 where I will have a conversation with NYT best-selling author and science journalist @jomarchant.bsky.social about her book In Search of Now. www.brighthink.org/events/in-se...

What is 'NOW'? By the time you finish this sentence, it’s already gone. In her book, In Search of Now, Jo Marchant explores how science is uncovering the mysteries of this elusive moment - what it means for how we experience time, memory and reality itself. Tues 17th Feb @jomarchant.bsky.social

Thank you!

Rowan Hooper@rowhoop.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Happy publication day to @jomarchant.bsky.social - IN SEARCH OF NOW is the freshest and most sense-making account of the conscious experience I’ve read in YEARS. Brilliant!

Beautiful copies of In Search of Now, just arrived from @canongate.co.uk! Very excited to finally see it out in the world

Looking forward to this!

Philip Ball@philipcball.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Finally, after much delay from the BBC, Marnie Chesterton's "What Is Quantum?" is being broadcast at 9.30 am on Radio 4 on Tues 30th Dec. Recorded on Helgoland in the summer, with input from the leading figures in quantum mechanics (and me). www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

For the season final of Where the Wild Thoughts Are, Julian & I picked our favourite bits so far, from listening to ponds to reading purple. Oh and I remembered the time awe nearly killed me, and Julian revealed the moment he understood the entire universe shows.acast.com/where-the-wi...

Can't believe we've made it to 16 episodes of Where the Wild Thoughts Are already! I had a ball this week chatting to the brilliant David de la Haye about how sound can immerse us in hidden underwater worlds, and what it's like to improve music with your garden pond shows.acast.com/where-the-wi...

Looking forward to this!

Canongate@canongate.co.uk · 8mo ago

We are delighted to share the UK cover for the new book from award-winning author Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, coming in May next year. @chanda.blacksky.app Pre-order yours now! buythebook.online/edge-of-spac...

It was great to chat to you! Hearing you describe the statues and carvings really made me feel like I was creeping down those corridors into the Neolithic underworld...

Jens Notroff@jensnotroff.com · 9mo ago

Recently had the pleasure talking about changing mindsets in the #Neolithic with the wonderful @jomarchant.bsky.social for her "Where the Wild Thoughts Are" #podcast. Catch a glimpse of our conversation in the highlights video she put together here: youtu.be/OeA6xfJDMFI

Excited to share news of my upcoming book, about the science of Now. Thank you @canongate.co.uk for designing such a beautiful cover! Writing this has been a long road (!) but now it's finally starting to feel real... 🎉 😆

Canongate@canongate.co.uk · 11mo ago

We are delighted to share the cover for a transformative new book from award-winning science journalist Jo Marchant @jomarchant.bsky.social, available to pre-order now! In Search of Now is an exploration of the nature of time, self and reality. uk.bookshop.org/p/books/in-s...

Dostoevsky, bliss and the absence of prediction error between expectation and experience. Fascinating stuff from @jomarchant.bsky.social and Fabienne Picard at University Hospital Geneva 🧪 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

Epilepsy, ecstasy and the nature of reality

Podcast Episode · Where The Wild Thoughts Are · 08/09/2025 · 35m

podcasts.apple.com

Push the boundaries of your thoughts – we're enjoying listening to @jomarchant.bsky.social's Where The Wild Thoughts Are; a science podcast that encourages you to think differently about how you see the world, from cosmology and quantum physics to neuroscience, archaeology, ecology, it's got it all:

Where The Wild Thoughts Are

Conversations in science and beyond

linkprotect.cudasvc.com

Huge congrats to @jomarchant.bsky.social on her new science podcast! 🧪 In the first three eps, the NYT bestselling author delves into plant cognition and potential hints of life elsewhere, and hears that there may be no laws of physics🤘 jomarchant.com/wildthoughts youtube.com/playlist?lis...