As the 300th episode approached Dr. Melathopoulos started to get nervous. He had been doing the show since 2018. When his podcasting hero Melvyn Bragg hung up his podcasting mic last year, Dr. Melathopoulos wondered if he should do the same. But no. Polli-Nation is officially outgrowing its borders! While the show's roots are at OSU Extension, we are thrilled to welcome a new collaborative hosting team. By bringing in the expertise of Nicole Bell (East Coast/UMass), and Drs. Brandon Hopkins and Priya Chakrabarti Basu (WSU), we are expanding our coverage from the wild bee meadows of New England to the high-tech honey bee storage facilities of the Pacific Northwest. Hear the different hosts visions for the future of pollination in this episode.

Nicole Bell – UMass Amherst Extension: https://www.umass.edu/bee-campus/about/directory/nicole-bell

The Pollinator Steward Certification: https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/resources/pollinators/pollinator-steward-certification-program

Dr. Brandon Hopkins – Washington State University Lab Page: https://bees.wsu.edu/about-hopkins-lab/

Dr. Priya Chakrabarti (Basu) – Washington State University Research Website: https://priyadarshinichakrabarti.com

Harry Vanderpool – Hear our episode with Harry: https://youtu.be/CSiDXLmgxjU?si=D796BGDFkSUMMT59

00:00 Nicole Bell - episode highlight

00:25 Podcast Origins and Growth

01:45 Episode 300 New Era

03:09 Meet Nicole Bell

06:04 Meet Brandon Hopkins

08:48 Meet Priya Chakrabarti

10:49 Harry Vanderpool Updates

14:30 Co-Hosts Vision Ahead