Los Osos Mycologist Dennis Sheradin studied biology at Cal Poly Pomona, moved to work at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and became a photographer of the natural world, including insects, reptiles, amphibians, plants, and yes, mushrooms. His photos have appeared in National Geographic, Ranger Rick, and California Wild, and he is active in field monitoring and DNA collecting for mushrooms around the world. He spoke with me about how mycelium helps plants talk to each other, how he encourages people to take responsibility for catching their own edible mushrooms, and yes, quite a bit about psilocybin and microdosing - and macrodosing - magic mushrooms. Check the show notes on letsgetconsumed dot com for links to the books he mentions here, as well as links to the various organizations for which Dennis leads mushroom walks on the Central Coast.

Website: dennissheridan.com

Resources mentioned:

Morro Coast Audubon Society

Small Wilderness Area Preservation (SWAP)

SLO Botanical Garden

California Native Plant Society

“Mushrooms Demystified”

“All that the rain promises and more”

“The entangled web”

“How to change your mind” Michael Pollan

iNaturalist mushroom identifying app