The Mushroom Hour Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

GUEST:   

• https://lesleywheeler.org/mycocosmic/   
• https://www.wlu.edu/profile/wheeler-lesley   

MENTIONS:   

• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Venus-of-Willendorf   

MUSHROOM HOUR:   

• https://welcometomushroomhour.com   
• https://instagram.com/welcome_to_mushroom_hour   
• https://tiktok.com/@welcome_to_mushroom_hour   

Show Music courtesy of the one and only Chris Peck: https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Everyone is Becoming an Eco-Poet   
• Fungal Narratives   
• Poetry as a Process of Listening and Observing   
• Washington and Lee University   
• Into the Underworld   
• Good Things Come Through Fire   
• Mycocosmic   
• The Under-Poem   
• A World of Hope   
• Healing and Transforming Trauma in a Productive Way   
• Escaping the Digital through Fungi   
• Impact of AI on College Education   
• Authenticity Will Always be Valuable   
• Inspiration through Fungal Intelligence   

GUEST:   

• https://thinkfungi.org/   
• https://www.instagram.com/thinkfungi/   

MENTIONS:   

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera   
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatineau_Park   
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypomyces_lactifluorum   
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnum_repandum   

MUSHROOM HOUR:   

• https://welcometomushroomhour.com   
• https://instagram.com/welcome_to_mushroom_hour   
• https://tiktok.com/@welcome_to_mushroom_hour   

Show Music courtesy of the one and only Chris Peck: https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• The Road to Becoming a Chef   
• Mushroom Hunting in Prague   
• Geography and Ecology of Ottawa   
• Rugged Landscapes of the “Crown Lands”   
• Bloodthirsty Insect Swarms   
• Impacts of Land Use and Zoning Designations   
• Go-To Chanterelle Soup   
• Record-breaking Puffball Mushrooms   
• Cleaning, Storing, Cooking   
• Think Fungi Mission   
• Cultivation and Identification Courses   
• The Great North American Fungi Quest   

GUEST:   

• https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel_Newman10   
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10326184/   

MENTIONS:   

• https://college.lclark.edu/departments/biology/   
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Lincoff   
• https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/415949.Mushrooms_Demystified   
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolf_Singer   
• https://www.corenewal.org/   
• https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/amazonian-chernobyl-ecuadors-oil-environment-disaster/   
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascopolyporus   
• https://www.mycobank.org/page/Name%20details%20page/96535   

MUSHROOM HOUR:   

• https://welcometomushroomhour.com    
• https://instagram.com/welcome_to_mushroom_hour   
• https://tiktok.com/@welcome_to_mushroom_hour   

Show Music courtesy of the one and only Chris Peck: https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/   

TOPICS COVERED:    

• Childhood Mycology Mythology   
• Russian Mushroom Tradition   
• Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula   
• Bolivia’s Outrageous, Undocumented Biodiversity   
• Chernobyl of the Amazon   
• Corporate Evil   
• Biodiversity Research, Conservation and Geopolitical Activism   
• Los Cedros Bioreserve, Choco Bioregion   
• Mining Concessions in Protected Forests   
• Ecuador Supreme Court Ruling with Fungal Conservation Research   
• Corporate Propoganda, Thugs and Sabotage   
• Richer than Gold   
• Fungi that do Both: Entomopathogenic and Phytopathogenic   

Thea Chesney is a lifelong Sierra Nevada foothill resident and naturalist. She has had an interest in mushrooms (and plants, and the rest of the natural world) since early childhood, which gradually became an obsession. She holds a B.S. in forestry from UC Berkeley, with an emphasis in botany and natural sciences. During her time at Berkeley, she spent plenty of time working and hanging out in the Berkeley mycology labs and continues to return to campus to provide specimens for and aid in teaching their mushroom ID course. She worked on a mushroom survey crew for the U.S. Forest Service around Mt. Shasta for several seasons, which allowed her to become intimately familiar with the fungal inhabitants and ecology of the area. Since then, she has continued with the Forest Service as a botanist for a long-term California-wide meadow monitoring project. She teaches occasional workshops in mushroom and plant identification, both for work and independently. She has also been involved with the California Rare Fungi Working Group since its inception. Her fieldwork and her own studies of plants and fungi are centered in the Sierra Nevada and other mountains of California, and she is currently working on a field guide to mushrooms of these understudied regions with Noah Siegel and Christian Schwarz.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Mycology Lineage & Childhood Immersion in Nature  
• Underexplored Mountain Ranges of California  
• Diversity of Bioregions in Mountain Ranges  
• Mycorrhizal Mushrooms & Tree Hosts  
• Montane Water Cycles, Plant Ecology & Fungal Diversity  
• High Meadows Ecosystems & Their Mushrooms  
• California Rare Fungi Working Group  
• The Future of Documenting Fungal Diversity  
• Fire-Following Fungi  
• Morel Habitat & Ecology in California  
• Tips for Finding Morels  
• Thea’s Lifelong Connection to the Sierras  
• Klamath Mountains – The Most Biodiverse Pocket of California?!  
• Future Work with Christian Schwarz & Noah Siegel  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Thea Chesney iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/theachesney   
• Thea's Talk on Fire Fungi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V9Irj0GtTE   
• Thea's Talk on Mycorrhizal Fungi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PISk9C6FAds   
• Prof. Ralph Emerson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Emerson_(botanist)   
• Klamath Mountains: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klamath_Mountains   
• Rare Fungi of CA National Forests: https://www.scribd.com/document/432145073/Rare-Fungi-of-California-National-Forests   
• William Bridge Cooke: https://www.mykoweb.com/articles/PDF/William%20Bridge%20Cooke,%201908-1991.pdf   
• Caloscypha fulgens (fungus): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/caloscypha_fulgens.html   
• Hygrophorus goetzii (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygrophorus_goetzii

Get Your Tickets for the 1st Oakland Psychedelic Conference:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/oakland-psychedelic-conference-tickets-169188460239?ref=eios   

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are beyond blessed to be joined by three members of Oakland’s own Hyphae Labs, Ian Bollinger, Tomás Garret and Reggie who has joined us on the podcast previously. 

Inspired by early-life transformative experiences with psilocybin-containing mushrooms, Reggie has had a lifelong passion for mycology and now consults with the largest mushroom cultivators in the world. He is a also member of the Advisory Board for Decriminalize Nature and an avid activist for police reform and an ally of The Movement for Black Lives

Ian Bollinger is a dedicated researcher, scientist and host of the Understanding Entheogens Podcast.  Advising for harm reduction through education by working with the entheogen decriminalization movement in the SF Bay Area; Ian dedicates his time to churches, non-profits, and public benefit corporations to bring scientific insights from the growing entheogen space to the public through his writings, podcast, and outreach

Tomás is the head of operations for Hyphae Labs. His background is in analytical chemistry that began with food and drug testing in Wisconsin. He moved to California in 2018 and began pesticide and solvent testing for the cannabis industry.  Over the past few years he has become intertwined like mycelium with the vibrant Oakland psychedelic community.

Formed by citizen scientists like these, Hyphae Labs works to connect cultivators and consumers to knowledge, data, and education that supports their community through harm reduction.  They are currently engaged with research around Tryptamine content in entheogenic organisms, providing lab and analytical support for the Psilocybin Cup. I am excited to learn more about their collective, their vision and the upcoming Oakland Psychedelic Conference.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Hyphae Connection Between Ian, Tomás and Reggie 
• Mission and Purpose of Hyphae Labs
• Why is Testing Entheogenic Compounds Important?
• Testing Compounds in Psilocybin-Containing Mushrooms 
• Legality of Testing Entheogens in Oakland  
• Connection Between Testing & Decriminalization  
• Wading into the Chemistry of Tryptamines  
• MAOIs in Mushrooms  
• Effects of Compounds Other than Psilocybin  
• The Hyphae Potency Spectrum  
• Inspiration & Goals of the Oakland Psychedelic Conference  
• Featured Speakers at the Conference  
• Building Community & Embracing Diversity  
• Future of Hyphae Labs as Psychedelics Go Mainstream  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Tickets for Oakland Psychedelic Conference: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/oakland-psychedelic-conference-tickets-169188460239?ref=eios  
• Oakland Hyphae: https://www.oaklandhyphae510.com/  
• Oakland Hyphae IG: https://www.instagram.com/oakland_hyphae/  
• Ian Bollinger IG: https://www.instagram.com/eyepsychonaut/  
• Understanding Entheogens with Ian Bollinger: https://www.critical.consulting/blog  
• Dictyonema (Fungus/Lichen): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictyonema

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we have the distinct privilege of being joined by Dr. Andy Letcher. Dr. Letcher is a writer, performer and scholar of religion who began life as an ecologist, completing his D.Phil in Ecology at Oxford University. After a spell as an environmental activist during the 90s, especially during the anti-roads protests, he moved across to the humanities, completing a PhD at King Alfred’s College Winchester. He is an expert on contemporary alternative spiritualities, especially modern Paganism, neo-shamanism and psychedelic spiritualities. He is especially interested in the tangled and sometimes tortuous relationship between science and spirituality, and in so-called dark green religion. He has written papers on: the distribution of mammals across continents; fairies; mysticism; and psychedelic spirituality. Andy is also the author of the comprehensive work “Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom” that examines enthnomycological research, legends and myths surrounding humanity’s relationship with psychoactive fungi.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Ecologies, Environmentalism and Cries to the Moon
• What is Spirituality?
• Sensory and Cultural Inputs Birthing Religious Traditions
• Defining the Self
• Exploring “Semi-Permeable Self”, “Ecological Self”, “Community Self”
• Consciousness Fields, Panpsychism & Animism
• Symbiosis and Sympoiesis
• Are Psilocybe Mushrooms Guiding Human Culture?
• Are Psychedelics Going to Save Us from Ourselves?
• What does a Psychedelic-Informed and Ecologically Self-Aware Society Look Like?
• How Large a Role did Psychedelics Really Play in Ancient Cultures, Religions, Rites and Secret Societies?
• Are We Part of the Most Psychedelic and Mycologically Inspired Culture Ever?
• We are the Mushroom People   
• Psychedelics in Druidry and Other Future Research   

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Andy Letcher Website: http://andy-letcher.blogspot.com/   
• Andy Letcher Writings: https://independent.academia.edu/AndyLetcher  
•  "Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom": https://www.amazon.com/Shroom-Cultural-History-Magic-Mushroom/dp/0060828293  
• Schumacher College: https://campus.dartington.org/schumacher-college/   
• William Blake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake   
• Victor Turner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Turner   
• Terence McKenna: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna   
• Carl Jung: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung   
• Donna Haraway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Haraway   
• Huston Smith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huston_Smith   

Today on Mushroom   Hour we are joined by internationally renowned herbalist Dr. Christopher Hobbs. Dr. Hobbs is a fourth-generation herbalist, licensed acupuncturist, herbal clinician, research scientist, consultant to the dietary supplement industry, expert witness, botanist and mycologist with over 35 years of experience. He is also a prolific writer and has authored or co-authored over 20 books, including the new “Christopher Hobbs’s Medicinal Mushrooms, the Essential Guide.” Christopher has lectured on herbal medicine world-wide. He earned his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley with research and publication in evolutionary biology, biogeography, phylogenetics, plant chemistry, and ethnobotany. Time to dive deep into medicinal mushrooms!   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Embracing Generational Tradition of Herbalism in a World of Toxic Notions  
• Discovering Mushrooms in the 1970s  
• Herbalist World View  
• Elevating Consciousness  
• Allying with Plant & Mushroom Spirits  
• Importance of Spiritual Wellbeing  
• What is Medicine?  
• Chemistry of Medicinal Mushrooms and the Immune System  
• One of Medicinal Mushrooms Biggest Benefits - Fiber  
• Effects of Beta Glucans & Ancient Receptors in the Body  
• Secrets of Medicinal Mushroom Products  
• Starch Testing our Mushroom Powders  
• Healing Powers of Reishi  
• Why Do We Put Up With It?  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Christopher Hobbs' Website:  https://www.christopherhobbs.com/  
• Christopher Hobb's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drchristopherhobbs/  
• Christopher Hobb's IG: https://www.instagram.com/christopherhobbs1/?hl=en  
• "Christopher Hobbs' Essential Guide to Medicinal Mushrooms": https://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Hobbss-Medicinal-Mushrooms-Consciousness/dp/1635861675/  
• "A Modern Herbal": https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Herbal-Complete-Margaret-Grieve/dp/1626542236/  
• "Back to Eden": https://www.amazon.com/Back-Eden-Jethro-Kloss/dp/0940985101/  
• Dr. Edward Shook: https://www.biblio.com/edward-e-shook/author/587245  
• Dr. John Christopher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Christopher_(herbalist)  
• Dr. Michael Tierra: https://planetherbs.com/owners/dr-michael-tierra-l-ac-o-m-d/  
• Ed Smith: https://m.facebook.com/herbal.ed  
• Susun Weed: http://www.susunweed.com/  
• Rosemary Gladstar: https://scienceandartofherbalism.com/  
• Reishi (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi_(mushroom)  
• Boletus edulis (mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are joined by Bryce Alex, Doctoral Student at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Bryce is originally from Utah and he spent time working as a graduate student and Masters Candidate in the legendary Dentinger Lab at the University of Utah. His mycological research work has involved important players when it comes to fungal ecology that are largely invisible and many of us may have never heard of. He has worked on projects involving metabarcoding fungal propagules carried on bird feathers and mining transcriptomic datasets for hidden mycoviruses. He began his PhD in Plant Pathology at University of Wisconsin Madison in Fall 2020. I am excited for him to share his expertise with the emerging field of mycoviruses and how they relate to fungal, plant and even animal populations.   

TOPICS COVERED:    

• Entering the World of Mycology by Chance  
• Research in Legendary Dentinger Lab  
• What is a Mycovirus?  
• How do Mycoviruses Effect Their Hosts?  
• Hypovirulence in Pathogenic Fungi  
• Cryphonectria parasitica  
• Mycovirus Transference to Plants & Animals?  
• Agaricus bisporous Dieback Disease   
• Theories on Origins and Evolution of Mycoviruses  
• Changing Paradigm of Virology  
• Bryce’s Current PhD Research  
• Advice for Pursuing Academic Mycology  
• Embracing the Mycology Community  
• Future of Bryce’s Work  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Bryce Alex LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryce-alex-5799b8169   
• UW-Madison Rakotondrafara Lab: https://rakotondrafaralab.russell.wisc.edu/   
• Utah Dentinger Lab: https://www.biology.utah.edu/faculty/bryn-dentinger/   
• Cryphonectria parasitica: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_blight   
• "50-Plus Years of Fungal Viruses": https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25771805/   
• "Five Questions About Mycoviruses": https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1005172   
• "Mycoviruses of filamentous fungi and their relevance to plant pathology": https://bsppjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1364-3703.2008.00503.x   

Today on Mushroom Hour we have are graced by the presence of Bill Sheehan PhD and Gabriela D’Elia of the Fungal Diversity Survey - also known as FunDiS. Bill Sheehan is the co-founder and president of FunDiS and  Gabriela is currently FunDiS Deep Funga Blog Editor. FunDiS aims to increase scientific knowledge and public awareness of the critical role of fungi in the health of our ecosystems and to better utilize and protect them in a world of rapid climate change and habitat loss. They do this by equipping community scientists, working with professionals, with the reporting tools to document the diversity and distribution of fungi across North America.

Bill spent most of his career starting and running two national environmental policy nonprofits. Around the time he was getting ready to retire he reconnected with his love of natural history through a fascination with fungi. Combining his experience running nonprofits with his scientific training and an appreciation for the power of grassroots action, FunDiS unites several mycelial strands of his life.

Gabriela first noticed the marvelous mushrooms while she was walking around Seattle, WA. After studying fungal ecology at school there, Gabriela embraced a perspective of Holistic Mycology, which views fungi as ecology, medicine, language, ancestor, and philosophy. Gabriela is leader of the FunDiS local project, Northern Utah Funga Community Science; V.P. of the Mushroom Society of Utah; and founder of Moon Mushrooms, which focuses on mycology education and crafting tiny batch tinctures. 

TOPICS COVERED: 

• How Bill and Gabriela came to FunDiS  
• Origins of FunDiS   
• Evolution from North American Mycoflora Project  
• Importance of Mapping Fungal Diversity  
• Undiscovered Diversity all Around the US  
• Amateurs Leading the Way in Biodiversity Studies  
• iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer  
• Genetic Sequencing  
• Biodiversity Data Feeding Conservation Efforts  
• Rising Awareness of Fungi in Conservation Efforts  
• Rare Fungi Challenges  
• How to Participate in FunDiS Diversity Surveys  
• How to Volunteer and Support FunDiS
• Future of FunDiS, Community Mycology & Biodiversity Data  

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• FunDiS Website: https://fundis.org/   
• FunDiS IG: https://www.instagram.com/fungaldiversitysurvey/   
• FunDiS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fungaldiversitysurvey   
• iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/  
• Mushroom Observer: https://mushroomobserver.org/   
• Pachycudonia spathulata: https://fundis.org/images/PDF/Pachycudonia-spathulata_trifold-web.pdf   
• Dictyocephalos attenuatus: https://fundis.org/images/PDF/Dictyocephalos-attenuatus_trifold-web.pdf   
• Pholiota nubigena (Bubblegum fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholiota_nubigena   
• Bubblegum Fungus Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOa2ECym254
• Tricholomopsis rutilans (Plums and Custard Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricholomopsis_rutilans   

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we have the privilege of speaking with Brian Perry PhD, Associate Professor of Biology at California State University, East Bay. He received his Master's Degree from San Francisco State University under the guidance of Dr. Dennis E. Desjardin, and his Ph.D. from Harvard University where he studied with Dr. Donald H. Pfister. Brian has been studying fungi since 1995, and has published over 45 papers in scientific journals. In addition to studying the evolution of fungal bioluminescence, he also conducts research on mushrooms and other fungi of Vanuatu, the assembly and biogeography of island fungal communities, endophytic fungi of Hawaiian plants, and the systematics of Mycena and allied genera. Brian teaches several mycology courses at Cal State East Bay and the Sierra Nevada Field Campus, and recently launched a Sierra Nevada Mycoflora project.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Raised with an Appreciation for Nature  
• Mycological Influence of Dr. Dennis Desjardin  
• Why Do Some Mushrooms Glow?  
• Exploring Evolution of Fungal Bioluminescence  
• Biochemistry of Bioluminescence  
• Biology & Ecological Roles of Endophytic Fungi  
• Applied Use of Endophytes  
• Fungal Ecology of Tropical Islands  
• Research in Vanuatu  
• Vanuatu’s Indigenous Culture  
• Ethnomycology Among Vanuatu’s Indigenous Peoples  
• Tropical Island Phylogeography & Biogeography  
• Biogeographical Mysteries  
• Rise of Citizen Mycologists  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Dr. Brian Perry Website: https://www.perrymycolab.com/
• CSU East Bay Website: https://www.csueastbay.edu/directory/profiles/biol/perrybrian.html
• Prof. Dennis Desjardin: https://biology.sfsu.edu/faculty/desjardin
• Metrosideros polymorpha (plant species): https://www2.hawaii.edu/~eherring/hawnprop/met-poly.htm   
• Blue Coprinopsis (fungi): https://steveaxford.smugmug.com/Fungi/Basidiomycetes/Coprinoid-fungi/Blue-Coprinopsis/   
• Schizophyllum commune (fungi): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/schizophyllum_commune.html   
• Coprinellus disseminatus (fungi): http://www.mushroomexpert.com/coprinellus_disseminatus.html   
• Mycena californiensis (fungi): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycena_californiensis