Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change How Fungi Shape Our World, From Carbon Sinks to Zombie TV: | Ep217: Merlin Sheldrake
Jul 16, 2025
Join biologist and author Merlin Sheldrake as he dives into the fascinating realm of fungi, revealing their critical role in carbon sequestration and ecosystem health. Discover how mycorrhizal networks connect trees, fostering communication and resource sharing. Sheldrake discusses fungi's intelligence and their potential as sustainable materials, tackling climate challenges. He also explores their historical significance in medicine and culture, advocating for a reevaluation of our relationship with these remarkable organisms in order to better understand our interconnected world.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Fungi's Vital Carbon Role
- Fungi play a crucial role in moving and stabilizing about 13 billion tons of carbon into the soil annually.
- This amount is roughly a third of humanity's annual energy-related carbon emissions, highlighting fungi's environmental importance.
Fungi as Biological Innovators
- Fungi are innovators chemically and relationally, enabling life forms like land plants through symbiosis.
- These mycorrhizal fungi form mutualistic trade with plants, exchanging carbon for nutrients and supporting land ecosystems.
Fungi Digesting Cigarette Butts
- Peter McCoy trained oyster mushroom mycelium to digest used cigarette butts, overcoming toxic compounds gradually.
- This shows fungi's metabolic adaptability and potential for bioremediation of pollutants.
