The Mushroom Hour Podcast

Today we are excited to chat with Tyler Huggins and Justin Whiteley – cutting-edge food pioneers and founders of Meati, a fungi-based protein company. Meati's mission is to help provide the world with nutritious protein with minimally-processed, fungi-based meats with superfood-level nutrition that don’t compromise on taste or sustainability. Tyler and Justin believe that finding the right protein should be easy and consumers should never have to choose between health, taste, or the environment.The story of Meati begins with two PhD students at the University of Colorado sharing a beer. Tyler was studying civil and environmental engineering, and Justin was in mechanical engineering. They shared a passion for helping people and the planet through engineering and science. Their first project together used fungi to produce battery electrodes and they ended up exploring loads of different applications of fungi as a manufacturing material. In their explorations of how to solve the world's problems using fungi, they realized one of the greatest potentials for a big, positive impact was to be found by focusing on food.As it becomes apparent that feeding the world with animal-based proteins is unsustainable, their vision coalesced around the idea of a textured protein product made of mycelium. We learn that Tyler and Justin's vision is to create a true meat product that will actually be superior to animal-based meat in all the major categories: texture, flavor, nutrition and sustainability. Visiting the production floor, we get up close and personal with how Meati grows and shapes a unique strain of mycelium into the future of meat. How do they achieve the texture and flavor profiles chicken, beef and anything else they choose? How is it possible that their mycelium meat contains more protein than beef along with loads of fiber and a daily serving of vitamin B-12?!Looking to the future, it becomes clear this duo has big plans for Meati. The production process they've engineered for creating their products is geographically agnostic, meaning you could set up fungal food factories anywhere in the world. That kind of production flexibilty combined with the exponential growth potential of mycelium hints at the possibility of a Meati empire that could span the globe. But how did these entrepreneurs get their start? And how close are we really to seeing a world fed by Meati?  Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)Music by: Ancient Baby (https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/)Art by: Wyn Di Stefano (http://www.wyndistefano.com/)Episode ResourcesMeati Website: https://meati.com/ Meati IG: https://www.instagram.com/meatifoods/Chanterelle (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChanterellePuffball (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffball

Robert Dale Rogers has been an herbalist for over forty-five years, and is a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild. He earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, where he is presently an assistant clinical professor in Family Medicine. He teaches plant medicine, including plant and mushroom medicine, aromatherapy and flower essences in the Earth Spirit Medicine faculty at the Northern Star College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is a Fellow of the International College of Nutrition, past chair of the medicinal mushroom committee of the North American Mycological Association, and previously served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. Robert Rogers discovered herbalism and the power of plant medicines as an enthusiastic botanist living in a hippy enclave in Alberta, Canada. He was struck with how little he knew about the plants and fungi he was discovering in the Great White North. He was blessed to learn from indigenous experts about the medicinal properties of these plants and mushrooms in the boreal forest. He then took this knowledge and applied it to family medicine, running a clinical practice for over 20 years. In the effort to share knowledge of herbalism with the masses, he has published 56 books, including the incredible "Fungal Pharmacy: The Complete Guide to Medicinal Mushrooms and Lichens of North America". In our chat, Robert demystifies the medicinal powers of fungi and lays out the facts about specific medicinal mushrooms and their properties. We've all heard about immune-boosting properties and anti-cancer properties in medicinal mushroom varieties, but what does that really mean? What are the compounds that are responsible for these properties? How do these compounds like beta glucans and triterpenes actually work in our bodies? In our explorations, we even enter the mycelium vs. fruit-body debate and reach insights that are different than you might expect. Learning about emerging models of holistic medicine, we dive into Robert's newest book, "Medicinal Mushrooms: The Human Clinical Trials". His impetus for writing the book was simple - provide the facts and information about the research on medicinal mushrooms. Both for consumers and for medical professionals who may have dismissed the actual potential of medicinal fungi without examining the full body of double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, human clinical trials. The evidence in this book is extremely compelling and offers hope for a future where these medicines are more thoroughly understood so as to be formulated into more potent natural medicines and applied for the highest good.Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour) Music by: Ancient Baby (https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/) Art by: Wyn Di Stefano (http://www.wyndistefano.com/) Episode ResourcesRobert Rogers Website: https://selfhealdistributing.com/Medicinal Mushrooms - The Human Clinical Trials (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Medicinal-Mushrooms-Human-Clinical-Trials/dp/B088W2458GWolfiporia extensa (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfiporia_extensaAntrodia (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AntrodiaTarnished Gold (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Tarnished-Gold-Sickness-Evidence-based-Medicine/dp/1466397292

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the amazing opportunity to interview Lorelle Sherman. Lorelle is an accomplished field naturalist who has studied flora, fauna and funga of diverse ecosystems across the US. She received her BS in Forest and Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont and received her Masters Degree in Forest Ecology at Oregon State University.  In the wilds near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, we find a young Lorelle bounding across neighbors' yards to sneak away to the nearest woodland. She found a calling at the University of Vermont to explore nature and its wildlife more deeply and to share her passion with others. She would return after her college years to work with the Western PA Conservancy and become an environmental educator. What are some effective methods she has learned to communicate environmental information and inspire others to learn more about the natural world?  Pursuing a Masters degree in forest ecology, Lorelle made her way to Oregon in the Pacific Northwest. Along with studying flora, fauna and funga interconnections in the forest, Lorelle has researched the tremendous importance of forest fires. Forests like the Cascade forests she has researched in the Pacific Northwest introduce us to the concept of fire-dependent ecosystems. There are plants and fungi that have evolved to rely on forest fires to reproduce and there are even birds that rely on fires to thrive! Applying this knowledge, we ask hard questions like, is human management necessary in forest ecosystems or is it best to leave it alone? Are prescribed fires a neglected tool that can help prevent more disastrous forest fires?  Lorelle's deep passion for nature has always involved wild foods. Foraging has evolved from a teenage hobby, to leading groups at college, to now teaching others about wild food at the Wildcraft Studio in Portland Oregon. She believes everyone should be empowered to supplement their diet with wild foods from nature, so long as we remember the importance of sustainability. We'll learn about her new wild food business and how she is blending her passions to forge her own path into the forest.  Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby (https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/)  Art by: Wyn Di Stefano (http://www.wyndistefano.com/)  Episode Resources   Lorelle Morel (Website): http://www.lorellemorel.com/  Lorelle Morel (IG): https://www.instagram.com/lorellemorel/  Western Pennsylvania Conservancy: https://waterlandlife.org/  "Edible Wild Plants" by John Kallas (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Edible-Wild-Plants-Foods-Adventure/dp/1423601505  "Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast" by Jim Pojar (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Plants-Pacific-Northwest-Coast-Pojar/dp/1772130087  WildCraft Studio: https://wildcraftstudioschool.com/  Rhizopogon (Fungi): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizopogon  Shaggy Mane (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprinus_comatus

Today on Mushroom Hour we are honored to speak with our distinguished, bespectacled guest Roger Phillips. Roger is a natural nonconformist and a legendary godfather of foraging in the UK. Drawing upon decades of experience, his knowledge of wild food is unrivaled. Known as “Mr Mushrooms” he is an expert mycologist, renowned for his work tracking and recording more than 1,600 species of fungi in North America and Europe. Considered a pioneer in the use of photography for documenting and identifying mushrooms, he has written numerous guide books and resource materials.Let's take a trip across the Atlantic, and back in time, over to the UK isles to find Roger Phillips at just 8 years old hunting wild nettles and bucket loads of mushrooms. His younger years saw him join the air force, work with a major advertising firm and eventually find his way to photography. As his obsession with documenting nature took hold, Roger began writing his own botanical guidebooks to European plants and mushrooms, and in so doing, was an early pioneer of the use of photography, in lieu of drawings, in his guides.Roger reflects on the mycophobia that is deeply entrenched in British culture, but also how that is starting to change. There is a rich wild food tradition and has always been an incomparable love of gardening amongst the British people. Roger sees all of these traditions as connected, with gardening and foraging being disciplines that most people innately recognize as "moral" and "good".Exploring his newest book, "The Worldwide Forager" we end up traveling all over the planet to learn about wild foods across cultures. Roger has a deep interest in First Nation Peoples in the Americas. Through his research on the wild food history of the Nez Pearce we learn about the consumption of wild camas bulbs. How much can we learn from First Nation peoples about wild foods and sustainable gardening? When it comes to mushrooms, we visit Italy to marvel at the oft underappreciated Caesar's amanita and Roger regales us with the story of how it may have been involved in a plot that brought down a Roman Emperor! As our conversation winds down, we glimpse a future where cross-cultural sharing of wild food traditions leads to a more sustainable, more nutritious and scrummier future!Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)   Music by: Lyla Foy (https://www.lylafoy.co.uk/)   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano (http://www.wyndistefano.com/)    Episode Resources   Roger Phillips Website: http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/   Roger Phillips IG: https://www.instagram.com/rogerphillips_redglasses/   Worldwide Forager (Book): https://unbound.com/books/the-worldwide-forager/   Nez Perce (Indigenous Tribe): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nez_Perce_people   Amanita Caesarea (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_caesarea   Craterellus Cornucopioides(Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craterellus_cornucopioides

Today on Mushroom Hour we are excited to sit down and chat with Lisa Cutcliffe from Leeds, Yorkshire in the UK. Lisa is the founder, foraging-guide-in-chief and all-round mushroom-nut at Edulis Wild Foods. With a degree in biology, being a keen gardener, veg grower, and having a lifelong fascination with nature and wildlife, she is interested in all aspects of wild food and medicinals.   As we explore the wilds of Leeds in England, we find a younger Lisa poking around the woods between classes at university. Her curiosity about using edible mushrooms in cooking led her down a pre-Internet road of discovery, seeking out information about mysterious kingdom fungi. It was the quest for her first porcini that brought her from Leeds to the "New Forest" in the South of England and set her down the path of edible mushrooms and wild food.   Her love of mushrooms branched out into a love of plant foraging as she was determined to find edible foods across every season. Her journey came to a traumatic inflection point as a diving accident damaged her back and crippled her ability to go abroad and engage in the physical activity that was her passion. However, the regeneration from this experience pushed her to explore the UK Isles and rediscover herself, open up her love of wild foods and connect with an incredible community of wild mushroom and plant enthusiasts across the UK. How can foraging be used as a form of physical and emotional therapy to help us recover from trauma?   Pursuing her passion for wild foods more intensively, Lisa felt the call to "find the others"! After connecting with and learning alongside other UK wild food experts, she became a founding member of the Association of Foragers - a network that provides collective support for professional foragers guided by an ethos of "Restoring Vital Connection". This influence and the community she was now a part of inspired Lisa to create her own wild foods business - Edulis Wild Foods.   We'll take a walk in the shoes of a professional foraging educator and learn keen insights about the responsibility and realities of such a path. How do you know when you're ready to start teaching others? How does one balance a day job with the commitment to being a professional educator? For Lisa the most satisfying part of sharing her love of wild foods is seeing her students reconnect with nature and remember the ancestral connection they have to their land.   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)   Music by: Ancient Baby (https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/)   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano (http://www.wyndistefano.com/)   Episode ResourcesEdulis Wild Foods (website): http://www.eduliswildfood.co.uk/   Lisa Cutcliffe (IG): https://www.instagram.com/eduliswildfood/   Association of Foragers (UK): https://foragers-association.org/   Craterellus cornucopioides (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craterellus_cornucopioides   Chlorociboria aeruginascens (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorociboria_aeruginascens   

Today on Mushroom Hour, we have the honor of speaking with Martin Ball. Martin is a PhD, writer, independent publisher, energy worker, visionary artist, and musician. Martin earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Native American traditions, Philosophy of Science and Religion, and the Phenomenology of Mystical and Shamanic Experience, as well as the role of entheogens in religious and spiritual experience.   Our saga into psychedelic spheres of awareness takes us beyond the bounds of ordinary five-senses consciousness, into a world that our guest Martin Ball has explored extensively. His journey into entheogenic realms of psychedelic experience began with psilocybin containing mushrooms. His own explorations continued into other tryptamine-based psychedelics (like DMT) and led him to unique understandings of the energetic and non-dual nature of our reality. For Martin, the method for coming to understand the true nature of reality is through direct experience and self-exploration and entheogens provide unparalleled tools for self-exploration.   As we peer through the lens of Martin's psychedelic-informed worldview, we see the wisdom of the phrase "All is one". Everything in reality is made from the same energy that is pulled from a firmament of raw consciousness, that Martin is comfortable calling "God". This unitary consciousness forms all elements of physical reality through an on-going process of energetic transformations and interactions that function according to basic mathematical and geometric laws. Some of the highest order expressions of this energetic creation are us - human beings. Where do concepts like ego and soul fit into this unique perspective? How are tryptamine-based compounds useful tools for human suits and how do we best use them?It was with the release of Mushroom Wisdom in 2006 that Martin started his career as a public advocate for entheogenic reform and education. We talk about the current changes our society is undergoing as so many people become disaffected by the meta egos that have historically organized human societies like religions and governments. We are in the midst of big changes when it comes to our relationship with psychedelic substances as more safe and productive methods for use are shared with the masses. How do psychedelics inform new worldviews and new models of human organization?Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)   Music by: Ancient Baby (https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/)    Art by: Wyn Di Stefano (http://www.wyndistefano.com/)   Episode Resources:Martin Ball (website): http://www.martinball.net/   Martin Ball (Patreon): https://www.patreon.com/martinwball   Being Human (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Being-Human-Entheological-Evolution-Energetic/dp/1478275375   Entheogenic Evolution (Podcast): https://entheogenic.podomatic.com/

Today on Mushroom Hour we are graced by the presence of Daniel “Sitaram Das” Shankin. Daniel is the founder of Mt. Tam Psychedelic Integration, which supports individuals who are exploring their consciousness for spiritual growth and transformational healing. He is the proud host of the Mt. Tam Psilocybin Summit which brings together leaders in the field of psychedelic science in a virtual summit for "Four Days Celebrating the Myth, Magic, Science, and Culture of the Sacred Mushroom". The Mt. Tam Psilocybin Summit takes place 9/17/20 - 9/20/20. Mushroom Hour listeners can get discounted tickets here: https://summit.psilocybinsummit.com/tickets/?coupon=hithereI will be moderating a speaker session and will be absorbing all the amazing material being shared!Daniel's path began working at a yoga bookstore, pursuing gnosis from Eastern spiritual traditions like Buddhism and Hinduism. Books like "Be Here Now" were incredibly influential in his own psychedelic explorations and spiritual pursuits. Why do psychedelic experiences and Eastern mysticism seem to blend well together? Do both pursuits aim to take us to the same transcendental plane?Through his work at Mt. Tam Integration, Daniel has extensive experience when it comes to preparing individuals for a psychedelic experience and helping them integrate back into sober consciousness after such an experience. He'll explain the preparatory importance of set and setting (including preparing one's own emotional state) and some of the tools he uses with clients like somatic anchoring. When it comes to integration, we learn how revelatory urges can be acted upon safely and effectively without hurting the people around us.In the noble pursuit of shifting our current culture towards an enlightenment society, Daniel was called to create the Mt. Tam Psilocybin Summit. This conference brings together incredible speakers from around the world and of all different backgrounds. He thought this was one of the best ways he could contribute to the creation of a society based around positive values like love, grace and humility. As psychedelics suffuse into the mainstream, we look at the impacts of forces like capitalism and politics on the integrity of utopian psychedelic ideals. What is the future of psychedelic culture and will the current psychedelic renaissance help bring about an enlightenment society? Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)   Music by: Ancient Baby (https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/)   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano (http://www.wyndistefano.com/) Episode Resources:Mt. Tam Psilocybin Summit (website): https://psilocybinsummit.com/ Mt. Tam Integration (IG): https://www.instagram.com/tamintegration/Mt. Tam Integration (website): https://tamintegration.com/Be Here Now (book): https://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052Neem Karoli Baba (Inspiration): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem_Karoli_Baba

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the fantastic opportunity to chat with Matt Berger. Matt is a trained horticulturalist with a masters in forest pathology from West Virginia University. He currently works as a seasonal botanist for Sierra Pacific Industries and an Ecological Surveyor for the Great Basin Institute.  Our adventure begins as we find Matt mid-expedition hunting for rare plants in one of his favorite plant habitats - the high desert and mountainous regions of Nevada. His background in forest pathology means he always has an eye on interactions between plants, fungi and insects. Even in the desert, fungi are omnipresent and Matt shares some of his experience with fungal pathogens that can be found on rare, desert plants he studies. How central is an understanding of fungi in understanding the big picture of forest pathology?  Getting lost in the wild and cataloging biodiversity is something Matt is uniquely equipped for. He shares with us secrets of locating and identifying wild plant species and also encourages us to get out into big nature.  In the context of a fast-paced modern society, spending days and even months hiking a trail can take on a spiritual significance and profoundly change a person. Life-changing experiences hiking on the PCT trail spurred Matt's own passion for studying plant diversity and pursuing work in rare plant conservation.  As we continue our trek across the great hiking trails of the American West, exploring deserts and mountain ranges, it becomes apparent just how many under-explored areas still remain. In the ranges of Nevada and California that are Matt's focus, each mountain can be a completely unique environment with entirely different species of plants and fungi! This means there is an incredible amount of biodiversity to research and catalog. We learn how researching biodiversity is integral to any conservation effort because you can't protect what you dont know is there! It would be putting it lightly to say Matt is obsessed with the conservation of rare plants. He explains how humans lose so much when we lose a species - both in it's potential value to humans and in it's intrinsic value as an organism that can never be replicated. We are called to get out into under-explored areas then catalog and protect the organisms we find!  Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)   Music by: Ancient Baby (https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/)   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano (http://www.wyndistefano.com/)   Episode Resources  Matt Berger IG: https://www.instagram.com/sheriff_woody_pct/  Matt Berger YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxru3ZxQQyQBw1188apzSQQ   Great Basin Institute: https://www.thegreatbasininstitute.org/  Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (Ambrosia beetle): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euwallacea_fornicatus   Lewisia maguirei (Plant): https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Rare_Plants/profiles/Critically_Imperiled/lewisia_maguirei/index.shtml  Massospora platypediae (Fungus): https://www.gbif.org/species/2559691  Claytonia (Plant): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claytonia 

Today on Mushroom Hour we are grateful for the opportunity to interview biologist Nelson Dueñas who is a founding member of the MycoMaker project in Ecuador. Mycomaker is an organization that was born in the minds of biology students in late 2016 and was founded by Nelson in early 2017. The group has undertaken keystone fungal projects including promoting mushroom cultivation, researching mycelium as a building material, and even researching potentials of mushroom grafting!Touching down on the sacred grounds of the Yasuni National Park in the Amazon, we meet some unique jungle fungi - bio-luminescent mycena, alien cordyceps and many others which first captured Nelson's imagination. Ecuador is the home to some of the world's most precious environmental regions including the Yasuni National Park, the Chocó bio-region, Los Cedros bio-reserve and the Mashpi rainforest reserve. Unbelievably, Ecuador is home to 6.4% of all species on earth in just 280,000 sq. km. This includes an incredible array of endemic fungi. How is this insanely biodiverse environment under threat? How much untouched environment is left in Ecuador?   Called to share his love of mushrooms and fungi, Nelson and a team including other biologists (and now designers and manufacturers) created the MycoMaker project. Inspired by the fungi visionary Phil Ross, one of their main goals was to pursue mycelium as a material. They dubbed their research in biomaterials "mycotectura" and began by creating art canvas from mycelium. In their materials research, the MycoMaker team experiments with many different species of fungi mycelium to explore the properties each can offer as a material aside from just durability. As we learn about their experiments in materials science, we glimpse a vision of a sustainable future that may find us living in domes made of mycelium.    Mycomaker's mission includes sharing a love of mushrooms and making mushroom cultivation more accessible to every community in Ecuador. In 2019, they hosted a special mycotectura fair that brought in hundreds of people from all walks of life to inspire them with mycelium materials and mushroom cultivation. Nelson sums up his team's ambition as sharing a love of mushrooms, changing people's perceptions when it comes to fungi, and encouraging them to recognize the importance of funga to the environment. As our conversation winds down, we venerate the mystery and awe that mushrooms represent. When it comes to fungi, the more we learn, the more we realize we don't know.   Episode Resources   MycoMaker website: https://hongos.guru/   MycoMaker IG: https://www.instagram.com/mycomaker/   Yasuni Rainforest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuni_National_Park   Phil Ross (inspiration): https://www.mycoworks.com/   Nidulariaceae ("bird's nest fungi"): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nidulariaceae   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are honored to be joined by Terry Henkel, Professor of Botany at Humboldt State University. Terry boasts a Masters in Botany from the University of Wyoming and a PhD in Botany from Duke University. Terry’s main body of research investigates macrofungal biodiversity and ecological relationships in the remote tropical rainforests of South America's Guiana Shield and the Guineo-Congolian region of Central Africa.We venture to the heartland of Ohio and find young Terry Henkel exploring the outdoors and immersed in the transformative works of Alan Watts, Joseph Campbell and Andrew Weil. Terry discovered his passion for ecology and mycology at Ohio University before sinking his teeth into a PhD project studying arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Wyoming.   It was a fateful roadtrip from Wyoming to Florida which set Terry on a path to studying tropical fungi in some of the most unexplored areas on Earth. Falling in love with the jungles in Guyana, a remote country in northern South America, Terry discovered ectomycorrhizal mushrooms like amanitas, chanterelles and boletes that should not have been there! It is commonly assumed that in incredibly biodiverse tropical regions, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (which do not produce mushrooms) are the dominant symbiont with native flora. He quickly went in pursuit of backing to study this tropical mushroom mystery and it would become one of his main research projects for years to come.  Initially, his mushroom findings were explained by areas of typically hyperdiverse tropical jungle that have been overtaken by woody-legume species. These species play host to a huge diversity of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms - many that are unknown to science! In trying to figure out if his tropical mushroom discovery was reported elsewhere, a connection was made with similar woody-legume dominated forests in Central Africa. Having researched these areas for decades, Terry is seeking answers to the burning questions brought on by his fungal discoveries. Why are mono-dominant forests appearing in such stark contrast with tropical mixed forests despite no evident changes in environmental conditions between the forest areas? How much fungal diversity has been found and how much is left to be discovered in Guyana and the Guineo-Congolian region? Do the similar jungle forests in Guyana and Central Africa hint at a bio-geographical history of being connected at one time as part of the "Gondwana" supercontinent?!   As we hear the detailed history of his research and the amazing findings his team has made in terms of fungal diversity, we also learn about indigenous populations that have become critical allies in allowing this research to continue successfully. Part of the mission of this research is to provide training for local populations in cataloging biodiversity. In Central Africa, Terry's research team also plays host to PhD students to give them field experience and encourage more scientists in these biodiversity hotspots to research and protect the flora, fauna and funga that thrive there.   Episode Resources Prof. Terry Henkel's Academic Profile: http://www2.humboldt.edu/biosci/faculty/henkel.html  Prof. Henkel's Tropical Fungi Research Website: http://tropicalfungi.org/ Gilbertiodendron dewevrei (Tree): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbertiodendron_dewevrei  Dicymbe (Tree): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dicymbe  Laricifomes Officinalis AKA Agarikon (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laricifomes_officinalis