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...

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...

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”...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by the dynamic duo Michelle Russell and Camille Myhre Degabrielle author of the new cookbook “Just Mushrooms”. Ten years ago, Michelle changed everything about her life, she lost 80lbs by adopting a plant-based diet, ridded herself of the need for 12 prescription medications, cured her depression, and accepted a new job in Tokyo. From Tokyo, she moved to Bavaria and spent years traveling the European capitals and backroads. During this period of...

Today on Mushroom Hour we are blessed by the presence of Jason Scott, founder of Feral Fungi.  Jason Scott is a Mycologist, Ethnobotanist and Spagyricist who has studied traditional Hermetic Alchemy, from history and philosophy to practice, for the past 9 years. He has a background in Ethnobotany and Plant Medicine that started on the Big Island of Hawaii and has carried back with him into his home: the Pacific North West. Born and raised in Oregon, Jason has an intrinsic interest in the...

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are honored to be joined by Terri Smith, the CEO of Wake Jamaica. Terri’s passions lie in making wellness possible for underserved people and communities. As a young mother recently arrived in Canada, she completed her studies in Literature and Social-Cultural Anthropology and developed her expertise in Labour Market re-entry for injured workers and economically-disadvantaged adults. Terri returned to Jamaica to care for an elderly relative, and during...

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the honor of being joined by Dr. Cathy Cripps. Dr Cripps is a mycologist and professor at Montana State University where she teaches and does research on fungi. She earned her BS from the University of Michigan and PhD from Virginia Tech with Dr. Orson Miller. Her research on mushrooms that survive in Arctic and alpine habitats has taken her to Iceland, Svalbard, Norway, Greenland, the Austrian Alps, and Finland. She is co-author of “The Essential Guide to Rocky...

For more than two decades, Michael Allen Z Prime has pioneered the art of making music in collaboration with plants and fungi. His albums: L-Fields, One Hour As Peyote, Borneo, and The Ascent Of Sap were the first to be made in collaboration with the bioelectrical fields of plants and fungi. In his work, the fluctuations in pitch and rhythm that you hear directly follow the fluctuations of the bioelectrical fields of the organisms he is working with. Michael has presented his plant and fungal...

Today on Mushroom Hour we have are honored to be joined by Welsh wild food expert Daniel Butler. Daniel is an environmental writer and wild food enthusiast, starting as a boy with ferreted rabbits and moving on to herbs and mushrooms in his 20s. He leads guided hedgerow and fungal forays from his Welsh smallholding through the summer and autumn. Writing extensively on issues of foraging as a source of free food Daniel aims to demystify edible plants and fungi to make them accessible to all....

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of speaking with Dr. Ekaterina Dadachova. Dr. Dadachova is a Professor of Pharmacy at the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition and the Fedoruk Centre for Nuclear Innovation Chair in Radiopharmacy. Before joining University of Saskatchewan, she was a Professor of Radiology, Microbiology and Immunology in the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, USA, where she was also Sylvia and Robert S. Olnick Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research. She...

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the incredible opportunity to speak with Integrated Land Enhancement found Leif Olson. A native of the western North Carolina mountains, Leif grew up with a deep sense of connection and appreciation for nature.  Early on this relationship was primarily through a creative and imaginative lens, but after over a decade of researching and working in ecology, chemistry, mycology, landscaping and sustainable agriculture he now works to study and improve the natural...

Today on Mushroom Hour we are blessed by the presence of the illustrious Dr. Michael Beug. Dr. Beug taught chemistry, mycology and organic farming at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington for 32 years. He lectures to mushroom enthusiasts throughout the Western US and loves to teach beginners workshops. He is a member of the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) where he serves as Editor of the Journal McIlvainea, Chair of the Toxicology Committee, and member of the...

Xiaojing Yan is a Canadian artist whose work embraces the combination of her Chinese roots and education at Nanjing Arts Institute (B.F.A., 2000) with higher education at George Brown College in Toronto (2004) and an M.F.A. in sculpture at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2007). Her unique point of view brings together the past and the present, encompasses culture and nature, art and science. Yan is a recipient of numerous awards and grants, including the 2014 Outstanding Young Alumni...

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are graced by the presence of Melissa Waddingham founder of Truffle and Mushroom Hunter. As a professional truffle hunter, Melissa respectfully and sustainably searches for truffles with her trained canine companions. She has studied forestry and woodland management and exudes a passion for woodlands and their association with mushrooms and truffles. Her work has given her a reverence for the delicate truffle woodland ecology and its sustainability. It is...

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by generational mushroom cultivator and medicinal mushroom alchemist Amir Karian. Amir grew up in a family of mushroom farmers who own and operate one of America’s largest mushroom farms in Monterey Mushrooms and one of the largest mushroom spawn production companies called Amycel. But Amir’s passion for mycology truly began when a journey of personal healing taught him first hand the power of medicinal mushrooms. He was compelled to share with others and...

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of speaking with Monica Wilde. Monica is a forager, research herbalist and ethnobotanist. She lives in Scotland in a self-built wooden house on 4 organic acres where she is encouraging the growth of medicinal and foraging species to create a wild, teaching garden. She is also a Research Herbalist specializing in Lyme disease & co-infections, and a Fellow of the Linnean Society. Monica holds a Master’s degree in Herbal Medicine, she is a Member...

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are honored to be joined by Else Vellinga.  In her career as a mycologist, Else has described 22 new mushroom species in California. Her most recent work is at the University and Jepson Herbaria at UC Berkeley, and at UCSF, on the Microfungi Collections Digitization project. She received her training at the National Herbarium of the Netherlands, and earned her PhD at the University of Leiden (layden).  Additionally, Else is a researcher and professor with...

All the information discussed in this episode is for educational and entertainment purposes only! We do not encourage the use of any illicit and/or regulated substance.    Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we have the honor of speaking with authors Virginia Haze and Dr. K. Mandrake. Dr. Mandrake is a proponent of psychedelics from both a scientific and personal growth perspective. His long and varied education has mostly centered on biology, toxicology and mycology, culminating in a PhD in...