Today we are honored by the presence of the legendary Dr. Dennis McKenna. Dr. McKenna has conducted research in ethnopharmacology for over 40 years.  He is a founding board member of the Heffter Research Institute, and was a key investigator on the Hoasca Project, the first biomedical investigation of ayahuasca.  He is the younger brother of Terence McKenna.  From 2000 to 2017, he taught courses on Ethnopharmacology and Plants in Human affairs as an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota. In 2018, Dr. McKenna conceived the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy to explore modern and traditional practices, ideas and technologies that foster the understanding of nature, consciousness, the cosmos and their interweavings with humanity. The Academy’s mission is to be a catalyst for the transformation of global consciousness, through educational experiences that interweave our collective intelligence, science, and ancestral wisdom.   TOPICS COVERED:   The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss   The Experiment at La Chorrera   Ethnopharmacology   Tryptophan, Tryptamines & 5HT2A ReceptorsPsychedelic Biochemistry   Messenger Molecules & Signal Transduction   Psychedelic CommunicationsNeural Gating & The Reality Hallucination   Future of Psychedelics in Modern, Western Culture   Psychedelics Sourced from South America – Short-Term Extraction, Long-Term Symbiosis?   Nature Wave Zero   Humans as an Endangered Species   Undiscovered Psychedelic Compounds   The McKenna Academy   EPISODE RESOURCES   McKenna Academy: https://mckenna.academy/   McKenna Academy IG: https://www.instagram.com/mckenna.academy/   "The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss": https://www.amazon.com/Brotherhood-Screaming-Abyss-Terence-McKenna/dp/0878396365   "Botanical Medicines: The Desk Reference for Major Herbal Supplements": https://typeset.io/papers/botanical-medicines-the-desk-reference-for-major-herbal-2df0ifn7xz   5-HT2A Receptors: https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/5-HT2A_receptor   ESPD55 Website: https://espd55.com/   Stephen Harrod Buhner: https://www.stephenharrodbuhner.com/books/   Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide: https://www.amazon.com/Psilocybin-Mushroom-Growers-Handbook-Enthusiasts-ebook/dp/B00BOE16V8   

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of interviewing Professor Jonathan Schilling from the University of Minnesota. Jonathan has been on the faculty at the University of Minnesota since 2006, and is currently a professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology in the College of Biological Sciences. In addition to teaching and researching all things fungal, he is the Director at the Itasca Biological Station & Laboratories in northwestern Minnesota. This field station for science is tucked into thirty-two thousand acres of old growth boreal forests within the second oldest State Park in the United States. The station also sits next to a lake, Lake Itasca, which is known as the headwaters of the Mississippi River. He assumed that position in 2018. Adding these duties to his job was, in his words, "a reflection of my deep connection and commitment to nature that was forged in the mountains of West Virginia as a kid, along the entirety of the Appalachian Trail as a young adult, and among family and friends in a Saint Paul neighborhood who have shown how important community is to conservation.   TOPICS COVERED:   Drawn into the Boreal Forest   Role of Fungi in Forest Acid Deposition   Basics of Wood-Rotting Saprobic Fungi   White Rot, Brown Rot & Soft Rot Fungi   Historical Contingency and Succession in Wood Rot   Fungi in the Carbon Cycle   Jonathan’s Lignin Uncertainty   Patterns in Distributions of Wood Rot Fungi   Pre-White Rot Fungi Coal Formation Hypothesis   Wood Rot 2 Step - Fungi Throwing Dynamite & Avoiding the Blowback   Itasca Research Station   Community Science & Assembling the A Team   Advice for Pursuing Studies in Mycology    Decomposition Builds Character   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Jonathan Schilling Academic Page: https://cbs.umn.edu/contacts/jonathan-schilling   Itasca Biological Research Station: https://cbs.umn.edu/itasca   PLOS ONE Research Article: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120679   Frontiers of Microbiology Research Article: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01646/full   Fomitopsis pinicola (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomitopsis_pinicola   Fomitopsis betulina (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomitopsis_betulina   

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the opportunity to speak with Maurizio Montalti. Maurizio Montalti is a designer, researcher, educator and entrepreneur. Working at the junction of design and biotech, he is one of the early pioneers committed to the study and development of wide-ranging mycelium-based technologies and products. Maurizio is Chief Mycelium Officer, Chairman, and co-Founder of SQIM, the (bio)technology company developing innovative processes and products by unravelling the potential of mycelium as key biofabrication agent and technology, for application and use across different industries, as fundamentally rooted in the valorisation of residual materials’ streams by means of microbial fermentation. As (bio-)technological holding, today SQIM serves its two verticals/brands: MOGU (biomaterials/products dedicated to interior design and architecture) and EPHEA (biomaterials/products dedicated to fashion, automotive, etc.). Maurizio’s work has been honoured with multiple awards, widely featured in the global media, and exhibited worldwide in prestigious musea, galleries, and institutions, including Museum of Modern Art (New York), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Design Museum (London), Triennale (Milano), MAXXI (Rome), and MAK- Museum of Applied Arts (Vienna), among others.   TOPICS COVERED:   Into the Spiraling Vortex of Mycelium   From Degradation of Waste to Regenerative Materials   Mogu Acoustic Collection   Selecting Fungal Species & Strains as Materials   Standardizing Unpredictable Myco-Materials   Can Organisms Retain Agency when Enlisted to Human Scientific and Economic Endeavour?   Wild Genetic Variation within Fungal Species   Fungal Strains SQIM Collaborates With   Becoming Fluent in the Language of Fungi    Living Buildings & Autonomous Biowelding   “Ephea” Leather and Fabric Product Lines   Scaling SQIM & Modular Mycelium Production   Circular Production Processes, Seeing Waste as a Resource   Fungi in Space   EPISODE RESOURCES:   SQIM Website: https://www.sqim.bio/   Mogu Website: https://mogu.bio/   Mogu IG: https://www.instagram.com/mogumycelium/   Fungal Architecture Project: https://www.fungar.eu/   Officina Corpuscoli: https://www.corpuscoli.com/   Schizophyllum commune (AKA Split Gill Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophyllum_commune   "Braiding Sweetgrass": https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass   "Designs for the Pluroverse": https://www.dukeupress.edu/designs-for-the-pluriverse   "Mushroom at the End of the World": https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691220550/the-mushroom-at-the-end-of-the-world   

Today we are joined by the magnanimous and adventurous Jules Amanita. Jules is a self-taught amateur mycologist with a passion for demystifying fungi and combatting mycophobia. They are a 26-year-old avid mushroom photographer, artist, and chef who identifies as queer/nonbinary. Living at Twin Oaks Community, an egalitarian commune in central Virginia they live an outdoorsy, DIY lifestyle that is highly aligned with values of social justice and sustainability. Jules creates pictorial, text-based, animated, video, musical, and interactive content aimed at educating the public about mushrooms. Common themes include identification, field guide literacy, conservation, cultural history, accessible science, cooking, and general appreciation of fungi. They also lead virtual and in-person workshops on mushroom identification, as well as teaching a weekly Forest School to a group of children between the ages of 2 and 10. I’m excited to learn more from someone who unabashedly celebrates fungi in their myriad forms!   TOPICS COVERED:   Shaggy Manes, Indigo Milkcaps    Autodidactic Mycology Journey    Foraging Resources   Finding & Cultivating Foraging Community   Online Foraging CultureFungi as Non-Binary, Mycology as a Queer Discipline   Redefining Human Narratives    Twin Oaks Egalitarian Community   Realities of Starting and Running a Commune     Chores, Income & Relationship Dynamics in Communes   How Communes Interact with Broader Social Ecologies100+ Species of Mushrooms Eaten?!   Life Narrative Entwined in Mycology    EMDR & Foraging as Trauma Therapy   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Jules Amanita Website: https://www.mushroomqueer.com/   Jules' IG: https://www.instagram.com/jules.amanita/   Jules' Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jules.amanita?lang=en   Mushroom Expert: https://mushroomexpert.com/   The Bolete Filter: https://boletes.wpamushroomclub.org/    Federation of Egalitarian Communities: https://www.thefec.org/   Twin Oaks Intentional Community: https://www.twinoaks.org/   Lactifluus Genus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactifluus   Lactifluus volemus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactifluus_volemus   Lactifluus hygrophoroides: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactifluus_hygrophoroides   Lactifluus corrugis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactifluus_corrugis   Leotia lubrica (Jelly baby): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leotia_lubrica   Exsudoporus frostii (Frost's bolete): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exsudoporus_frostii   

Prof. Toby Kiers, an evolutionary biology professor, discusses the evolution of symbiotic trade and the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks. Topics include fungal networks, mutualism without altruism, biological market theory, and understanding the stock market through fungal market economies.

Today on Mushroom Hour we are graced by the presence of woodland spirit Fergus Drennan aka Fergus The Forager. Fergus has been gathering and learning about wild plants, seaweeds, and fungi for over 40 years. His journey begun on Wimbledon Common, aged 3 years, collecting dandelions for the family’s pet tortoise. Since those early days, and through much creative and experimental exploration he has continued his foraging practice, not only as a means to understand and to discover the practical relevance that foraging has in the modern developed world, but also in terms of what it means to be an environmentally conscious human in relation to the natural world. “Can foraging ever be considered a truly sustainable practice, and if so how?”, is a question that always orchestrates his foraging activity. So too does a pursuit of foraging’s playful and creative possibilities. Truth be told, Fergus just loves being outside, admiring nature as part of nature, living in touch with her reassuring seasonal cycles, awake to her sensuality, her surprises, opportunities, and endless gifts, in pursuit of the good life.   TOPICS COVERED:   Trips with Mom to Wimbledon Common   Tortoise Teacher, I Spy Insects   Play, Creativity and Foraging    Brambles, Pine Pollen & Jelly Ears   Foraging “Nose to Tail”   Foraging as a Subversive Act   Life Stacking   Avoiding Neurosis & Being Saved by Others   Reciprocal Dialogue with the Natural World   Developing a Relationship with Local Open Space   Complicity in Industrial Systems   Amanita muscaria Workshops   Amanita muscaria as Food & Medicine   Foraged Books & Making Paper from Mushrooms    EPISODE RESOURCES:   Fergus the Forager Website: https://fergustheforager.co.uk/ Fergus IG: https://www.instagram.com/fergustheforager/ Pine pollen: https://nutrawiki.org/pine-pollen/ Auricularia auricula-judae (AKA Jelly Ear): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricularia_auricula-judae Plantago major: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major Pascal Baudar: https://www.urbanoutdoorskills.com/ Fergus Henderson (author): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Whole_Beast  Jason Hickel (author): https://www.jasonhickel.org/  Katy Bowman: https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/  Fomitopsis betulina (AKA Birch Polypore): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomitopsis_betulina  David Arora article on Amanita muscaria: https://williamrubel.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/rubel_arora_muscaria_economic_botany3.pdf&#8221  Merck Index: https://www.rsc.org/merck-index  Phallus impudicus (AKA Stinkhorn): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallus_impudicus  

Today on Mushroom Hour we the privilege to get to know mushroom cultivation artist Kiat. Kiat is the founder of Bewilder, a Mycological Design Studio based in Singapore. As the one-man R&D team behind this project, Kiat knows his science! For him, growing mushrooms is an intense and carefully tuned process that also blends in a fair bit of artistry and intuition. Before founding Bewilder, Kiat worked on a local farm cultivating mushrooms out of waste substrates. These years of experience and experimentation formed him into the self-taught mushroom cultivator he is today. As he explores ever more mysteries of growing fungi, he continues to bow his head humbly to the ways of nature.   TOPICS COVERED:Childhood Love of Nature Becomes a Mushroom Addiction   Mycophobia and “Success Culture” in Singapore   Showing What's Possible, Asking Questions    Mushrooms as a Tool for Doing Good   Founding Bewilder Design Studio   Communities vs Competition in Myco-Entrepreneurship   Myco-Composite Materials   Government Control and Separation from Nature     Seeking Out Native Strains for Food & Mycomaterials   Mycelium Lampshades   Being Humble, Recognizing Our Place in Nature   Relinquishing Control, Reconnecting to Greater Consciousness   Importance of Making Mistakes   Bewilder Commercial Projects and Research Areas   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Bewilder SG Website: https://www.bewildersg.com/   Bewilder IG: https://www.instagram.com/bewildersg/   Terrestrial Fungi (Inspiration): https://www.instagram.com/bewildersg/   Ganoderma weberianum (fungus): https://www.mycobank.org/page/Name%20details%20page/name/Ganoderma%20weberianum   Filoboletus manipularis (fungus): https://singapore.biodiversity.online/species/F-Basidomycota-000035   Mycena chlorophos (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycena_chlorophos   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are graced by the presence of mycologist and musician Andy Overall. Andy has had a fascinating journey from the Blue Zoo and pop stardom back through the hedges and woodlands when he became interested in mushrooms back in the early 1990’s. He realized he needed something else, another interest other than his involvement with music. Growing up as a boy during the 60’s in the English, market town countryside, of Braintree, Essex he nurtured an interest in nature…And then along came David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and everything changed course for a while! Later in life his rekindled interest in fungi evolved into obsession as he began to see an infinite variety of fungal species appearing before him and he wanted to get to know them all. Since his obsession began, Andy has published magazines, countless articles and in 2017 his first book all about fungi -  “FUNGI-Mushrooms & Toadstools of Parks, Gardens, Heaths and Woodlands”. He is the fungi recorder for the London Natural History Society and a Group Leader in the London Fungus Group. I’m excited to learn about the mycological journey of a culture creator, artist and naturalist and his explorations into what he so poetically dubs, “the jewels in nature’s crown”   TOPICS COVERED:   From Wilderness to Ziggy Stardust   Birth of Blue Zoo   Shifting from Pop Stardom to Mycology   Evolution of the Amateur Mycology Community   Professional Surveying for Fungi    Insights from Biodiversity Databases   Making Better Decisions About Forest Management   Role of DNA in Fungal Surveys   Heathrow Airport Cortinarius    Contributions of Amateur Naturalists   Tips to Making Better Observations   Process of Mushroom Spotting & Identification    Ethnomycology Travels in Oaxaca, Czech Republic, Australia   Published and Unpublished Works of Gaston Guzman   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Andy Overall Website: http://www.fungitobewith.org/   London Fungi Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/LondonFungusNetwork/   British Mycological Society: https://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/   Blue Zoo Website: http://www.bluezoo.org.uk/   Roger Phillips (Legend): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Phillips_(photographer)   Marcel Bon (Mycologist): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Bon   Mark Spencer (Botanist): https://markspencerbotanist.com/   GIGL: https://www.gigl.org.uk/londons-open-spaces/   Cortinarius heatherae (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortinarius_heatherae   Laetiporus sulphureus (AKA Chicken of the Woods): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laetiporus_sulphureus

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of being joined by Dr. Kevin Boyce, Professor of Geological Sciences at Stanford University. Dr. Boyce's research is focused on the biological and environmental impacts of the evolution of plant structure, development, and physiology from the Paleozoic colonization of land through the subsequent radiations of land plant forms up to and including the Cretaceous radiation of flowering plants. This work involves both living and fossil plants and a wide variety of approaches: developmental and physiological investigation, climate modeling, comparative study of morphological diversity, and cell and tissue-specific analysis of elemental, isotopic, and organic chemistry. These tools have been applied to three connected areas of research that each inform wider questions concerning the evolution of terrestrial environments: 1. the evolution of leaf morphology, development, and physiology with feedbacks to climate and primary productivity, 2. the evolution of cell wall biochemistry and its influence on organic matter burial as a sink in the carbon cycle, and 3. the establishment of early terrestrial life and ecosystems encompassing the complete biota including animals, fungi, and microbial communities in addition to the plants. I’m excited to learn about the coevolution of plants and fungi, prototaxites and how we learn about organismal evolution and community assembly from the ancient past.    TOPICS COVERED:   The Path into PaleontologyGeobiology & Defining Geological Eras   Fungal & Plant Fossil Records   Absolute Time & Relative Time   Evolution of Plant Physiology   Coevolution of Plants, Bacteria, Fungi and Animals   Stochastic "Rules" of Community Assembly   Geochemistry   Genetic Tools and Phylogeny Changing Paleontology   Prototaxites   Biochemical Signatures of Heretrophs and Autotrophs   Piecing Together a Paleozoic Landscape    Lifestyle, Physiology and Growth Rate of Prototaxites   Future Work into the Cenozoic   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Dr. Kevin Boyce Academic Website: https://biology.stanford.edu/people/kevin-boyce   Dr. Boyce Paper on Prototaxites: https://awarticles.s3.amazonaws.com/Boyce2007.pdf   Prototaxites: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prototaxites   Geologic Time Scale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale   "Wonderful Life" by Stephen Gould: https://wwnorton.com/books/Wonderful-Life/   Lycopodium (clubmoss genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycopodium   "Stinkhorn" Mushrooms: https://www.mushroomexpert.com/stinkhorns.html   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are graced by the presence of one of my favorite biophiliacs and artists -Jon Ching. Jon grew up steeped in natural beauty on the island of O’ahu, Hawai’i, which formed the foundation of his deep fascination with the natural and wild world.  A self-taught painter, Jon’s devoted art practice and detailed realism is inspired by the interconnectedness of nature.  While dedicated to the minute idiosyncrasies of flora and fauna, Jon’s work is a surreal imagining of what limitless wonders and combinations nature can produce.  New creatures and symbioses emerge in his meticulously rendered oil paintings, exemplifying the endless potential of life on Earth.  His work is often driven by his personal desire to find balance between the human and natural worlds, exploring themes of symbiosis and searching for connections, physical and metaphorical, across nature’s kingdoms. Highlighting man-made threats to the natural world are a regular theme in his work to raise awareness of and evoke compassion for the kingdoms of life. Jon’s ultimate hope is to inspire love and admiration for the universally unique beauty and intrigue of our world.   TOPICS COVERED:   Childhood in Hawaii as Inspiration   Unlocking Biological Imagination   Powers of Observation   Impact of Becoming a Father   Slowing Down   Communicating Ecological Messages Through Artwork   Fungi Finding Their Way onto the Canvas   Navigating the Professional Art World   Gallery Shows   Materials, Process and Timeline of Creating Paintings    From Paintings to Murals   Future Projects   WTF NFTs   Finding Equilibrium with Natural Systems   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Jon Ching Website: https://jonchingart.com/   Jon Ching IG: https://www.instagram.com/jonchingart/   Jon Ching FB: https://www.facebook.com/JonChingArt   Jon Ching @ Beinart Gallery: https://beinart.org/collections/jon-ching   Hericium erinaceus (AKA Lions Mane): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hericium_erinaceus