The Mushroom Hour Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 152: Poland Fungi - For the Glory of Mushrooms (feat. Piotr Zieba) May 28, 2023

Show notes

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are honored to be joined by Piotr Zieba, professor’s assistant at the University of Agriculture in Krakow, Poland. Piotr works with gourmet and medical mushrooms and his journey started on Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture. During his bioengineering studies he found out that nobody was doing research on mushrooms. So, Piotr took matters into his own hands and organized a Student Science program to start to cultivating mushrooms. At this point in his career, Piotr has completed a master thesis about oyster mushrooms, coauthored 11 scientific papers and is now finishing PhD studies. His work focuses on different properties of mycelium from in vitro culture and fruiting bodies, but also focuses on supplementation of mushroom substrate with novel bio-materials. Working on a multidisciplinary science team, Piotr is currently pursuing all kinds of exciting work on mushrooms from attempting to cultivate wild mushrooms, using nontypical agriculture and food waste in mushroom cultivation and using waste mushroom substrate as fertilizer. His passion for mycology is palpable, and along with a great team of professors, doctors and students he is working to learn everything he can for the glory of mushrooms.

TOPICS COVERED:

Childhood in Nature Picking Mushrooms
University of Agriculture Krakow
Visions of a Mushroom Cultivating Future in Poland
Experiments with Substrate
Nutritional Profiles of Mushrooms Grown on Different Substrates
Contamination Learning Curve
Mycelium vs Fruiting Body Nutritional Compounds
Mapping Nutrition Profiles with Differing Growth Parameters
Isolating and Cultivating Wild Fungi
Impact of Piotr’s Research on his University
Advice for Mushroom Cultivators
Downstream Applications of Spent Mushroom Substrate
Future Cultivation Tech – Ozone Sterilization

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Poland Fungi IG: https://www.instagram.com/polandfungi/
Piotr Zieba Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zieba-Piotr
University of Agriculture in Krakow: https://en.urk.edu.pl/
Marasmius alliaceus (Fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycetinis_alliaceus
Pleurotus ostreatus (Fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurotus_ostreatus

Ep. 151: Neuroscience, Memory and Psychedelics (feat. Manoj Doss PhD) Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are blessed to speak with Manoj Doss. Manoj is a cognitive neuropsychopharmacologist at the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University. His research is at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology with focuses on episodic memory and hallucinogenic drugs. Manoj utilizes complex cognitive paradigms, brain imaging, and computational modelling to explore what makes psychedelics unique compared to other classes of psychoactive drugs, both in terms of basic drug effects and mechanisms for treating clinical populations. Although Manoj is optimistic that psychedelics will soon have a place in psychiatry, he remains cautious of exaggerated claims and negligence to potential downsides, something he terms 'psychedelic myopia’.
TOPICS COVERED:

Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuropsychopharmacology
Psychedelic Neuroscience
Types of Memory - Episodic, Semantic, Procedural
Parts of the Brain - Hippocampus, Neocortex
Recollection vs Familiarity
Psychedelics Impacting Memory through Familiarity
Is Memory Stored in Parts of the Body Other than the Brain?
How Do We Make False Memories?
Debunking the “Default Mode Network” Narrative
Psychedelic Science and Incorporating Existing Scientific Disciplines
Showing Psychedelics are Actually Useful in Treating Any Disorders
Commentary on Structuring Psychedelic Research
Future of Psychedelic Therapy as Adjunct to Existing Therapies?
Tempering Conclusions and Expectations from Psychedelic Research

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Manoj Doss Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManojDoss
Manoj Doss Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Manoj-Doss
Manoj Doss @ Johns Hopkins: https://hopkinspsychedelic.org/doss
John O'Keefe Nobel Prize work on Hippocampal place cells: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04913-9
Doss et al paper on reward dynamics: http://dml.ucdavis.edu/uploads/6/1/9/7/61974117/gruber_ritchey_wang_doss_ranganath_2016.pdf
Default Mode Network Hypothesis: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00020/full
PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story by Alexander Shulgin: https://www.amazon.com/Pihkal-Chemical-Story-Alexander-Shulgin/dp/0963009605
Janice Chen paper on shared experience: https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=mOwF8UEAAAAJ&citation_for_view=mOwF8UEAAAAJ:M05iB0D1s5AC
Marc Berman paper on benefits of interacting with nature: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x

Ep. 150: The Global Forest Health Crisis & the Sentinel Tree Network (feat. Geoffery Williams PhD) Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are honored to be joined by Geoff Williams PhD, International Sentinel Network Coordinator for the US Forest Service. Geoff studies the social dimensions and microbial ecology of host range expansions and geographic range expansions of forest trees, their fungal pathogens, and their insect herbivores. Geoff just moved to Oregon from West Lafayette, Indiana where he studied the role of the microbiome in Thousand Cankers Disease of Eastern black walnut in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. Prior to that he has worked and lived in Idaho, Arizona, Mexico, and Chicago, originally hailing Ann Arbor, Michigan. In his current position he is gathering information on forest insects and pathogens across the world. The ultimate goal is to build networks of cooperation and information exchange with international collaborators to help protect native forest tree species in the US and all over the world from the next highly destructive or devastating insect or fungal pathogen that could be introduced through trade and travel. The opinions expressed by Geoff in our show to do not represent policy stances of the US government.
TOPICS COVERED:

A Winding Path towards Forest Pathology
Fungal Phytopathogens
Community Assembly in Forest Ecosystems
Novel Pathogenic Interactions in the Age of the Anthropocene
Proactive Approach to Managing Forest Pathogens
Complex Social Impacts of Forest Pathogens
Interconnectedness of Forest Ecosystems Across Continents
Global Forest Health Crisis
Interplay of International Trade Agreements & Natural Resource Protections
Sentinel Tree Network
Urban Forest Management
“Invasive Species” & Invasion Biology Framework
Invasive Species vs Invasive Populations
Citizen Scientist Role in Monitoring Forest Pathogens

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Geoffrey Williams Website: https://geoffreymwilliams.weebly.com/
Thousand Cankers Disease: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/thousand-cankers-disease/thousand-cankers-disease
Geosmithia morbida (fungal pathogen): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosmithia_morbida
Juglans nigra (Eastern Black Walnut): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglans_nigra
Laurel Wilt Disease: https://www.fdacs.gov/Agriculture-Industry/Pests-and-Diseases/Plant-Pests-and-Diseases/Laurel-Wilt-Disease
Sentinel Trees: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10340-018-1041-6
Cortinarius violaceus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortinarius_violaceus

Ep. 149: Umbo - Elite Athletes, Functional Mushrooms & Psychedelic Science (feat. Jake Plummer, Rashad Evans & Del Jolly) Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by the fungal trifecta behind Umbo Medicinal Mushrooms – Rashad Evans, Jake Plummer and Del Jolly.

Rashad Evans is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion who intimately understands the connection between mind and body, and the importance of having both in sync. He credits mushrooms for that one-two punch of focus + energy in training and competition, and then easing the transition from fighter to daily life. Rashad is passionate about transforming sports nutrition and transforming access to education so that others can have the same opportunities that he did.
Jake Plummer is a Pro-Bowl NFL Quarterback who spent 10 years in the league earning a reputation as a natural leader. He inspired his teammates to believe in themselves and in each other – personal excellence for the sake of the team. This ethos is what drew him to natural medicine, eager to learn what mushrooms can do for each of us individually and how we can pool that collective power to help make a better world for all.
Focused on shifting the cultural narrative, Del Jolly worked as part of Decriminalize Denver and Charlotte’s Web CBD before co-founding Unlimited Sciences, a psychedelic research nonprofit partnered with the likes of Johns Hopkins University. He believes functional mushrooms have just as much, if not more, potential than psychedelics and is committed to exploring and unearthing everything he can.
TOPICS COVERED:

UFC, NFL and Medicinal Activism - All Roads Lead to Mushrooms
Introduction to Queendom Fungi
Athletes and Functional Mushrooms
Preaching the Mushroom Gospel to NFL and UFC athletes
Functional Mushrooms More Impactful than Psychedelics?!
Role of Psychedelic Mushrooms in Team Sports
Sparring & Microdosing
Fungally-Expanded Perspectives on Achievement and Dominance
We are all Actors
Mushrooms & Masculinity
Rites of Passage
Formation of UMBO & Entering a Limitless Future
The Power of Intention
Making Medicine Accessible to All

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Umbo Website: https://getumbo.com/
Umbo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getumbo/
Unlimited Sciences Website: https://unlimitedsciences.org/
MycoLove Farm Website: https://www.mycolove.farm/

Ep. 148: Smugtown Mushrooms - Fungi in Greece & Remediating Social Ecologies (feat. Olga Tzogas) Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by mycological ally, cultivator and community creator Olga Tzogas of Smugtown Mushrooms. Her journey with Fungi and plants started over 15 years ago. She began working with these allies when foraging in both urban & more wild settings as she learned to identify species for food and medicine. Olga, alongside her community, established Smugtown Mushrooms to satiate their need for mushrooms & growing supplies, workshops, events & community-based science where they are based on traditional Haudenosaunee land, in the so-called city of Rochester NY. While learning more & embracing the never-ending, unlocked potential mushrooms & fungi have to help heal both people, planet & soul. Olga teaches workshops throughout the continent about wild mushroom identification, medicinal mushrooms, biology, and mushroom cultivation. She was a core organizer for the 2016 Radical Mycology Convergence and the MycoSymbiotics Festival from 2015-17. In 2018, Olga help co-create the New Moon Mycology Summit, a justice-focused, mycology centered event, linking many disciplines extending throughout the living world. Olga is a member of the Rochester Area Mycological Association, CPAMC, WPAMC & the West Virginia Mushroom club. Annually, Olga guides small groups immersing in land based and traditional knowledge of Northern Greece, highlighting the fungi and plants there. I’m excited to learn from a legend in mycology who seems to bring the teachings of fungi into every aspect of her life.
TOPICS COVERED:

Lifelong Love of Mushrooms
Forests and Mushrooms in Greece
Hosting Forage Trips in Greece
Mycology Reaching Across Disciplines & Cultural Barriers
Story of Smugtown
Grappling with Oligarchy
Are We Allowed to Just Exist?
Are Currencies, Corporations and Governments the Answer?
Starving for Natural Connection
Mushrooms Remediating Social Ecologies
Evolution of Mycological Community
Solutions Inspired by Mushrooms
Smugtown Shifting Focus to Community Building
Building Networks of Solidarity and Support

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Smugtown Mushrooms Website: https://www.smugtownmushrooms.com/
Smugtown Mushrooms IG: https://www.instagram.com/smugtownmushrooms/
Smugtown Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smugtownmushrooms/
New Moon Mycology Summit: https://www.facebook.com/newmoonmycologysummit
2021 Indigenous Peoples Day Event in DC: https://consortiumnews.com/2021/10/12/native-american-protesters-hit-by-sonic-weapons-in-dc/

Ep. 147: World Wild - Guiding a Lost Society Back to Nature (feat. Miles Irving) Jan 08, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are excited to chat with internationally renowned wild foods expert, author, and public speaker Miles Irving. Miles has worked with some of the world's best chefs and has been a pioneer in the Wild Food Renaissance. In 2009, he authored The Forager Handbook, hailed by many as the 'foraging bible'. Through communicating with people around the world and delving deep into the environmental - and emotional - issues facing us, he has sought to bring together traditional ecological knowledge and those hungry for land-based connection, community, and culture. Reconnecting with the life-giving wild land which has long sustained us is key. There is not only a way forward but a wildly different way of looking at the world.
TOPICS COVERED:

Exploring Nature with Father & Grandfather
Connection with Nature Starts with 1 Species
Become a Recovering Weirdo
Activating Powers of Observation & Pattern Recognition
The Forager Handbook
Pulling Down the Neoliberal Regime
Greenwashing
Guiding a Lost Society Back to Nature
Going Deeper into Ecology through Wild Foods
Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Common Edible Plants
Nettle and The Umami Equation
Working with Acorn Flour
Porcini’s GABA-induced Happiness?

EPISODE RESOURCES:

World Wild Website: https://www.worldwild.org.uk/
Goldcrest (bird species): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldcrest
Mark Lewis (inspiration): https://prn.live/its-all-about-food-mark-lewis-chmachyakyakya-8000-year-crops-07-26-16/
Chamaenerion angustifolium (AKA Fireweed): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamaenerion_angustifolium
Braiding Sweetgrass: https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass
The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/the-wild-wisdom-of-weeds/
Tending the Wild: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520280434/tending-the-wild
Dark Emu: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21401526-dark-emu
Boletus edulis (AKA Porcini): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis

Ep. 146: The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss & Psychedelic Biochemistry (feat. Dennis McKenna) Dec 25, 2022

Show notes

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 Receptors
Psychedelic Biochemistry
Messenger Molecules & Signal Transduction
Psychedelic Communications
Neural 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

Ep. 145: Dynamite-Throwing Fungi, Itasca Research Station & How Decomposition Builds Character (feat. Prof Jonathan Schilling) Dec 18, 2022

Show notes

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

Ep. 144: SQIM, Mogu, Ephea – Merging with Mycelium to Grow Regenerative Futures (feat. Maurizio Montalti) Dec 04, 2022

Show notes

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

Ep. 143: Wild Mushroom Education, Intentional Communities & Breaking the Binary (feat. Jules Amanita) Nov 20, 2022

Show notes

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 Culture
Fungi 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 Ecologies
100+ 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

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