We take a deep dive into taxonomy to learn how a fungus gets its name, how scientists attempt to group these enigmatic organisms into "family" "genus" or "species" and how these efforts, married with the efforts of amateur naturalists, are central to fungal conservation with accomplished mycologist Else Vellinga!
The mystical, and oft maligned, world of Psilocybin mushrooms opens up before us as we are guided on a journey to understand, cultivate and create culinary delights using "magic mushrooms" with authors and researchers Dr. K Mandrake and Virginia Haze!
We wade into vast swathes of history and analyze cultural perspectives as we examine the roots of western, institutional "Science", how new concepts like "queer theory" and "queer ecology" inform scientific discourse and how mycology can be considered a queer discipline, with activist and scientist Dr. Patricia Kaishian!
We explore the expansive mind of artist, innovator & entrepreneur Phil Ross to learn about his journey into the frontiers of biomaterials and fashion in co-founding mycelium leather company MycoWorks!
We visit the headquarters of community mycology movement Fungi for the People to take a deep dive into bioremediation, mushroom cultivation, mycorrhizal fungi and more with founder and facilitator Ja Schindler!
We visit the wilds of Wicklow County in Ireland to learn all about the Irish forage landscape, wild foods, herbal medicines & pierce the stigma surrounding Amanita muscaria with founder of Hips & Haws Wildcrafts, Courtney Tyler!
We traverse the underexplored mountain ranges and high meadows of California to learn about the unique geographies that give rise to diverse biological communities of plants & fungi, including everyone's favorite morel mushrooms, with lifelong Sierra Nevada naturalist Thea Chesney!
We sit down with Reggie, Ian Bollinger and Tomás Garret, 3 of the citizen scientists behind Oakland's own "Hyphae Labs", to learn about their groundbreaking work testing compounds within psilocybin containing mushrooms and we get pumped for the first annual Oakland Psychedelic Conference!
We travel to England to absorb researched perspectives on spirituality, religion, consciousness, ideas of "self", deep ecology and then take a deep dive on modern psychedelia and the cultural influences of the magic mushroom with ecological and religious scholar, Dr. Andy Letcher!
While exploring fundamental tenants of herbalism we learn all about medicinal mushrooms: their chemistry, effects on the body and even how to sort through all the claims and products on the market with generational herbalist and mycologist Christopher Hobbs PhD!
We drop in at University of Wisconsin Madison to learn about hidden mycoviruses; their effects on their fungal hosts, theories behind their evolution and so much more with doctoral researcher Bryce Alex!
We learn about the noble mission of the Fungal Diversity Survey (FunDiS) and how their team of volunteers are helping amateur naturalists to collect data on fungal biodiversity that can fuel fungal conservation efforts with project co-founder Bill Sheehan PhD & "Deep Funga" blog editor Gabriela D'Elia!
