The Mushroom Hour Podcast

Today on Mushroom Hour we are excited to have the chance to hear from our guest Christian Schwarz. Christian is a Research Associate at the Norris Center for Natural History and he is coauthor of "Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast" – the bible for California mushroom foraging. Christian Schwarz has been intrigued by fungi ever since he inherited his first mushroom guidebook from his brother. That guide turned out to be irrelevant to his area and so his first year of foraging was spent using just his own powers of observation. What can foraging for mushrooms without a guide bring to a forager's ability to develop their own libraries of sensory perception? As the author of Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, we couldn't ask for a better guide to help us explore the mushrooms of California. Christian explains the foraging season, different bio-regions and the variety of fungi, including a plethora of endemic fungi that call California home. The book itself is one of the best resources available for mushroom hunters along California's coastline. What was the inspiration for the book and what was that journey like of cataloging 900+ types of mushrooms? And as someone who traveled throughout the state hunting mushrooms, what are some of Christian's favorite areas in California to mushroom hunt? The answer might not be what you expect. Christian may best be described as a "biodiversiphile" - someone who loves biodiversity in all of its forms. As he eloquently elucidates the future of fungal diversity research, it becomes clear that amateur naturalists and citizen scientists have a huge role to play in the raw data collection and cataloging of biodiversity. We'll learn about the "Taxanomic Triangle" and pick up invaluable tips on how amateurs can structure their observations to contribute the best data possible to be used in future biodiversity studies. What are the six pieces of information in the basic biodiversity suite on a given organism? What insights about evolutionary history are we gleaning based on the massive influx of biodiversity data gathering? Episode ResourcesChristian Schwarz IG: https://www.instagram.com/biodiversiphile/Mushrooms of Redwood Coast (Book): https://bookshop.org/books/mushrooms-of-the-redwood-coast-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-fungi-of-coastal-northern-california/9781607748175Norris Center of Natural History: https://norriscenter.ucsc.edu/Amscope Microscope: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=amscope&ref=nb_sb_noss_2Southwestern Research Station: https://www.amnh.org/research/southwestern-research-stationCalifornia Channel Islands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Islands_(California)Santa Cruz Mycoflora: http://scmycoflora.org/Damon Tighe: https://www.instagram.com/damontighe/Leptonia Carnia: http://inaturalist.org/taxa/67387-Leptonia-carnea

Today we are graced by the presence of Dr. Roo Vandegrift - queer scientist, illustrator and producer of the forthcoming documentary film Marrow of the Mountain. Roo received his doctorate in mycology from the University of Oregon’s Institute of Ecology and Evolution, doing much of his dissertation work on the ecology of fungi at Los Cedros, in Ecuador.  Please support Roo's documentary "Marrow of the Mountain":  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/werdnus/marrow-of-the-mountain-the-covid-emergency-fundraiser?ref=discovery&term=marrow%20of%20the%20mountain   Help their team bring international attention to the threat posed by international mining companies to biodiversity and environmental health in Ecuador!  Getting lost in the jungles of Ecuador, we find Roo Vandergrift crawling through the undergrowth of the Los Cedros bio-reserve performing fungal diversity surveys. Originally studying the genus xylaria, Roo quickly fell in love with Los Cedros and his relationship with this vibrant and powerful land would change his life forever.Multinational mining companies have bought the rights to huge swaths of the country, leaving Ecuador’s most sensitive and biodiverse habitats at the mercy of international mining interests. This happened suddenly, and without public knowledge or consent. We witness the deep impact of extractive industry on Ecuadorian lives, as three women struggle to protect their families and communities whilst the land is being sold out from under their feet. Told in the powerful voices of Afro-Ecuadorian farmer Isabel Anangonó, indigenous leader Filomena Rosero, and scientist and activist Elisa Levy, and following a scientific expedition into the heart of the rainforest, this film explores the impact of mining on people's lives with both beauty and stark candor. How did the International Monetary Fund set in motion circumstances that would clear a path for giant Australian and Canadian mining corporations to gain access to mining territories, even in areas protected by environmental legislation? How is a pending Constitutional Court Case ruling pivotal in the future of protecting Ecuador's biodiversity from destructive mining?   Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns all people, including activists, have been forced inside. This has allowed international mining companies to continue their illegal mining and environmental destruction without any resistance. These same lockdowns have also meant that the documentary has been set back. So the Marrow of the Mountain team needs all of our support on their new Kickstarter! Empower this documentary activism and help defend biodiversity.  Episode Resources  Marrow of the Mountain Documentary Website: https://marrowofthemountain.com/   Roo Vandergrift IG: https://www.instagram.com/werdnus_roo/  Reserva Los Cedros: https://reservaloscedros.org/  OMASNE: https://www.facebook.com/OMASNE/  Spatial Ecology of the Fungal Genus Xylaria in Cloud Forests (article): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/btp.12273   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are honored to be joined by Indy Srinath. Indy is a forager, educator, gardener, mushroom cultivator, and steward of both her environment and her community. Her work brings many of the principles that we discuss on Mushroom Hour - wild food, mycology, permaculture, environmentalism - into urban settings and into a relational context with BIPOC communities.  Please support Indy's campaign to create a BIPOC community farm!https://www.gofundme.com/f/community-urban-farm-fund   Our journey begins in North Carolina where a high-school aged Indy, disillusioned by traditional education, starts to develop a relationship with the land. Before you know it, we're WWOOFing along the California coast, helping at organic farms and picking up land-based skills along the way. Returning to Asheville, NC to steward a 7-acre permaculture farm and cultivate mushrooms may seem like the dream to many of us, but it is just another stepping stone for Indy's ultimate vision. Changing scenes to the concrete jungle of LA, Indy employs the skills she's developed in herbalism, foraging and permaculture to purposefully empower chronically under-served houseless populations and BIPOC communities. What are some permaculture principles we can employ to grow food even in urban environments? Are urban agriculture and foraging useful tools in addressing major social issues like food apartheid in inner cities?   Her mission brings some particularly poignant questions to the surface. America's undergoing a cultural reckoning as European-Americans (colloquially "White") are forced to reconcile their status quo with generational and systemic disadvantages BIPOC communities face. Amidst protest, desires to help and gestures of allyship, we are reminded that access to land, or a lack-there-of, lies at the heart of America's glaring economic, political and social imbalance. This difference in land access even spills over into land-based disciplines like farming and wild food foraging. Why are practices like farming and foraging largely the domain of European-Americans now, despite having indigenous and BIPOC roots? What are some strategies to correct this imbalance and help BIPOC Americans return to the land?   As more minds turn to the idea of reparations as the most obvious solution to help heal a centuries-old trauma between European-Americans and BIPOC-Americans, Indy encourages us to remember that while interpersonal-reparations are a good start, what we really need are institutional reparations (ie. big banks, governments) to redress generational economic inequality. Ownership of land once more centers our conversation and provides a myriad of tangible solutions. How does a focus on increasing BIPOC ownership of land truly empower communities and address generational economic, political and social imbalances that America must reconcile if it is ever to become whole?   Episode Resources Indy IG: https://www.instagram.com/indyofficinalis/   Fallen Fruit: http://fallenfruit.org/   WWOOF: https://wwoof.net/   Leah Thomas (Inspiration): https://www.instagram.com/greengirlleah/   Hypomyces Lactifluorum (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypomyces_lactifluorum   Cordyceps Militaris (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyceps_militaris   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are graced by the presence of John Michelotti. John is the founder of Catskill Fungi and past President of the Mid-Hudson Mycological Association (MHMA). His goal is to inspire people to partner with fungi to improve their health, communities, and the environment.  Our journey takes us to the Catskill Mountains in New York state where we find a young John spending the summer on his grandfather's farm - whose grounds were some of the favorite mushroom foraging spots of Gordon Wasson! After spending a childhood in nature, John pursued many paths until his fateful connection with the Connecticut-Westchester Mycological Association. One the group's leaders, the mycology legend Gary Lincoff, become John's mentor and inspired him to dedicate his life to working with fungi. Sadly, Gary passed away in March of 2018. What was Gary really like and how did his unique background make him such a charismatic ambassador of the fungal world?  John's pursuit of fungal abundance took him to the jungles of Ecuador as he had the transformative opportunity to participate in the Amazon MycoRenewal project led by Mia Maltz. Armed with more knowledge and an even deeper passion for fungi, John movedback  to the Catskills to his grandfather's farm and joined the Mid-Hudson Mycological Association. Inspired by his days with the Westchester Mycology Club, John set about building community and eventually became Association President. Catskill Fungi was born as another way for John to share knowledge and form community around a love of mushrooms via presentations, workshops and mushroom walks. Learning about how fungi improves our health, John mastered a triple extraction technique for making medicinal mushroom tinctures of the highest quality and even teaches others how to do the exact same process. Catskill Fungi now provides an assortment of medicinal mushroom tinctures made from local, foraged and organically-grown mushrooms like lions mane, reishi, chaga and turkey tail. Why does John feel its so critical to teach these skills to others even if it means selling less of his own products?  Hearing John's story and his commitment to fungi moves us all to action and we'll feel the call of those immortal words of Gary Lincoff to, "Quit your job and dedicate your life to mushrooms!" Mushrooms and fungi are a key tool to improve humanity's outlook into the future. By pairing with fungi we all can pursue a life work that improves the community, the environment, and our personal health. It's easier than you think - you don't even need to quit your job! We'll become the extra-radical mycelia, reaching out beyond whats comfortable and transform the planet for the better!  Episode Resources  Catskill Fungi IG: https://www.instagram.com/catskillfungi/  Catskill Fungi website: https://www.catskillfungi.com/  Mid Hudson Mycological Association: http://www.midhudsonmyco.org/  Connecticut-Westchester Mycological Association: http://www.comafungi.org/  Gary Lincoff: http://garylincoff.com/  Violet Tooth Polypore (Mushroom): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/trichaptum_biforme.html  Phaeocalicium polyporaeum (Mushroom): https://mushroomobserver.org/name/show_name/6449  Amazon MycoRenewal: https://www.amazonmycorenewal.org/  Mushroom Shed: https://www.mushroomshed.us/

Today on Mushroom Hour we are graced by the presence of Leah Bendlin AKA Leah Mycelia. For anyone on Instagram or Facebook, you will know Leah for her near-encyclopedic knowledge of wild macrofungi, some of their underappreciated fungal brethren and even their distant cousins, the infamous slime molds.  On our way to visiting her myceliated domain of Portland, OR we make a stop in Leah's home state of Wisconsin to learn a little from Leah's Dad - a biology teacher who was a huge early influence in Leah's exploration of nature. As she explored her own relationship with nature and her quest for more delicious wild things to eat, Leah discovered mushrooms and became obsessed with these enigmatic organisms. Her love of food is still at the core of her mushroom obsession. To date, she has eaten an unbelievable 252 species of mushroom! What are some delicious edibles that we don't even know about?   As she has continued to develop her mycological repetoire, Leah has been able to tap into the extensive fungal community both in-person and online. Whether it's Facebook mushroom identification groups or local mycology clubs we'll feel the mush love and expand our knowledge exponentially. As citizen scientists have increasing access to vast amounts of information, the line between the professional and amateur scientist begins to blur. How do these communities overlap in practicing science and furthering the study of mycology?Branching out beyond the confines of kingdom fungi, Leah will introduce us to some distant relations that either rely on fungal organisms or resemble them - Mycohetertrophic plants and the infamous Slime Molds! Mycoheterotrophic plants rely on the nutrient-sharing mycorrhizal fungal networks that connect 95% of land plants together. Are these plants strictly parasitic or do they offer some benefit to the fungi? Few people are as passionate about slime molds as Leah and she will demystify these single-celled eukaryotic organisms. Even though many of us associate them with fungi, slime molds evolutionary lineage shows they actually have less in common with fungi than we do! Due to their unique physiology and behavior, slime molds are frequently used in scientific research. What kind of unique clues about non-human learning and brain-free intelligence do slime molds reveal to us?Episode ResourcesLeah Bendlin (IG page): https://www.instagram.com/leah_mycelia/   Disciotis Venosa (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disciotis_venosa   Geopora Cooperi (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopora_cooperi   Cortinarius Caperatus (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortinarius_caperatus   Alden Dirks (Collaborator): https://www.aldendirks.com/   Alison Pollack (Collaborator): https://www.instagram.com/marin_mushrooms/   Sarah Lloyd (Collaborator): https://www.instagram.com/sarah.lloyd.tasmania/   Myxomycetes - A Handbook of Slime Molds (book): https://www.amazon.com/Myxomycetes-Handbook-Steven-L-Stephenson/dp/0881924393   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are honored to be joined by Professor Tom Bruns of the UC Berkeley Dept. of Plant & Microbial Biology. Tom’s primary focus has been fungal ecology, and most of his work in this area has been at the community ecology or autecology levels.  The Professor breaks down some fundamentals about the study of ecosystems before he pushes us into the deep end or exploring one of his most researched subjects and one of the most ecologically relevant organisms on the planet - mycorrhizal fungi. It is impossible to overstate the importance of mycorrhizal networks. Ever since plants came out of the nutrient soup that is the ocean, they have enlisted the aid of fungal allies to survive and gather nutrients from the soil. Between the 2 main types, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi, mycorrhizal fungi connect almost all plants on Earth into their nutrient-exchanging networks. But what are the differences between these groupings of mycorrhizal fungi? What, if any evidence, do we have of their evolutionary history?   Much of Tom's research has focused on the ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi that dominate the temperate forests that many of us are familiar with in the United States. Walking us through the findings of his years of research, it becomes clear that our temperate forests cannot thrive or expand without EM fungi leading the way in colonizing new soil and partnering with new tree seedlings. With loads of EM players involved, and many lacking a big showy mushroom, there is still plenty of mystery when it comes to how mycorrhizal fungi establish themselves and reproduce. We learn about some of the factors that may contribute to successful propagation between different species and quickly come face to face with some of the burning questions when it comes to EM fungi - Why do the most desirable EM fungi like porcini and chanterelle spring up where they do? Is it possible to purposely inoculate trees and cultivate our favorite culinary mushrooms?? Is the ever-mysterious morel mushroom a mycorrhizal fungi?   With the aid of ever-advancing sampling technology, we have a better picture than ever of what is going on in the mycorrhizal realm. Tom's lab has been on the forefront of using these cutting-edge technologies to piece together more and more information. As he continually trains amazing scientists to further the study of mycorrhizal relationships, Tom's own work has shifted to focus on how fungi recolonize areas devastated by wildfires. What role do fungi play in helping ecosystems rebound from fire? We wrap up our conversation learning about an infamous ectomycorrhizal fungi, the amanita phalloides or deathcap mushroom, in the context of cutting-edge research from his grad student Catharine Adams.   Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   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 ResourcesProfessor Tom Bruns (profile and research papers): https://plantandmicrobiology.berkeley.edu/profile/bruns   Tomentella Spore Dispersal via Soil Food Webs (paper): https://nature.berkeley.edu/brunslab/papers/lilleskov2005.pdf   Catharine Adams (graduate student): https://plantandmicrobiology.berkeley.edu/profile/cadams   

This week on Mushroom Hour we are grateful for the opportunity to speak with our guest Giuliana Furci. Giuliana is founder and president of the Fungi Foundation and has been the greatest advocate for the study and protection of the Fungi Kingdom in recent decades in the country of Chile. She managed to make Chile the first country in the world to include fungi in its environmental impact assessment legislation.  Giuliana's upbringing took her across the Atlantic as her family fled political persecution, but she returned to Chile as a young adult. Already armed with a passion for fungi, Giuliana made a life-changing decision to forgo studying abroad and instead would try to invigorate the mycological tradition in a largely mycophobic nation that did not have any avenues for studying fungi. That brave decision, and her perseverance in her mission to study fungi, has forever changed her country.  After years of self-taught and self-led field mycology work documenting Chile's fungi, Giuliana founded The Fungi Foundation - the first NGO on Earth to be dedicated to promoting the knowledge, appreciation and protection of fungi. The Foundation has now expanded and supports many projects in Chile, but the biggest effort they have undertaken is their work in changing legislation to protect fungi. Giuliana and her team seized an opportunity to change environmental laws and implement a regulatory and enforcement framework that mandates all building projects in Chile must include an analysis of how they will impact local fungi populations, in addition to plants and animals. Chile is now the only country in the world that specifically protects fungi in its environmental legislation. How did they achieve this historical milestone? How does the shift from identifying "flora and fauna" to "flora, fauna and funga" fundamentally change our ecological perspectives as a society?  Leaving the halls of government, we'll try to keep up with Giuliana as she traverses the country for months at a time, hoping to coincide with the appearance of mushrooms. From the Atacama desert to the mountains of the Patagonia, Chile's unique geography makes for an incredible amount of unexplored biodiversity, especially when it comes to fungi! We'll learn to never underestimate the power of an encounter with a fungus and Giuliana will educate us on the proper steps to scientifically document mushrooms we find in the wild.  Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   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 ResourcesFungi Foundation Website: https://ffungi.org/   Calvatia Family (Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvatia   Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Northeastern-United-States-Eastern/dp/1604696346   Mushrooms of California (Book): https://www.amazon.com/California-Mushrooms-Comprehensive-Identification-Guide/dp/1604693533/   Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Redwood-Coast-Comprehensive-California/dp/1607748177/   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are blessed to have the opportunity to interview Daniel Winkler. Daniel has been organizing mushroom focused eco-adventures across the world since 2007. His research on different species of Cordyceps has been featured in The Economist, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, BBC World Service and more. Emerging from the deep, Bavarian forests we meet a young Daniel who was foraging steinpilz (boletus edulis) when he was only 3-years-old! His academic studies saw him working on environmental and ecological issues and a sequence of synchronicity found him pursuing this work in Tibet. While he applied his training to benefit Tibetan communities, he soon found himself ensconced by the mysterious and highly-prized Yartsa Gunbu - the Tibetan catepillar fungus. We know this mushroom in the West as Ophiocordyceps Sinesis.Daniel was one of the first westerners to deeply explore this famous zombie mushroom in the 1990's. Daniel will explain the unique ecology of the Ophiocordyceps Sinesis and why "CS-4", the strain that has been widely used in labs for testing medicinal properties and growing medicinal supplements, is likely not true ophiocordyceps sinesis! His fascinating research focused not only the physiology of the fungus, but also the history and ethnomycological implications of its use in Tibetan and Chinese culture. What profound economic impacts has the collection of Yartsa Gunbu had on the people of Tibet? How has this fungus had a massive influence in the diplomatic relations between Tibet and China for centuries? Vicarious adventure abounds as we join a MushRoaming ecotour and experience the hunt for Yartsa Gunbu for ourselves. This pursuit of cordyceps then continues into the Amazon where an explosion of tropical biodiversity means we find a vastly more diverse collection of cordyceps species, including many that are unknown to science. What are any applications of these cordyceps species that can be found in the Amazon? Are there medicinal benefits that are yet to be discovered?Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   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 ResourcesMushRoaming website: http://mushroaming.com/Yartsa Gunbu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_sinensis

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the pleasure of speaking with Merlin Sheldrake, author of the groundbreaking fungal narrative, Entangled Life. Merlin is a biologist and a writer with a background in plant sciences, microbiology, ecology, and the history and philosophy of science. He received a Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama.   Our voyage begins in the fertile jungles of Panama, teeming with biodiversity of all kinds. It's here that we find Merlin studying mycoheterotrophic plants and unlocking the secrets of the seemingly infinite web of mycelium that skeins out underneath the forest floor. His work in Panama captures our imaginations and peels up the edges of many key concepts that pop up again and again through the pages of his book.   It becomes apparent that as our collective understandings of ecology and biology advance, we can no longer examine organisms in a vacuum, without understanding their complex relationships. Fungi so easily embrace this "intimacy of strangers" and have a seemingly unparalleled ability to form entangled relationships with other living things. Why are fungi in particular such potent scions of symbiosis?   Riding tips of hyphae through rotscapes and the wood wide web, we'll marvel at the paradox of mycelium-based intelligence - living labyrinths that are seemingly processing information everywhere at once, and nowhere in particular. It is able to make decisions, it recognizes the limits of its physical form and it can adapt to changing circumstances, all without the help of a brain. Do analogies relating mycelium structures to our own brains aid or hinder our understanding of them? Why should we be careful when we examine fungi through an anthropocentric lens?   Human society has been perpetually guided by fungal influences - both in our physical relationships with them and in the stories we tell about them. When we imbibe or ingest fungi, we participate in this ancient relationship as the fungal consciousness influences our human experience. And whether it was psychedelic entheogens that opened up doors of perception or invisible yeasts that magically created bread, beer or wine, the myths and rituals we developed around fungi also shaped the course of civilizations. How will fungi continue to influence the course of humankind? Where can we find hope in fungal solutions to human problems?   Our wizened, fungal wizard Merlin beckons us to descend into the earth and find communion with our favorite, more-than-human organisms on their terms - and learn something about ourselves in the process.   Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   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 Merlin Sheldrake's website: https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/   Merlin Sheldrake's IG: https://www.instagram.com/merlin.sheldrake/   Entangled Life (Book): https://bookshop.org/books/entangled-life-how-fungi-make-our-worlds-change-our-minds-shape-our-futures/9780525510314

Today on Mushroom Hour we are excited to interview Saga Mariah Sandberg. Saga Mariah is an accomplished artist whose work focuses on mushrooms and other natural subjects. Her work has been described as authentic, beguiling, captivating and, perhaps above all, a beautifully curated celebration of Sweden’s natural systems.   In this second part of our two-part interview, Saga will be our guide through the folklore, myths and legends of Sweden. This epic journey starts with a brief introduction to the indigenous Sami people, whose tribes inhabited polar regions across Europe and Asia. We quickly come face to face with everyone's favorite pirate traders - the Vikings. Best known for their fierce warriors, their clans of elite fighters who donned bear-skins and wolf-skins are the origin of the English words "berserker" and "werewolf". There is a legend that Viking berserkers used the delirium-inducing amanita muscaria to fuel their rage prior to battle - but is it true?   Continuing our journey through time, we'll see that the peoples of Sweden have always sought the aid of shamans to access higher realms of consciousness. One of the most powerful spiritual conduits were master witches known as valas or völvas. These female mystics channeled spiritual power by performing a sejd (trance-inducing chant) and calling upon the aid of one's haugen (spirit or soul) with the help of a women's circle, a drum and a staff. Did entheogens or mushrooms play any role in the practices or powers of these wise women?   Attuning with the realms beyond our own, we commune with spirit animals and spirit guardians and then dive into the realm of the Vaesen. The Vaesen is another dimension that is the domain of otherworldly beings including trolls, fairies and mushrooms! These spirits feature prominently in Swedish myths and their influence persists to this day. Because non-bracket mushrooms were considered of the Vaesen domain, they were avoided as "troll food" by ancient Swedes. Luckily this has completely reversed in more recent times as Swedes have begun to deify the mushroom! These ancient myths, folk tales and spiritual concepts we discuss echo through many parts of our modern society and still live on in modern Swedish culture and language.    Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   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   Saga-Mariah's Art & Illustration Website: https://www.sagamariah.se/   Saga-Mariah IG: https://www.instagram.com/sagamariah_floral/     Berserker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserker   Vala/völva: https://norse-mythology.net/volva-the-viking-witch-or-seeress/   Vaesen Reading: https://www.amazon.com/Vaesen-Spirits-Monsters-Scandinavian-Folklore/dp/B072MFGQVG/