159. The Future Is Fungi Awards: From Mushroom Dreams to Real-World Things

Dec 12, 2025

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Karl and Erum explore the untapped potential of fungi through three groundbreaking interviews. First, they speak with Susanne Gloersen, founder of the Future is Fungi Award, about why fungi represent the next frontier in biotech and how her global platform is accelerating fungal innovation across industries—from soil remediation to firefighting foam. Next, they sit down with Ricky Cassini of Michroma, winner of the Future is Fungi Award, who explains how his team engineers fungi to produce natural food colorants that outperform synthetic dyes and plant-based alternatives, offering 50x more potency than traditional options while being heat and pH stable. Finally, they interview Dr. Britta Winterberg of Mycolever, runner-up of the award, who discusses how her company uses fungal biodiversity to create sustainable bio-compounds for cosmetics, including emulsifiers and enhanced beauty oils that replace petrochemicals without compromising performance. Throughout the episode, the hosts highlight recent developments like MIT researchers using fungal compounds to treat brain cancer, FDA's phase-out of synthetic dyes, and the growing shift toward bio-based ingredients in food, cosmetics, and beyond.

Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and interview the leaders and influencers changing the world by growing everything. Biology is the oldest technology. And it can be engineered. What are we growing?

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.messaginglab.com/groweverything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Introduction: Fungi as environmental game-changers
(00:26:18) - Podcast updates and Michael Levin episode highlights
(02:10:35) - Ashley Beckwith and Foray Biosciences: mining fungal biodiversity
(04:57:22) - The untapped power of mycelium in biotechnology
(08:04:15) - Launching the Future is Fungi Award
(08:58:40) - Susanne Gløersen: Why fungi deserve to be core technology
(00:12:09) - Fungi's role in solving climate, pollution, and soil degradation
(00:27:06) - Quickfire questions with Susanne Gløersen
(00:29:14) - Ricky Casini of Michroma: replacing synthetic food dyes with fungi
(00:38:10) - Scaling fermentation capacity in South Korea
(00:38:45) - Pitching fungal colorants to food manufacturers
(00:40:22) - Regulatory wins and transparency in natural colors
(00:41:19) - The future of fungal bio-factories in food production
(00:43:05) - Scaling up production and strategic partnerships
(00:44:09) - Why color matters in consumer packaged goods
(00:45:46) - Winning the Future is Fungi Startup Award
(00:46:59) - Quickfire questions with Ricky Cassini
(00:49:02) - Dr. Britta Winterberg introduces Mycolever's clean beauty mission
(00:50:00) - Fungal bio-compounds replacing petrochemicals in cosmetics
(00:52:10) - Technical challenges and breakthroughs in fungal biotech
(00:59:52) - Quickfire questions with Dr. Britta Winterberg
(01:02:54) - Final reflections on the fungal innovation revolution

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Topics Covered:

mycelium, fungi, mushrooms, Future is Fungi, bioinnovation, biotech, mycoremediation, food dyes, personal care and beauty

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