In May/June 2024, American periodical cicadas — seven subspecies of Brood XIII and Brood XIX — will hatch simultaneously, a convergent phenomenon that occurs once every 221 years. The seven different species chorusing (each with a unique song) is an occasion to reflect on our interconnections with that which is other than human.

In The Plains Are Hissing, the practices of science and art connect participants (scientists, entomologists, musicians, historians, artists and others) in this historic moment with a specific focus on cicada sound. In the quest for this unique bicentennial sound, one may ask: how do we listen to cicadas, but also how do they listen to us? Are we really listening deeply?