The Mushroom Hour Podcast

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   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are blessed by the presence of inventor & bio-designer Bob Hendrikx, coming to us all the way from the Netherlands. Through his work at Studio Hendrikx, Bob strives to restore the parasitic relationship between humanity and its environment by expanding the horizon of human imagination and exploring living materials. His Living Cocoon project has captured headlines around the world with a coffin made from mycelium that helps bodies decompose faster while improving the surrounding soil. Through all of his design endeavors Bob embraces the notion that current way we build and produce materials must change fundamentally. I’m excited to hear from this visionary designer how we may be able to shift humankind's 200,000-year model of parasitism and extraction by taking a cue from Mother Nature who has been leading the way for 3.8 billion years by growing materials in ecological harmony.   Topics Covered:   Becoming a bio-based designer  Living vs Dead Materials  Free Technology Found in Nature  What is “Homo Natura”?  Listening to Nature Helps us Listen to Each Other  Inspiration for the Mycelium Coffin  Becoming Compost, Not Waste  Facing our Collective Fear of Death  Living Homes Made of Mycelium  Self-Healing T-Shirts  Bioluminescent Streetlights  Smashing the System vs. Growing a New One  Growing Our Way to a Better Society  Future Projects for Studio Hendrikx  Episode Resources:   Bob Hendrikx Website: https://www.bobhendrikx.com/  Bob Hendrikx IG: https://www.instagram.com/studiohendrikx/  Genus Ramaria (Mushrooms): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramaria  

Today on Mushroom Hour we are graced by the presence of Tradd Cotter, coming to us from Mushroom Mountain. Tradd Cotter is a microbiologist, professional mycologist, and organic gardener, who has been tissue culturing, collecting native fungi in the Southeast, and cultivating both commercially and experimentally for more than twenty-five years. In 1996 he founded Mushroom Mountain, which he owns and operates with his wife, Olga, to explore applications for mushrooms in various industries and currently maintains over 200 species of fungi for food production, mycoremediation of environmental pollutants, and natural alternatives to chemical pesticides. His primary interest is in low-tech and no- tech cultivation strategies so that anyone can grow mushrooms on just about anything, anywhere in the world. Mushroom Mountain is currently expanding to 42,000 square feet of laboratory and research space near Greenville, South Carolina, to accommodate commercial production, as well as mycoremediation projects. His masterwork and must-own mycology reference - "Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation" had a huge impact on my own relationship with mycology.   Topics Covered:   The Journey to Founding “Mushroom Mountain”  Applied Mycology as a Multi-Generational Project of Discovery  Pillars of Mushroom Mountain’s Business and Research  Mushroom-Based Solutions in the Developing World  Putting Myco-remediation Theory into Action  The Key Concepts of Mycofiltration  Future of Fungi in Medicine & Truly Personalized Treatments  Reducing Pesticide Use with Fungal Solutions  Patenting Ideas to Defend from the Dark Side  Educating the Next Generation  Disrupting the System, Waking People Up!  Power of Growing Your Own Mushrooms  “Blue Portal” Psilocybin Therapy in Jamaica  Future of Mushroom Mountain  Episode Resources:   Mushroom Mountain website: https://mushroommountain.com/  Mushroom Mountain FB: https://www.facebook.com/MushroomMountainFarm  Mushroom Mountain IG: https://www.instagram.com/sporeprints/  "Organic Mushroom Farming & Mycoremediation": https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Mushroom-Farming-Mycoremediation-Experimental/dp/1603584552  Mauritius Islands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritius  Cordyceps (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyceps

Today we are blessed by the presence of Adam Haritan, founder of Learn Your Land. Adam started the famous Learn Your Land platform in 2014 out of a desire to connect naturalists with people who wanted to learn from naturalists.  Learn Your Land is an advertisement-free media channel, helping people to improve their nature skills one species at a time. He spends most of my days either looking for mushrooms/plants/trees, researching mushrooms/plants/trees, filming mushrooms/plants/trees, or editing videos and content around mushrooms/plants/trees. Before his life became dedicated to this project, Adam studied classical piano and euphonium, toured as a drummer with a heavy metal band until his academic pursuits led him to study nutrition and dietetics at the University of Pittsburgh.  I’m excited to probe the depths of a naturalist who has dedicated so much time and effort to help us all learn more about the land under our feet.   Topics Covered:   Charting a New Life Course Through Nutrition  Learning from Mentors and Naturalist Groups  Western Pennsylvania Mushroom and Wild Food Community  Finding Purpose in Sharing Information About Nature  Foraging in Western Pennsylvania  Connection with Land as Essential to Human Health  Tips for Other Educators  Content Creation as a Disciplined Learning Process  Foraging Wild Water, Medicine and Food  Land and Belonging  Transcending Dystopian Futures  Significance of Land Trusts & Giving Back to Natural Spaces  Learning Each Mushroom that Crosses Your Path  Future Projects for “Learn Your Land”  Episode Resources:   Learn Your Land Website: https://learnyourland.com/  Learn Your Land YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcbf8wnyVJl631LAmAbo7nw  Learn Your Land IG: https://www.instagram.com/learnyourland/  Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club: https://wpamushroomclub.org/  Echinoderma asperum (Fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinoderma_asperum