The Mushroom Hour Podcast

Professor Simard's must-read first book "Finding the Mother Tree" is OUT NOW:https://suzannesimard.com/finding-the-mother-tree-book/   This book will change how you see forests and how you understand the relationships between trees and fungi.Today we have the humbling opportunity to speak with the incomparable Professor Suzanne Simard. Suzanne is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence; she’s been compared to Rachel Carson, hailed as a scientist who conveys complex, technical ideas in a way that is both dazzling and profound. Her work has influenced filmmakers (think James Cameron’s Avatar) and her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide. We’ve had the chance to read an early copy of her first book “Finding the Mother Tree” and have been mesmerized by how Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates vital truths – that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks full of mycorrhizal fungi by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities and living communal lives not that different from our own.   TOPICS COVERED:   Simard Family Origins and a Life-long Love with Old Growth Forests   “Free-to-Grow” Policies   Competition vs. Cooperation Views of Forest Ecology   Discovering the Mycorrhizal Network   PhD Research – Transfer of Carbon between Trees via Mycorrhizae   Groundbreaking Research Published in “Nature” in 1997   Women in Forestry   How Do Trees & Fungi Benefit from Their Mycorrhizal Relationships?   Mapping a Mycorrhizal Network   What is a Mother Tree?   Benefits of Uniting Anthropomorphic Epistemologies and Scientific Research   Aboriginal, First Nation & Indigenous Systems of Knowledge   An Intimate View of Suzanne’s Life to Humanize Scientific Endeavour   “The Mother Tree Project”, Future Plans & Future Research   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Suzanne Simard Website: https://suzannesimard.com/  "Finding the Mother Tree" (Book): https://suzannesimard.com/finding-the-mother-tree-book/  The Mother Tree Project: https://mothertreeproject.org/   Sir David Read (Inspiration): https://royalsociety.org/people/david-read-12152/   Dr. Teresa Ryan: https://indigenous.forestry.ubc.ca/profiles/teresa-ryan/   Prof. Susan Dudley: https://www.biology.mcmaster.ca/component/comprofiler/userprofile/sdudley.html?Itemid=1027

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by mycophagy legend Larry Evans. Larry Evans is a mushroom hunter, teacher, cultivator, song writer, and cook. He has been instrumental in organizing forays, festivals, and workshops in Colorado, Montana, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Bolivia, and now Jamaica. He is a founder of the Western Montana Mycological Association, wrote a field guide to mushrooms of the Amazon, and appeared in Ron Mann’s come-documentary Know Your Mushrooms. His vast body of work includes detailed accounts of burn morel tracking throughout the Western US, explorations of jam-packed fungal jungles in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador and evangelizing audiences about means of fungal digestion, how fungi remediate contaminated soils, and what the process of mushroom making is all about. Time to laugh and learn with a real-life fungal pioneer.    TOPICS COVERED:   “Know Your Mushrooms”   Changes in Soil Carbon Throughout Earth’s History   Fungal Peroxidase Enzymes & the Carbon Cycle   When it Comes to Wood, Bury Not Burn!   Fossil Water, BCR & Soil Carbon Implications on Wildfires   Fire-following Fairy Cups   Understanding Soil Carbon in Land Management   Trophic Levels of Wood Resources   Mycoremediation & Fungal Adsorption   Protein Production in the Developing World   Mycofiltration   Demystifying Human Fictions of Money & Property   Creating New Value Systems   New Models of Human Organization Inspired by Self-Balancing Systems   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Larry Evans Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrMushroomlarry   Larry Evans IG: https://www.instagram.com/mushroomlarry/   Western Montana Mycological Association: http://wmma.wildsoil.com/   "Know Your Mushrooms" Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWf7fM5iLYc   Soil Carbon Cycle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_carbon   Daldinia concentrica (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daldinia_concentrica   Geopyxi carbonaria (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopyxis_carbonaria 

Today on Mushroom Hour we are blessed by the presence of Reggie, activist, mycologist and founder of Oakland Hyphae. Reggie studied political science at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and now has over a decade of political campaign experience ranging from local and state-level races to 3 Presidential races to working with the New York State Democrats, the DCCC, and the DNC. On the West Coast Reggie worked on a local level to replace police in schools with guidance counselors for the Black Organizing Project in Oakland. Inspired by early-life transformative experiences with psilocybin-containing mushrooms, Reggie has had a lifelong passion for mycology and now consults with the largest mushroom cultivators in the world. He has worked with the largest cultivators in The Netherlands and is currently advising in the establishment of the largest commercial mushroom farm and state of the art testing lab in Jamaica. He also has over 10 years of domestic experience in the US cannabis industry. Reggie is a member of the Advisory Board for Decriminalize Nature and an avid activist for police reform and an ally of The Movement for Black Lives. TOPICS COVERED:  Reggie’s Introduction to Psilocybin & Travels to Europe  Activist Work for Political Change & Racial Equality  Psilocybin Mushrooms as an Ancient Spiritual Technology  Formation of Oakland Hyphae  The First “Psilocybin Cup” April 2021  Combining Passions for Mushroom Cultivation & Plant Medicine BIPOC Activism   Process of Testing Compounds in Psilocybin Mushrooms  Importance of BIPOC Leadership in Psychedelic Spaces  Future of Oakland Hyphae  Next Psilocybin Cup & Oakland Psychedelic Conference 9/20/21  Lessons Learned from the Cannabis Industry  Oakland as a Leader in Equity in Plant Medicine  Colonization of Psychedelics in Jamaica  Influence of Big Money on Emerging Psilocybin Mushroom Marketplace  EPISODE RESOURCES:   Oakland Hyphae IG: https://www.instagram.com/oakland_hyphae/  Oakland Hyphae Website: https://www.oaklandhyphae510.com/  Spring 2021 Psilocybin Cup: https://oakland-hyphae.teachable.com/p/oakland-hyphae-psilocybin-cup-spring-21  The Ancestor Project: https://www.instagram.com/theancestorproject/   Negus in Nature: https://www.instagram.com/negusinnature/  Twisted Tree Nursery: https://www.instagram.com/twisted_tree_nursery/  Pacific Substrates: https://www.instagram.com/pacificsubstrates/  Diaspora Psychedelic Society: https://www.instagram.com/diasporapsychedelicsociety/  Kilindi Iyi: http://babakilindi.com/  Darron le Barron: https://www.instagram.com/darren_le_baron/  Decriminalize Nature: https://www.instagram.com/decriminalizenature/  SF Psychedelic Society: https://www.instagram.com/psychedelicsocietysf/

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of speaking with Jeff Lowenfels. Jeff is the author of the Award-winning books “Teaming With Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide To The Soil Food Web”, “Teaming With Nutrients: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to Optimizing Plant Nutrition” and “Teaming With Fungi: The Organic Grower’s Guide to Mycorrhizae”. Jeff Lowenfels has become a leader in the organic gardening/sustainability movement because of these best-selling books. His “Guide to the soil food web” has been hailed as one of the most important gardening books in the last 25 years. His talks have converted tens of thousands of gardeners at venues throughout North and South America to follow the path of organic gardening. Jeff hosted Alaska public television’s most popular show, “Alaska Gardens with Jeff Lowenfels.” Most importantly for him, Jeff is the founder of the national program “Plant A Row for The Hungry.” This program is active all 50 states and Canada and has resulted in millions pounds of garden produce being donated to feed the hungry every year.    TOPICS COVERED:   Transformation from “Chemical Head” to Organic Gardener   Discovering the Soil Food Web   Teaming with Microbes  Nematodes, Protozoa, Fungi and the Rhizosphere   Testing for Soil Health   Teaming with Nutrients   How do Plants Eat?   Biological Processes of Plant Cells   Roles of Mycorrhizal Fungi   Humans Controlled by Microorganisms   Spiritual Microbial Ecology   Chemical Agriculture & the Soil Food Web   Our Future Depends on Soil   Planting a Row for the Hungry   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Jeff Lowenfels' Column: https://www.adn.com/author/jeff-lowenfels/   "Teaming with Microbes": https://www.amazon.com/Teaming-Microbes-Organic-Gardeners-Revised/dp/1604691131   "Teaming with Nutrients": https://www.amazon.com/Teaming-Nutrients-Gardeners-Optimizing-Nutrition/dp/1604693142/   "Teaming with Fungi": https://www.amazon.com/Teaming-Fungi-Organic-Mycorrhizae-Gardeners/dp/1604697296/   Rudolf Steiner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steiner   Dr. Elaine Ingham: https://www.soilfoodweb.com/   Microbiometer (Test your soil biomass!): https://microbiometer.com/   Plant a Row for the Hungry: https://gardencomm.org/PAR   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by the incredible myco-maven Mia Maltz PhD. As a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Division of Biomedical Sciences at UC Riverside, her research focuses on fungal communities and functional ecology in novel ecosystems, including pumice plains, drying lakebeds, and the lung mycobiome. Mia studied at the University of California, Irvine where she received my Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, with an emphasis on Ecological Restoration and Fungi. Her dissertation work in Kathleen Treseder’s Lab of Fungi, Ecosystems, and Global Change looked at the effects of habitat fragmentation and ecosystem degradation on fungal community composition and function. For her dissertation research, Mia investigated whether restoration techniques affect fungi and evaluated the efficacy of methods for restoring mycorrhizal fungal function within degraded landscapes. As an ecologist working at the interface of community ecology, biogeography, and mycology, her work broadly focuses on community responses to environmental perturbations, which feedback to influence plant and fungal community structure and ecosystem functioning.    TOPICS COVERED:  Discovering a Passion for Permaculture & Ecological Restoration  The Power of Showing Up & Making Connections  Importance of Surveys Prior to Any Course of Bioremediation  Functions of Different Mycorrhizal Fungi  Roles of Saprobic Fungi & Pathogenic Fungi in Ecological Restoration   Plant and Microbial Communications  Importance of Precautionary Principle  Ecological BioStimulation & BioAugmentation  Founding of CoRenewal & Amazon MycoRenewal Project  Open-Source Research Protocols  Future Economic Significance of Bioremediation  Environmental Justice   Dust Microbiome & Fungal Ecosystems in the Air  Women in Mycology  EPISODE RESOURCES:  Mia Maltz Academic Website: https://sites.uci.edu/maltz/   Mia Maltz Personal Website: http://miamaltz.com/   Mia Maltz IG: https://www.instagram.com/myceliumia/   Mia Maltz Twitter: https://twitter.com/miamaltz   CoRenewal & Amazon MycoRenewal: https://www.amazonmycorenewal.org/   John Todd: https://www.toddecological.com/   Jan Colemeier: https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Mycology-Higher-Jan-Kohlmeyer/dp/1483241882   Treseder Lab: http://faculty.sites.uci.edu/tresederlab/   Dr. Michael Allen: https://ccb.ucr.edu/facilities/lab   Mycological Society of America - Students: https://msastudents.org/   CZNet: https://criticalzone.org/   Protocols.io: https://www.protocols.io/   Phlebia centrifuga (fungi): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlebia_centrifuga   

Anthony Basil Rodriguez is a New York-born independent photographer and filmmaker. Since childhood he has been oriented toward a range of visual worlds. As a teenager, Anthony began to carry around an old film camera that his younger brother had lying around from a school project. Eventually taking his hobby more seriously, Anthony obtained a job pushing carts in order to buy his first digital camera. One day after a thunderstorm he was discovered by a local news station knee-deep in floodwaters collecting photos of the aftermath. He spent the following three years submerged in live television, editing daily newscasts. During this time, he honed and developed a true eye and skill for editing, videography and ultimately storytelling. Since leaving the news industry Anthony has continued to push his craft, interlacing realms of photography, video and film. This work continues to bring Anthony around the world in pursuit of research and documentation of rare plants, disparate peoples and the flux of global society. One of his current projects, Growing Back to Nature, really caught my attention as it features foragers, citizen mycologists and seekers who are trying to carve out a future path based around a more holistic connection with our planet and what it is live more in tune with natural systems.   TOPICS COVERED:   Anthony Discovers a Talent for Visual Media  Breaking into Television News Production  Childhood Passion for Plants  Ethnobotanical Adventures  Bananas – The Fruit that Changed the World  Worldwide Cultural Influence of the Banana  The Jamaican Banana King  How Traveling Extensively Changes Us  “Growing Back to Nature” Docuseries  Influence of William Padilla-Brown  Wasteland Rebel and Zero Waste Lifestyle  Changes in the Art & Craft of Film in the Social Media Age  Power of Storytelling to Shape Society  Getting Our Sh** Together Could be Fun  EPISODE RESOURCES:   Anthony Rodriguez Website: https://anthonybrodriguez.com/  Anthony Rodriguez IG: https://www.instagram.com/revofthought/   Growing Back to Nature Website: https://growingbacktonature.com/  Growing Back to Nature IG: https://www.instagram.com/growingbacktonature/  "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World" (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Banana-Fate-Fruit-Changed-World/dp/0452290082  "Conquest of the Tropics" (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Tropics-Creative-Enterprises-Conducted/dp/0342184768  "When the Banana was King" (Book): https://www.amazon.com/When-Banana-Was-King-Jamaican/dp/9768202238  William Padilla-Brown Website: https://www.mycosymbiotics.net/  Reishi (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi_(mushroom)

Today on Mushroom Hour we are blessed by the presence of Ryan Paul Gates, founder of Terrestrial Fungi. Ryan has spent the last ten+ years collecting and breeding fungal cultures from around the world. The strains he is probably most famous for propagating and breeding are cordyceps and ganoderma mushrooms. Ryan was really an early pioneer at popularizing cordyceps cultivation in the US, exposing us to techniques used from all over the globe. His team at Terrestrial Fungi are constantly hunting and breeding new and improved strains to add to their already staggering genetic library. They are constantly refining our selection process to bring Cordyceps farmers reliable and high yielding potent genetics. In the summer of 2019, they collected over 200 wild Cordyceps militaris ascospore isolates from over 30 carefully selected wild specimens: building their work of releasing the first single ascospore progeny strains of Cordyceps militaris in the USA. A master manifester and elevator of vibration, you can tell Ryan puts the highest intention and care into his work.   TOPICS COVERED:   How Ryan Discovered a Passion for Fungi  Falling in Love with Cordyceps  Cordyceps militaris Decentralized Knowledge Share  Developing Cordyceps militaris Cultivation Techniques  Basics of Cordyceps militaris Biology  Balancing Open-Source Mentality, Economic Self-Interest and Concepts of Reciprocity Mechanics of Culturing Cordycep militaris Strains and Selecting Genetics  Birth of Terrestrial Fungi  Rethinking Ganoderma Taxonomy  Elucidating Ganoderma lucidum  Challenges of Breeding Ganoderma  Future Plans for Terrestrial Fungi  Advice for Breeding Fungi Strains  Guidance from Music, Spirit & Other Organisms in Following the Path of Fungi  EPISODE RESOURCES:    Terrestrial Fungi Website: https://www.terrestrialfungi.com/   Terrestrial Fungi IG: https://www.instagram.com/terrestrialfungi/   Terrestrial Fungi FB: https://www.facebook.com/TerrestrialFungi/   RusticRosette Website: https://www.rusticrosette.com/   Shroomery.org: https://www.shroomery.org/   Appalachian Gold Fungi: https://www.instagram.com/appalachiangold_fungi/   Cordyceps militaris "dendrite" strain (Fungi): https://www.terrestrialfungi.com/products/cordyceps-militaris-dendrite-liquid-culture   Dr. Robert Blanchette: http://forestpathology.cfans.umn.edu/Blanchette.htm   Google Scholar Cordyceps militaris Research: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=cordyceps+militaris&btnG=   Grifola frondosa (Fungi): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grifola_frondosa   

Today we have the honor of speaking with journalist and author Doug Bierend. His new book “In Search of Mycotopia” dives into the neglected mega-science of mycology and introduces readers to the weird and wonderful communities of citizen scientists and microbe devotees who are leading the modern mycological movement. Doug uncovers a diverse cadre of growers, independent researchers, ecologists, entrepreneurs, and amateur enthusiasts, exploring and advocating for fungi’s capacity to improve and heal contaminated landscapes, provide food and medicine, and demonstrate how humans might live better with nature—and one another. The book is told through Doug’s first-hand encounters from the perspective of an embedded reporter drawn to this wonderfully enticing myco-culture This is an exploration of the wild new frontiers of all things mushroom and an inspiring look at the people who are paying attention to what fungi can teach us about the potential for our future. “Mycotopia is already all around us - All we have to do is embrace it.”   Topics Covered:   Journalist Doug's Journey into Mycology    Role of Fungi in Planetary and Human Development  Overlap of Academia and Citizen Science  Community Mycology Labs  Connection Between Mycology & a Culture of Aspirational Change   How Does Mycology Culture Mirror Other Counter-Culture Movements?  Influence of Psychedelic Culture  Promise and Realities of Mycoremediation  Resilient Future of Mushroom Cultivation  Decentralize Everything  Maintaining the Integrity of the Mycelium Underground  Interspecies Allyship  Medicinal Potentials of Fungi  How Writing the Book Changed Doug  Episode Resources:    "In Search of Mycotopia": https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/in-search-of-mycotopia/  Doug Bierend IG: https://www.instagram.com/dougbierend/  "Fungal Biology in the Origin & Emergence of Life": https://www.amazon.com/Fungal-Biology-Origin-Emergence-Life/dp/1107652774  Fungal Diversity Survey: https://fundis.org/  Craig Trester: https://www.instagram.com/nyc.myc/  Christian Schwarz: https://www.instagram.com/biodiversiphile/  Bryn Dentinger: https://www.instagram.com/nhmumycology/  Radical Mycology: https://www.radicalmycology.com/  POC Fungi Community: https://www.instagram.com/pocfungicommunity/  New Moon Mycology Summit: https://www.facebook.com/newmoonmycologysummit/  Smugtown Mushrooms: https://www.instagram.com/smugtownmushrooms/  William Padilla-Brown: https://www.instagram.com/mycosymbiote/

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by the distinguished Bryn Dentinger, Curator of Mycology at the Natural History Museum of Utah and Associate Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Utah. Bryn hails from Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota for his PhD, where he studied the molecular systematics of clavarioid and porcini mushrooms. He has carried out fieldwork all over the world, including exciting collecting trips to Vietnam, Brazil, and Cameroon. He spent years in the UK as the Head of Mycology at the world-renowned Kew Gardens and since 2003 has published dozens of research papers in respected scientific journals around the world. Now running the Dentinger lab in Utah, he continues to pursue molecular systematics research on mushrooms and other fungi around the world, combining fieldwork, collections, and modern genomic tools, while maintaining a keen interest in home-brewing and whisky. Bryn’s work has overlapped with many other guests on the Mushroom Hour and has been one of the most recommended guests.   Topics Covered:Early Inspirations to Study Fungi  Introduction to Porcini  Definition of Porcini (Species), Boletus (Genus), Boletaceae (Family)  Family Boletaceae Phylogeny & Radiative Evolutionary Event   Evolutionary Biology Behind Physical Characteristics of Fungi  World’s Most Comprehensive Genetic Analysis of Family Boletacae  Beyond PCR - Emerging Frontiers of Genetic Sequencing  Importance of Citizen Scientists in Biodiversity Research  Sequencing Existing Fungarium and Herbarium Collections   Species of Fungus Farming Ants  "Microbial Garden" Ant/Fungus/Bacteria Ecosystems  Divergent Evolution of Fungus Farming Ants  Evolutionary Significance of the Chemical Psilocybin  Current and Future Research at the Dentinger Lab  Episode Resources:Dentinger Lab Website: https://dentingerlab.org/  Bryn Dentinger Faculty Page: https://faculty.utah.edu/u6007810-BRYN_DENTINGER/hm/index.hml  Bryn Dentinger IG: https://www.instagram.com/nhmumycology/  Boletaceae (Family): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletaceae   Boletus (Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus  Boletus Edulis (Species): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis  David McLaughlin (Inspiration): https://cbs.umn.edu/contacts/david-j-mclaughlin  Tom Bruns (Inspiration): https://plantandmicrobiology.berkeley.edu/profile/bruns  Charles Peck (Inspiration): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Horton_Peck  Heimioporus (Mushroom Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimioporus  Leaf Cutter Ants: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafcutter_ant  Rhodotus palmatus: https://www.mushroomexpert.com/rhodotus_palmatus.html  

Today on Mushroom Hour we’re excited to speak with Erica Davis, founder of Wild Food Girl. Erica started writing her adventures with wild food back in 2009 at her blog, and later in a monthly magazine called “Wild Edible Notebook.” She teaches a course on useful plants at Colorado Mountain College and conducts plant walks around the state. She is also a regular presenter at the Midwest Wild Harvest Festival in Wisconsin. Erica’s educational background includes a BA in archaeology, an elementary school teaching credential, and an MA in technology-based education. Today she maintains an active Facebook community and is hard at work on her first book about edible wild plants in the West. Her incredible body of work is carefully compiled and she has worked diligently to provide accurate, useful, safe—and whenever possible, lesser known—information.   Topics Covered:   Introduced to Foraging Through the Work of Yule Gibbons  Learning Through Books  Foraging Hobby vs Lifestyle  Foraging Seasons in Colorado  Wild Seed Foraging  Indigenous Agro-forestry  Agricultural Systems from an Ecological Perspective  Co-evolution of Human Tenders and Wild Edibles  Integrating Wild Foods into Your Diet  The World’s Best Dandelion Preparation  Wild Mustards  Wild Food Recipes and Preparations Across Cultures  Sustainable Foraging  Erica's Book Planned for 2022  Episode Resources:   Wild Food Girl Website: https://wildfoodgirl.com/  Wild Food Girl Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildfoodgirl/  Euell Gibbons (Inspiration): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euell_Gibbons  Cattail Bob Seebeck (Inspiration): https://www.rrcc.edu/outdoor-education/faculty/cattail-bob  Samuel Thayer (Inspiration): https://www.foragersharvest.com/#/  "Tending the Wild" (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Tending-Wild-Knowledge-Management-Californias/dp/0520280431  Yampa (Plant): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perideridia  Goosefoot (Plant): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenopodium  Pinus edulis (Tree): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_edulis  "Mushrooms of Colorado and the Southern Rocky Mountains": https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Colorado-Southern-Rocky-Mountains/dp/1565791924  "Mushrooms of the Rocky Mountain Region": https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Rocky-Mountain-Region-Timber/dp/1604695765