Delving into the post-apocalyptic world of 'The Last of Us', this chapter discusses the concept of cordyceps, a fungus that can control the minds of insects, and imagines its effects on humans. It also explores the gameplay and eerie sounds associated with encountering infected individuals in the game and the ongoing spread of the fungus
How likely is the fungal infection in The Last of Us? The one that takes over human brains and brings humanity to the brink of extinction, could something like that really happen?
In this episode we sit down with Emily Monosson, an expert on deadly fungal infections, and discuss the handful of fungi (we know of) that are today, right now, causing catastrophic declines in wildlife, eradicating trees, destroying crops, and increasingly impacting humans.
Monsoon explains that many in the field worry that fungi are an underestimated threat and that our actions are causing an increase in invasive and deadly fungal epidemics. We explore what is at stake, why this is happening now, and what we can do to prevent future outbreaks.
• Emily Monosson's Website
• Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic
• 2013 Trailer for The Last of Us
• Newsletter
• How Minds Change
• David McRaney’s Twitter
• YANSS Twitter
• Show Notes