The Mushroom Hour Podcast

Today on the Mushroom Hour we are honored to be joined by Dr. Andrew Wilson - Assistant Curator of Mycology in the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi at Denver Botanic Gardens. For Dr. Wilson the discovery of mycology began back in the late 90’s at San Francisco State University in taking classes from world renown mushroom taxonomist, Dr. Dennis Desjardin. Working with Dennis, Andrew earned a Masters degree studying the mushroom genus Gymnopus from Java and Bali. He later went on to earn a PhD in the lab of Dr. David Hibbett at Clark University. His project took him back to Southeast Asia, this time to study the ecology and evolution enigmatic puffball genus Calostoma and their relatives. In 2009, Andrew graduated and began a postdoc with Dr. Gregory Mueller at the Chicago Botanic Garden where he explored the systematic evolution of the Cantharellales and the model ectomycorrhizal mushroom genus Laccaria. He also did a one-year postdoc at Purdue University, in the lab of Dr. Cathie Aime, teasing apart the complex evolution of plant pathogenic rust fungi. At Denver Botanic Gardens, Dr. Wilson is working on a regional contribution to the Fungal Diversity Survey (FunDiS) that encompasses the state of Colorado, with a focus on the Southern Rockies. In this effort he is training students on how to study biodiversity using natural history collection and DNA sequence analysis. He is also working on new tools in DNA sequencing to better sample and study fungal diversity.   TOPICS COVERED:   Formed in a Family of Biologists   Intellectual Explorations at San Francisco State University   Genus Gymnopus   Expeditions to Southeast Asia   What are Systematics?   Genus Calostoma   Role of Isotopes in Understanding Fungal Ecologies   Biogeographic Histories of Fungi   Interpreting Ancestry and Evolution in Phylogenetic Data    Gondwana Supercontinent   Finding a Living, Ancient Ancestor on the Lacarria Family Tree    Denver Botanic Gardens & Sam Mitchell Fungi Herbarium   New Methods of High-Throughput DNA Sequencing    Biodiversity & Evolutionary History of Southern Rocky Mountain Fungi   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Dr. Andrew Wilson - Denver Botanic Gardens: https://www.botanicgardens.org/team/profile/andrew-w-wilson-phd   Dr. Dennis Desjardin (Mentor): https://biology.sfsu.edu/faculty/desjardin   Dr. David Hibbet (Mentor): https://www2.clarku.edu/faculty/facultybio.cfm?id=355   Gymnopus (Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnopus   Calostoma (Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calostoma   Laccaria (Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laccaria   Calostoma cinnabarinum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calostoma_cinnabarinum   Colorado Mycological Society: https://cmsweb.org/   Colorado Mycoflora Project: https://coloradomycoflora.org/   

**Support the Kickstarter and be part of the sea change in understanding soil health!**    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattpowers/regenerative-soil-microscopy-the-book-courses-and-database   (Campaign ends 7/17/22)   Today on Mushroom Hour we're grace by the presence of Matt Powers (M.Ed) - author, educator, citizen scientist, entrepreneur, and family guy who teaches people all over the world how to live more regeneratively. Personally driven by a deep desire to have the best food possible for his wife and cancer-survivor, Adriana, and their two boys. Matt, a former public high school teacher with a Masters degree in Education, is creator of over a dozen online courses and author of over 20 books on permaculture and regenerative soil science - The Permaculture Student series and the Regenerative Soil Trilogy are just a couple examples. Matt is also the host of A Regenerative Future, the podcast and Youtube show, where he interviews leaders in the regenerative space and shares his own work and insights. I'm excited to learn all about the soil ecosystem, regenerative soil microscopy and more!TOPICS COVERED:   Searching for Health in the Soil   Horizontal Gene Transfer in Soil Microbes   Hallmarks of Soil Health   Importance of Bacterial & Fungal Endophytes   Critical Role of E. Coli in Soil Ecosystems   Rhizophagy   Microbes Shaped by and Shaping Their Surrounding Ecology   Developing an Open-Source Soil Health Database   Organic Matter in Soil and Nutrient Density in Plants   Advantages of Farms and Producers Sharing Markers of Soil Health   Process of Performing Soil Microscopy   Dark Field and Epifluorescence   Regenerative Soil Microscopy Kickstarter   Community-Based Tools, Knowledge and Solutions    Power Found in Understanding Soil   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Regenerative Soil Microscopy Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattpowers/regenerative-soil-microscopy-the-book-courses-and-database   Matt Powers Website: https://www.thepermaculturestudent.com/   Bill Mollison: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Mollison   Dr. James F. White: https://plantbiology.rutgers.edu/faculty/white/James-White.html   Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yeast fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomyces_cerevisiae   Purple Sulfur Bacteria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_sulfur_bacteria   Bionutrient Meter: https://bionutrient.net/site/bionutrient-meter   Zach Bush: https://zachbushmd.com/   Arbuscular mycorrhiza: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbuscular_mycorrhiza   

Today on Mushroom Hour we are humble hosts to the talented Sigrid Jakob, President of the New York Mycological Society. Sigrid only discovered fungi within the last several years, but her intense passion quickly catapulted her into the forefront of citizen mycology. She has played a leading role in rebooting the North American Mycoflora project and transforming the national organization into the Fungal Diversity Survey known as FunDiS. She is an accomplished citizen science facilitator, providing resources for at-home genetic sequencing to allow those with no background in biochemistry to successfully extract and amplify DNA. In her non-mushroom life, Sigrid is a 55 year old independent brand strategist who lives in Brooklyn, is mother to a 17 year old and holds degrees in philosophy, psychology and photography. A modern Renaissance woman who shares the tools with which to examine fungal diversity for the laymen, I am excited to learn about how we all can contribute to putting together the seemingly endless tree of fungal diversity.   TOPICS COVERED:   Growing up with Hunters, Gardeners and Woodsy Folk   Fungal Diversity in NYC   Role of Community Mycology in Mapping Biodiversity   Fungal Diversity Survey   Observational Data Fueling Conservation   Conservation Framework Around Fungi in the US vs Europe   Getting Deeper into Fungal DNA   Developing Fungal DNA Sequencing Protocols   Sourcing Tools and Reagants for At-Home Sequencing   Impact of Amateur Sequencing Data    Greenwood Cemetery Fungal Diversity Project   Findings and Future of the Greenwood Cemetery Project   Presiding over the New York Mycological Society   Future Plans for NY Mycological Society   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Sigrid Jakob IG: https://www.instagram.com/greenwoodzombie/   Sigrid's Dung Fungi IG: https://www.instagram.com/dung_fungi/   Fungal Diversity Survey: https://fundis.org/   New York Mycological Society: https://newyorkmyc.org/   Green-Wood Cemetery: https://www.green-wood.com/   Youtube Series "Fungal PCR at Home": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyaNM6lJmGo   NY Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/15/style/greenwood-cemetery-mushrooms.html   Sporormiella (Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporormiella

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of speaking with chef, forager, and biology geek Graham Steinruck. Graham has worked in the restaurant industry in with many of Colorado’s most talented chefs and was the former owner of a wild mushroom distribution company called Hunt & Gather that supplied wild harvested ingredients to chefs in the Rocky Mountain region and beyond. He was also the host of a podcast called ‘A Fermented Affair’ where he discussed fermented food and drink as well as mushrooms. He served as the 2012 editor of SporesAfield, the newsletter for the Colorado Mycological Society, as well as the vice president of the club in 2011. He is a presenter and chef for the Wild Mushroom Dinner at the Telluride Mushroom Festival. Recently his recipes were featured in the cookbook ‘Wild Mushrooms: A Cookbook and Foraging Guide’ and will be featured in the new ‘Fantastic Fungi Cookbook’ scheduled to be published later this year. Graham is a Colorado Department of Health and Environment Wild Mushroom Identification Expert and continues to teach courses on mushroom identification and foraging, cooking, and cultivating various culinary and medicinal fungi.    TOPICS COVERED:   Discovering Mycology in Denver, a Formative Moment with PorciniBalance Between Permissive & Prohibitive Philosophies Around Commercial Foraging   Forest Management Practices   Foraging Permits – the Good and the Bad   Wild Mushroom Licenses   Liability in Commercial Foraging    Legal Frameworks Around Foraging   Advice to Find Legal, Abundant Forage Grounds   Making Mushrooms the Star of the Culinary Show   Porcini Mushroom Bisque, Chanterelle Succotash   Underappreciated Hawk’s Wings and Snow Fungus    Mollusks and Mushrooms   The Genius of Simple Culinary Preparations   Mycouprrhizal Mushroom Farm   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Graham Steinruck IG: https://www.instagram.com/instantgrahamster/   Myco-Uprrhizal Mushroom Farm: https://www.instagram.com/myco_uprrhizal/   Wild Mushrooms Cookbook and Foraging Guide: https://islanderbookshop.com/products/wild-mushrooms-a-cookbook-and-foraging-guide-by-kristen-and-trent-blizzard    Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook: https://bookshop.org/books/fantastic-fungi-the-community-cookbook/9781647222956    Psilocybe azurescens (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybe_azurescens   

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