Michael Pollan returns to Austin to share the path his thinking and writing have taken since he first started examining the many fascinating ways that humans and food intersect. For this appearance, Pollan strikes an autobiographical tone, starting from his first Thoreau and Emerson-influenced horticultural disaster to the garden, the farm, the table, and beyond as he describes the give-and-take that is human engagement with the natural world, including how certain plants and fungi can affect our conscious state. The evening will also include brief readings from several of Pollan’s previous books and a work in progress.