The Mushroom Hour Podcast

Today on Mushroom Hour we are excited to interview Oliver Merivee. Oliver is the co-founder of the Fungi Academy, a paradigm-shifting community and a sacred mycology school in Guatemala, located on the magical Lake Atitlán.Pack your bags and open your mind as we go on a world-spanning journey from Oliver's native Estonia over to Australia, hitchhiking across Mexico and winding up in Guatemala. His travels have given him a unique perspective on the human experience and the value of service to others. It can be liberating to take on the role of penniless traveler and rely on your faith in the Universe and synchronicity to provide what you need and take you where you need to go.Everyone has felt the allure of idyllic communes or intentional communities at one time or another. We get the chance to be part of the tribe at Fungi Academy and hear about how their community operates. Oliver has visited many communities throughout his journey and has been able to absorb invaluable insights from each. He has held space with elders and seen what makes an intentional community thrive. What are the most important pillars of intentional communities that help them stand the test of time? How do intentional communities achieve symbiosis with their surrounding environment and help build more resilient societies?We wrap things up with an expansive conversation about plant medicines and psychoactive mushrooms. The anecdotal evidence and growing scientific body of knowledge is offering hope that powerful therapies for the body, mind and spirit lie within our grasp. Responsible use of these natural substances encouraged Oliver to seek knowledge all over the world and Fungi Academy may not exist without their influence. How can we learn to use sacred mushrooms to help us embody principles of self-love and service to others?Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour) Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano   Episode Resources Fungi Academy Sacred Mycology Courses: https://fungiacademy.com/sacred-mycology-school/Fungi Academy IG: https://www.instagram.com/fungiacademy/Fungi Academy Website: https://fungiacademy.com/Intentional Communities: https://www.ic.org/

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the extraordinary honor of interviewing William Padilla-Brown. Founder of MycoSymbiotics, William is a social entrepreneur, citizen scientist, mycologist, amateur 'phychologist', urban shaman, writer, you-tube vlogger, contributing editor for Fungi magazine, researcher, poet, and father.  Venturing into the woods of Pennsylvania, we'll train our eyes to go foraging for wild cordyceps with a man who has played a major role in popularizing the cultivation of this zombie mushroom. William walks us through some of the fundamental biochemistry of this fiery fruit body including the compounds in cordyceps that make them world-renowned medicinal fungi. While reviewing some well-known compounds like the adenosine-derivative cordycepin, Will also shines light on some lesser-known compounds like cordynin. How much of cordyceps' medicinal potential has yet to be researched and uncovered? How many different species are there and do cordycep species besides C. Sinesis and C. Militaris show promise in terms of their use as medicinals?   As a non-traditional educator and YouTube-university graduate, Will's journey has always involved novel methodologies when it comes to spreading scientific information across communities. We'll hear about his work in the lab and how he has given others the tools to practice the scientific method in their own home. Exploring the growing citizen science ecosystem, we'll glimpse a vision of a not-too-distant future where a decentralized network of home labs and community-based labs work together to push science forward. Can the application of models like community-based science and permaculture be enough to help manifest a better world? Is there an opportunity for a new, conscious generation to participate in what may be perceived as "broken" or "outdated" institutions to effectively subvert the dominant paradigm and create lasting, positive change?   We wrap up our chat talking about POC involvement in the mycological and citizen science communities. Inclusion is critical and everyone needs to be exposed to this life-changing information. What are some ways event organizers and mycology clubs can engage with POC communities?   Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour  (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano   Episode Resources  Mycosymbiote IG: https://www.instagram.com/mycosymbiote/   William Padilla-Brown Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/William-Padilla-Brown/100006127386177   Mycosymbiotics: https://www.mycosymbiotics.net/   Mycosymbiotics Shop: https://www.mycoshop.net/   MycoFest: https://www.mycofest.net/   Globifomes Graveolens: http://www.mycoguide.com/guide/fungi/basi/agar/poly/poly/glob/graveolens   

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the pleasure of speaking with Rachel Zoller. Under her moniker, Yellow Elanor, she has become a pillar in the online mushroom education community. She teaches classes and speaks at mycological events across the Pacific Northwest.   We trek up to the wilds of BZ Corner, Washington to start exploring the forest floor with our master myco-educator! Rachel will guide us through the basics of mushroom identification, including the importance of engaging all of our senses in the process. We'll smell all the mushrooms we find, play with them and really experience the essence of these fungal treasures that we are seeking to understand.    As an educator and someone who spreads the love of fungi into her community she'll illustrate how, when it comes to mushrooms and the 50-year old science of mycology, passion is enough to put an amateur in a place to make a real impact. We'll also get comfortable coming out of our shell to engage mycology clubs and the local mushroom community and watch our learning accelerate exponentially.     As one of the most important roles she takes on, Rachel is the mother of two little mycophiles. For all you parents out there, she shares some invaluable advice when it comes to taking the little ones out mushroom hunting. How can your children, and your family dynamic, benefit from foraging for mushrooms together? How do you make sure mushrooms don't end up in a pocket or a basket that shouldn't be there?    Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour  (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano   Episode Resources  Yellow Elanor IG: https://www.instagram.com/yellowelanor/   Yellow Elanor YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/yellowelanor   Yellow Elanor Website: http://www.yellowelanor.com/    Mycena haematopus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycena_haematopus   Hericium abietis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hericium_abietis  

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the honor of speaking with the distinguished Dr. Gordon Walker. Gordon boasts a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from UC Davis and has had a passion for wild mushroom hunting that began at the tender age of 5. Traveling to Napa County California, the heart of US wine country, we'll learn about the amazing powers of yeast, a fungi you may not even know is a fungi! We'll get a window from an expert into the complex, hidden ecosystem that is active on the microscopic level and the sequences of ecological succession at work that are responsible for some of humanity's most cherished culinary inventions - bread, wine and beer. How do yeasts actually power the different fermentation processes of wine, beer, kombucha and others? And how are yeasts, and fungi more broadly, being used to create the future of alternative proteins?With his talent of communicating scientific information in a very digestible form, Gordon helps us understand some technical points when it comes to kingdom fungi. What are the differences between the two major fungi groupings of basidiomycota and ascomycota? How are species more fluid of a grouping system than we may think when it comes to fungi? What can fungi populations in general tell us about biodiversity and divergent evolution? After we go out foraging for some of his favorite mushrooms, we get into the kitchen and learn some secrets from this Instagram and Tik Tok superstar about cooking with mushrooms. Gordon breaks down some basic principles of heat, moisture and fat content that we can all utilize that will turn our wild foraged finds into homemade delicacies. Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour  (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano  Episode Resources  Fascinated by Fungi IG: https://www.instagram.com/fascinatedbyfungi/Fascinated by Fungi website: https://fascinatedbyfungi.com/Fascinated by Fungi Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fascinatedbyfungi

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the wonderful occasion of speaking with Anna Henning. She has been hunting fungi in the woods of central Massachusetts and eastern Connecticut for over 5 years, gathering edible and medicinal mushrooms along with knowledge, and friends along the way. In the sleepy town of Cape Cod we'll meet a passionate self-taught mycology, taxonomist and etymologist named Anna, but you can call her "Breakfast". We wander the forests, with plenty of canine company, searching for mushrooms and also benefiting from some innate, therapeutic effects. Our culture is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of mental health and how each of us accumulates degrees of trauma and anxiety. Anna will use her knowledge of psychology to relate the feeling of connection we feel out in nature to tangibly improving mental health. Can our experiences in nature help us to heal the parts of ourselves that need it most? How does a relationship with nature intertwine with our modern psychological understanding of concepts like "attachment theory"?Entering the domain of "binomial nomenclature", we'll cover the basics of scientific taxonomy and how the interlocking structure from "kingdom" down to "species" works. This leads us to in-depth exploration of etymology, the study of the origin of words and language. We'll hear some particularly intriguing, amusing and insightful examples of different fungi and how their names were derived. How did Greek helmets made from weasel-skin become the basis for  naming a mushroom? How does an understanding of etymology provide us a sense of connection?Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour  (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano  Episode Resources  Breakfast of Champignonz IG: https://www.instagram.com/breakfast_of_champignonz/Gyroporus Cyanescens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyroporus_cyanescensExsudoporus Frostii: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exsudoporus_frostiiCalostoma Cinnabarinum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calostoma_cinnabarinum

Today on Mushroom Hour we are excited to chat with Chris Adams - illustrator & print-maker from Corvallis, Oregon. Chris is the driving force behind Corvidopolis, an art & apparel company, and he is the creator of The Mushroom Tarot. We'll gather our gear and hike through vast tracts of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest to see how Chris transformed from an aspiring architect into a mushroom-obsessed artist. His own personal journey into mycology became an inspiration for the stunning art and graphic apparel that he creates today. We'll learn about how he started his business as an artist and screen-printer. And we'll even discover the artistic influences that helped create the unique Corvidopolis style that blends a love of nature with a healthy heaping of weird.Chris' newest project is creating a full-color, 81-card mushroom-themed Tarot deck. The system of tarot is an ancient one that has seen many interpretations over the centuries. From the earliest cards passed along the Silk Road to the renowned Rider-Waite deck and more modern interpretations, the symbolism of the tarot has always found deep resonance with the many archetypes of human experience. Kingdom fungi also shows up symbolically throughout human history in art. We'll learn about this modern mycophile's journey of crafting his own understanding of the tarot system and the process of selecting fungal iconography that can invoke the same energies of the classic major and minor arcana. How does one find their own authentic path when crafting a new interpretation of a system that has such a revered and ancient history?Be sure to support the Mushroom Tarot Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/corvidopolis/the-mushroom-tarot-full-color-full-deckThanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour  (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano  Episode Resources  Corvidopolis Website: https://corvidopolis.com/Mushroom Tarot Website: https://mushroomtarot.com/Corvidopolis IG: https://www.instagram.com/corvidopolis/Mushroom Tarot IG: https://www.instagram.com/mushroomtarot/

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the wondrous opportunity to interview Leanne Townsend. Leanne is the founder of Wild Food Stories which sees her leading a variety of courses, workshops and events throughout the year in Aberdeenshire, and throughout Scotland.Let's travel to rural Scotland and hop from birch tree to birch tree finding beautiful golden chanterelles. We'll experience living and foraging in rural Scotland and then look more broadly at the wild food landscape across the UK. We'll also join the Association of Foragers and see the culture coalescing around wild foods. How is foraging culture viewed in the UK? What are the conversations surrounding forage culture and the opposing viewpoints?Leanne is also an academic professional leading research with the James Hutton Institute. This role sees her analyze many dynamics effecting rural communities, including wild food! One of her new paths of research has given her the opportunity to examine different viewpoints in and about the wild food community. She aims to produce academic research on different foraging subcultures and foraging practices present in the UK, beyond just their economic impact. What are some of the questions her research is looking at? How can this research on foraging bring people together around an appreciation for nature?Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour  (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano  Episode Resources  Wild Food Stories IG: https://www.instagram.com/wildfoodstory/  Wild Food Stories Website: https://www.wildfoodstories.co.uk/James Hutton Institute: https://www.hutton.ac.uk

Today on Mushroom Hour we chat with my good friend, talented artist and fellow mycophile Michael Campbell. Michael is a sculptural artist based in the San Francisco bay area whose work explores our connection to the mysterious fungi kingdom. Be sure to visit the links below for information on his upcoming shows!Join us as we enter the mind and studio of Michael Campell. Michael's fungi sculptures are colorful and mysterious, centering around mushrooms like amanita muscaria and psilocybe cubensis. We explore the inspiration for his evocative work and how he makes these incredibly realistic sculptures. Like branches of an oak tree, his body of work winds in different directions and the symbolism and inspiration for each is unique. From dome-worlds and teacup universes to mushroom-adorned Judeo-Christian statues, his genuine reverence for mushrooms shines through.  The deep dive is inevitable as we discuss the artist's relationship with psychedelic mushrooms. How has the psilocybin experience inspired his current body of artwork, and more broadly his relationship with nature? The connections mushrooms have with spirituality, religious myths and death are evident through history, usually with evidence passed down through artwork. Michael's own work is certainly a channel that makes manifest the very same symbolism and themes that mushrooms seem to evoke.Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour  (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano   Episode Resources  Michael Campbell IG: https://www.instagram.com/michaelcampbellart/  Corey Helford Gallery - Fantastical Beasts Show: https://www.coreyhelfordgallery.com/shows/fantastical-beasts/info-press/  Michael Campbell at Modern Eden: https://www.moderneden.com/collections/all/michael-campbell  (BOOK) John Allegro - The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross: https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276  (REF) Plaincourault Chapel - Amanita Fresco: http://www.herbmuseum.ca/content/fresco-plaincourault-possibly-depicting-fly-agaric

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of interviewing William Goss. William graduated with a B.S. in Plant Genetics from UC Davis, with a Fungal Biology and Ecology minor. He has taken a passion for mycology and turned it into an impressive and multifaceted career. In this interview, we focus on his efforts as an activist leader for the "Decriminalize California" organization. If you live in California, please see the links below to support Decriminalize CA and/or support their united effort to reform California's legislative process and defend citizen initiatives.Join us on a trip to the sunny shores of California on the front lines of psilocybin mushroom decriminalization. We'll dive deep into the statewide legislative initiative currently being championed by Decriminalize CA. William will help us define what decriminalization really means and the reasoning behind the idea that psilocybin mushrooms should be decriminalized. We'll walk through arguments against decriminalizing psychoactive substances while also exploring the repercussions of the current drug war and prohibition. We even touch on the current clinical research on psilocybin as a therapeutic and if those efforts are mutually exclusive from decriminalization.City councils of Santa Cruz and Oakland have passed resolutions that decriminalize various entheogenic plants and fungi - but are there still legal repercussions for possessing these substances? What is the importance and power of pursuing a statewide legislative initiative? How can the different decriminalize movements work together to achieve change?As our conversation continues, we actually uncover a huge roadblock for citizen participation in government. California requires that any citizen group who wants to have a new legislative initiative put up for vote, must gather signatures from their fellow citizens "in-person". It seems that our civic processes have not caught up to the digital age and in the era of COVID-19, this deficiency could severely hinder our rights as citizens to effect change within our state government. This interview is a great discussion of the modern movements surrounding psilocybin mushrooms and also an important call to action for every citizen to make sure we preserve our civil liberties and citizen initiatives. Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour  (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano   Episode Resources   Decriminalize CA IG: https://www.instagram.com/decrimcaDecriminalize CA Website: https://decrimca.org**Change.org to Legalize Digital Signatures for Citizen-Led Legislative Initiatives**: https://www.change.org/p/gavin-newsom-isigndigitally-stop-the-spread-of-covid-19-by-making-electronic-signatures-legal

Today on Mushroom Hour, we have the exciting opportunity to chat with Ashley Granter, ecological designer and co-founder of Natura Design. Let's hop into Ashley's mobile mycology lab and get out in the woods. We'll got foraging for mushrooms, but instead of edibles we'll be looking for specimens that show potential to be used as a myco-material. Mushrooms are like witches & wizards of the forest, spewing forth an incredible array of chemicals that give them amazing properties. What do we look for in mushrooms that might be useful as a material? How do the properties of a mushroom fruit body translate to its mycelium?We'll see how Natura's team uses mycelium to digest industrial waste streams and transform them into beautiful products. What are some of the practical applications of mycelium as a material - what can we make with it?! From consumer products to building materials to even far-out applications like circuitry, the possibilities seem endless. We wrap up with discussions of the future, including the importance of open source knowledge that allows more and more people to explore these exciting new fields of bio-design and bio-materials. Collaboration, creative thinking and not being afraid to try new things can lead to some amazing discoveries and expand the limits of what's possible.Thanks for listening and Mush Love!   Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour  (@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)  Music by: Ancient Baby   Art by: Wyn Di Stefano   Episode Resources   Natura Design IG: https://www.instagram.com/natura_studios/Natura Design: https://naturadesign.org/Biohm: https://www.biohm.co.uk/