How do (or can) bacteria communicate?

In this podcast episode: Bacteria can detect the presence of similar bacteria by a process called quorum sensing. This allows them to "work together" in ways that individual bacteria cannot. What is quorum sensing? What does communication mean at the level of bacteria? And how does this affect the ways that bacteria interact with human bodies?

For this meetup, we each listen to the linked science podcast before the event, then get together to talk about it. Kind of like a book club for podcasts!

Link to the episode: https://preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/07/20/361-bonnie-bassler-on-how-bacteria-talk-and-work-together/