From cellular oscillations to human migration, the living world is teeming with macroscopic, non-equilibrium activity. In this systems, nonreciprocity is the rule rather than the exception—the effect of A on B is typically different than the effect of B on A. While the microscopic consequences of nonreciprocity are well known, connecting them to macroscopic behaviors remains difficult. In this talk, I will discuss two examples where nonreciprocity is vital for form and function. Within the cell cortex, activator-inhibitor chemical reactions drive cytoskeletal mechanical deformations vital for cell division. By estimating the entropy production rate of separate components of this mechanochemical system, we show that energetic costliness does not always correlate with biological function. This disconnection between dynamics and function also emerges in human social systems, where asymmetric preferences lead to migration and the emergence of collective memory effects, with impacts on racial (de)segregation. These predictions derive from a continuum model of human residential dynamics validated on US Census data. Taken together, these results show the often counterintuitive way that non-equilibrium activity can impact biological function, with multi-disciplinary implications from viscoelastic control to urban planning.