Today on Mushroom Hour we are excited to interview mushroom cultivation artist Sam Shoemaker. Sam is an interdisciplinary artist and mycologist based in Los Angeles, California. Sam's recent artistic work stems from an ongoing collaboration with rare, native, and medicinal fungi. After receiving his MFA from Yale University in 2020, Sam founded the urban mushroom farm Myco Myco from his underground laboratory in Los Angeles. His obsession with mushrooms led Sam to some unconventional cultivation projects. These projects produced interesting results which led him to ask questions about how mushrooms can be used and when nobody seemed to be able to answer his questions he just kept going - doing more experiments, taking the science as far as he could, and trying things for himself. Approaching mycology through the lens of an artist, Sam explores the tremendous amount of creative opportunity surrounding mycology right now. His aim is simple and beautiful: making mycology accessible to all and encouraging people to embrace the unknowable!    TOPICS COVERED:   Grandma's Artistic Influence   An Obsession with Mushrooms is Born   Mushrooms and Modern Art   Replacing Single-Use Plastics in Cultivation   Mushroom Chia Pets   Blending Boundaries of Art and Science   Public Reception to Sam’s Artwork   Practicality of Substrates from Waste Streams   Myco Myco Mushroom Farm   Advice for Making Mushroom Cultivation into a Living   Changes in Mycophile Culture as Mushrooms Go Mainstream   Future of Mushroom Cultivation   Leading with Reciprocity   Future Educational Projects   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Sam Shoemaker Website: https://www.samkshoemaker.com/   Sam Shoemaker IG: https://www.instagram.com/samkshoemaker/   Myco Myco Farm Website: https://mycomyco.farm/   Myco Myco Farm IG: https://www.instagram.com/mycomycofarm/   Candace Lin: http://ghebaly.com/work/candicelin/   Ganoderma (genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganoderma   Fomitopsis (genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomitopsis   Marasmius plicatulus (species): https://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Marasmius_plicatulus.html   

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the distinct pleasure of being joined by Professor Tadashi Fukami – head of Stanford University’s Fukami Lab. Professor Fukami is an expert on community ecology and along with supporting his students and lab members, his primary interest is to understand historical contingency in community assembly. He is broadly interested in how species interact with one another in ecosystems and enjoys working with other lab members on the variety of projects that they bring to the lab. He earned his PhD at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with Jim Drake and Dan Simberloff. He was then a postdoctoral fellow at Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research in New Zealand and Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa before joining the Stanford faculty in 2008. He sheds light on how communities assemble, even at microbe-sized ecologies, and has revealed amazing insights about fungal ecologies and interactions with other organisms that many of us have never even heard of.   TOPICS COVERED:   Embracing Nature Outside Tokyo   Coming to America   Fundamentals of Community Assembly   Historical Contingency in Community Assembly   Isolating Ecological Islands   Microbial Community Ecology   Rules of Community Assembly?   Understanding Community Assembly in Restoring Ecosystems   Flowers, Fallen Logs and the Human Body as Ecological Communities   Yeast Fungi Living in Flower Nectar   Monkeyflower Nectar Biome   Plant Pollinator Mutualistic Interactions   Applied Agricultural Uses of Understanding Nectar Microbiome   Metacommunities   EPISODE RESOURCES:    Prof Tadashi Fukami Staff Page: https://profiles.stanford.edu/tadashi-fukami    Fukami Lab Website: https://web.stanford.edu/~fukamit/   Prof. Tad Fukami Research: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tadashi-Fukami    Prof. James Drake Research: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/James-A-Drake-2044716847   

Today we are blessed by the presence of Ali McKernan, a self-professed Mycophile who is also known as 'The Fungi Guy' on Instagram and Youtube. Ali is a mushroom educator who uses humor and enthusiasm to get the message of the mushrooms to the masses. He was a member of the Education and Outreach Committee for the British Mycological Society and has helped to organize and promote UK Fungus Day among other outreach programs. Alongside his work with organizations like BMS, Ali makes “daft” Youtube and Instagram videos showcasing his fungal finds and organizes Fungi ID walks in his local area. I’m excited to learn how Ali became the Fungi guy and what it means to him to share his love of mushrooms.   TOPICS COVERED:   Foraging Tutelage from Jesper Launder   Role as an Educator Supporting Emotional Needs of Children   UK Fungus Day   British Mycological Society   Navigating Social Media   Choosing Joy   Fungi & Wellbeing   Fungi a Lifelong Passion   Five Threads of Wellbeing   Accessibility of Fungi   Mushrooms in Urban Edgelands & Green Spaces   Advice to Share a Love of Fungi with Kids   Annual Stinkhorn Race   UK Myco Heroes   EPISODE RESOURCES:   The Fungi Guy IG: https://www.instagram.com/the.fungi.guy/   The Fungi Guy YT: https://www.youtube.com/c/theFUNgiguy   British Mycological Society: https://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/   North West Fungus Group: https://northwestfungusgroup.com/    UK Fungus Day: https://www.ukfungusday.co.uk/   Jesper Launder: http://www.jesperlaunder.com/   Geoffrey Kibby: https://www.mykoweb.eu/catalog/geoffrey-kibby   Roger Phillips: https://rogersmushrooms.com/   Liz Holden: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Liz-Holden-2021164358   Prof. Lynne Boddy: https://fungalecologycardiff.com/the-team/professor-lynne-boddy/   Andy Overall: http://www.fungitobewith.org/   Brian Douglas: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Douglas   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are blessed to be joined by Dr. Mazen Rizk, one of the founders of Mushlabs. Dr. Rizk is originally from Lebanon but completed his PhD in Hamburg, Germany. He began developing the concept for his food technology company, Mushlabs, at the Technical University lab but has since expanded and now is gearing up to launch the company’s first product. Mushlabs is a team of 40 people from 18 different countries with the shared goal of building a better food system with the help of fungi and fermentation. Their first product concept is created through an incredible fermentation transformation of mycelium. This creates a food product that is truly novel because unlike other companies using a mold strain of fungus, their chosen mycelium is from a strain of mushroom that produces edible fruiting bodies. The potential for this technology to bring reliable, sustainable food to countries effected by war and climate change is quite motivating on a personal level for Dr. Rizk and I think is a potent example of how mushrooms can help us save the world!    TOPICS COVERED:    Growing Up in Lebanon   To Hamburg in Pursuit of Solutions Through Biotechnology   Fundamental Change in Food Systems   Fungi & Fermentation   Effect of Prebiotic Fibers on Human Health   Selecting a Strain of Edible Mushroom Mycelium for Making Products   Systematic Approach to Selecting Growth Parameters   Using Agricultural “Sidestreams” as Inputs for Mycelium Cultivation   Creating Circular Food Systems   Scaling Mushlabs’ Mycelium Production   Partnering with Major Food Producers    What is Mushlabs’ Fermentation Process?   Critical Importance of Finding a Diverse Team   Beyond Burgers – Worldwide Mycelium-based Cultural Foods   EPISODE RESOURCES:Mushlabs Website: https://www.mushlabs.com/   Mushlabs IG: https://www.instagram.com/mushlabs/   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are blessed to be joined by Shane Norte.  Shane is enrolled in the Morongo Band of Indians - a Billion Dollar Tribe in Southern California. He is the founder and spiritual leader of the Church Of The People For Creator and Mother Earth and a Board Member of Decrimalize Nature National. Shane has also worked extensively helping tribes fight against corporations destroying Native Lands. Currently, Shane's church has one grounds on his lands on the la Jolla Indian Reservation. The church's mission is to help those seeking to better their spiritual knowledge and overall knowledge about being a better Indigenous person and human being here on Earth. I am excited to learn more about his psychedelic ceremonies from an authentic indigenous perspective, and how he performs these ceremonies in natural settings.   TOPICS COVERED:    Navigating Modernity as an Indigenous Person   Indigenous vs. Christian Funeral Rites   Finding Creator Mother Earth, Entering The Wamkish   Founding "Church of People for Creator Mother Earth"   Examples of How Church and State Repressed the Indigenous   Reclaiming Pride in Indigenous Culture and Spirituality   European Influence Destroying Natural Systems   Peoples’ Ancestral Connection to Land – Whose DNA is Encoded with how to Live Here ?   Refocusing Native Movements Away from the Western European Economic Apparatus   Psilocybin Macrodose Therapy   Psychedelic Therapy in Synthetic vs Natural Environments   Authentic Voices for Sacredness in Psychedelic Ceremony     What are Shane’s Ceremonies Like?   Breaking Free from Militarism & Political Propaganda   EPISODE RESOURCES:   COTPFCME Website: https://churchofthepeopleforcreatorandmotherearth.com/   Decriminalize Nature: https://www.decriminalizenature.org/

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are joined by Maria Finn, founder of Flora and Fungi wild foods. Maria Finn is an author, journalist, chef and multi-sensory storyteller. She spent many years pursuing obsessions, like tango dancing and surfing by working on fishing boats in Alaska. Prior to COVID lockdown, she was chef-in-residence for Stochastic Labs, a residency for artists, scientists and tech innovators in Berkeley. During the pandemic she launched Flora and Fungi Wild Food Adventures where she teaches people how to hunt for porcinis, chanterelles, seaweed and other wild foods. She has published widely, including essays, articles, and books, some of which have been optioned for television, inducing visions of grandeur that have not yet come to fruition. She was an ocean faring cat lady living on a houseboat in Sausalito with her two tabby cats and native oyster garden. During COVID lockdown, she adopted a truffle puppy and has since spent many hours is in the woods training her to find these buried gems along with other edible fungi; she has spent subsequent hours searching her dog and self for ticks. She is working on a book about truffles around their world – their role in forest ecosystems and our co-evolution with them!   TOPICS COVERED:   Writing, Food and the Ocean Collide   Listening to Nature & Understanding Cycles   Learning from the Yupik Peoples   Magic of Cooking Wild Food Around a Campfire   Becoming a Wild Food Educator   Discovering the Magic of Truffles   Falling in Love with Lagotto Ramagnolo   Learning to Tango with Your Truffle Dog    Mentors in Mushroom & Truffle Hunting   Coevolution of Truffles & Humans   Human Bodies as Fractals of our Planet   Truffle Renaissance   Democratization of Pleasure   Developing New Value Systems   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Maria Finn Website: http://www.mariafinn.com/   Flora & Fungi Adventures: https://www.floraandfungiadventures.com/   Maria Finn IG: https://www.instagram.com/maria_finn1/   Yupik peoples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yupik_peoples   Mycological Society of Marin: https://www.mycomarin.org/   Lagotto Romagnolo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagotto_Romagnolo   The Truffle Dog Company: https://truffledogcompany.com/   "Scent and the Scenting Dog" (Book): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/862416.Scent_and_the_Scenting_Dog   Tuber lyonii (Truffle): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecan_truffle   Craterellus cornucopioides (Fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craterellus_cornucopioides

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by illustrious lichen expert Matthew Nelsen PhD. Matthew is a Research Scientist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Matt's research began in botany, ecology and environmental science and has more recently gravitated towards: (i) the evolution of symbiotic associations; and (ii) the evolution of eukaryotic microbes (fungi and algae), and the roles they have played in shaping terrestrial ecosystems and nutrient-cycling over geologic timescales. Both avenues of his research attempt to link diverse fields and organismal groups. He also has conducted work addressing the timing and evolutionary consequences of ant-plant interactions. Matt thank you so much for joining us on the Mushroom Hour!    TOPICS COVERED:    Fungus & Algae Species Forming Lichen Partnerships    Host Specificity in Lichen Partnerships    Evolutionary History of Lichen    Vascular Plants on Land Before Lichen?!    Challenges of Working on “Big Time”    Process of Lichen Formation, Fungal Phenotypes    Lichen Blurring Species Boundaries    Cleptobiosis    Role in Carbon & Nitrogen Cycles    Lichen as an Ecosystem    Lichen & Air Quality in an Environment    Lichenometry   Analysis of Fungal Coal Formation Hypothesis    Ant Plant Interactions   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Matthew Nelsen Website: https://mpnelsen.com/   Lichen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichen   Xanthoria parietina (Lichen): https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Xanthoria_parietina   Trebouxia (Lichen Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebouxia   Toby Spribille (Lichen Expert): https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vPlIL5IAAAAJ&hl=en   Betsy Arnold (Endophyte Expert): http://www.arnoldlab.net/   Article on Fungal Coal Formation Hypothesis: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1517943113  Arthrobotrys (Fungal Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthrobotrys   Mycoparasites: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/mycoparasites   

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the honor of being joined by Jacob Alvarez. Jacob is an amateur mycologist focusing on dialing in cultivation methods for Fistulina hepatica, the beefsteak fungus. He started the “Beefsteak culture collection project” last year and has been collecting samples of the mushroom since early 2019.  In May 2020 he made a significant breakthrough and successfully cultivated the first ever photo documented Beefsteak mushroom grow on a hardwood bag in the USA. He is based out Southern New Jersey where he owns & operates his farm Garden State Mushrooms. At the farm, he grows a wide variety of different gourmet mushrooms and continues his research figuring out better beefsteak cultivation methods. Beefsteak mushrooms are an intriguing mushroom that can be eaten raw, resemble meat in appearance and even bleed. The cultivation of the beefsteak mushroom can add some tremendous value to the mushroom market for small mushroom farms and he passionately believes the time to grow this mushroom is now! I’m excited to hear insights as to how to cultivate this mushroom and maybe be inspired to never give up on ideas even when things go very, very wrong.    TOPICS COVERED:    Discovering Wild Mushrooms and Introduction to Fistulina hepatica   Fistulina Fundamentals  Finding the Best Beefsteak Strain for Commercial Cultivation    2020 Beefsteak Culture Challenge   Genetics and Process Over Substrate in Beefsteak Cultivation   Process of Collecting Wild Tissue Cultures   Extreme Photosensitivity of Beefsteak Mushrooms   Growth of Project and R&D Scaling   Economic Importance of Beefsteak Mushrooms for Small Farmers   Betting the Future of Garden State Mycology on Beefsteak   Juggling Research, Business, Fatherhood   Advice for Entering the World of Mushroom Farming   Creating Jerky, Sushi and More with Beefsteak Mushrooms    Open-Source Innovation   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Garden State Mycology Website: https://gardenstatemushrooms.com/   Garden State Mycology IG: https://www.instagram.com/gardenstatemushrooms/   Jacob Alvarez IG: https://www.instagram.com/hacob_/   Fistulina hepatica (AKA Beefsteak Mushroom): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/fistulina_hepatica.html   Myco-Operative Twin Cities: https://www.facebook.com/MycoOpTwinCities/    Mycopolitan: https://www.mycopolitan.com/   Pleurotus eryngii  (AKA King Oyster Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurotus_eryngii   Lanmaoa pallidorosea (AKA Bullion Bolete): https://boletes.wpamushroomclub.org/product/boletus-pallidoroseus/   

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of speaking with Mark Williams, founder of Galloway Wild Foods. Through his work in the wilds of Scotland, Mark hopes to share his passion for foraging and the delicious and nutritious food that we all can gather for free in the wild. In so doing, Mark’s goal is to restore vital connection between humans and nature, increasing our intimacy with the natural world in ways that are beneficial our own physical and mental wellbeing, and the health of the ecosystems of which we are part. He teaches about the full range and depth of wild food and foraging including plants, fungi, seaweed, and shellfish. These practices take Mark across a diverse range of habitats – from high mountains, through forests, hedgerows, urban settings and down to the coast. He covers all areas of foraging including traditional and modern food uses, health and nutrition, traditional and modern medicinal uses, survival and bushcraft, wild booze and lots more.   TOPICS COVERED:   Childhood Spent in Nature   Discovering Provenance, Wild Food & Foraging Working as a Chef   Scotland as a Mushroom Habitat   Foraging Traditions in Scotland   Diversity & Abundance in Coastal Foraging   Nutritional & Medicinal Value of Seaweeds   Cyber-foraging & Impressions on Social Media   Edible Conifers   Botanical Cocktails   Medicinal Mushrooms & Plants   Evolution of Foraging Mentorship   The Association of Foragers   Wild Food Accreditation Systems   Adding Mushrooms to School Curriculums   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Galloway Wild Foods Website: https://gallowaywildfoods.com/   Mark Williams Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markwildfood/   Association of Foragers: https://foragers-association.org/   "A Passion for Mushrooms" (Book): https://antoniocarlucciofoundation.org/book/a-passion-for-mushrooms/   Sea Orache: https://gallowaywildfoods.com/orache-identification-edibility-distribution/   Palmaria palmata (Dulse Seaweed): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmaria_palmata   Nori Seaweed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nori   Grifola frondosa (Hen of the Woods): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grifola_frondosa   Hymenochaete corrugata (Hazel Glue): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenochaete_corrugata   Hypocreopsis rhododendri (Hazel Gloves): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocreopsis_rhododendri   

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are joined by David Breslauer, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Bolt Threads. Bolt Threads is a company on a mission to create way better materials for a way better world, developing sustainable solutions for the apparel and beauty industries. With nature as inspiration, Bolt Threads invents and scales credible materials that put us on a path towards a more sustainable future. Bolt Threads is based in Emeryville, Calif. and was a Fast Company Most Innovative company in 2019 and 2018. David leads technology innovation at Bolt, creating and incubating biomaterials for improved consumer products. His obsession with biomaterials began with graduate research on silk during his Bioengineering PhD at UC Berkeley and UCSF. David has an orange belt in Krav Maga and is a great admirer of stencil graffiti. I’m excited to hear from him about all the future of sustainable materials and how Mylo™ – their mycelium material line, will play a leading role.   TOPICS COVERED:   Microfluidics & Bio-inspiration   Biomaterials Past, Present and Future   Decision to Create Sustainable Consumer Goods   Synchronistic Connections Researching Spider Silk   Founding Bolt Threads   In Search of Leather, Turning to Mycelium   Learning to Work with Mycelium as a Material   How to Transform Mycelium into Leather-like MaterialProperties of Mycelium as a Leather Material   Scaling Production of Mycelium Leather   Reaction from Product Developers and Fashion Houses   Future Uses of Mycelium and other Biomaterials   Advice for Working in the Field of Biomaterials   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Bolt Threads Website: https://boltthreads.com/   Mylo Unleather Website: https://www.mylo-unleather.com/   Bolt Threads IG: https://www.instagram.com/boltthreads/   Mylo Unleather IG: https://www.instagram.com/mylo_unleather/