Max Koch, actor, voice artist, impersonator, viral YouTube star, creepy curmudgeon and wine blogger gets in the cage and tells all...and there's a LOT to tell...

This week I take some time to catch up with an old friend. Melissa and I met while training for a seed collection job out west and since then she has been quite busy working on an advanced degree in ecology. We talk about her work in the so-called "Miracle Mile," which is a hotspot for conifer diversity and just how lucky we are to be pursuing a career investigating the natural world. It's always nice to see people who are passionate about the natural world.

In the latest groupcast the Monkeys get into some April Foolishness about Bieber, Empire, Mad Men, new movies we actually are looking forward to seeing and much more...

Plants interact with fungi in incredible ways. From pathogens to important symbionts, it would seem that plants cannot escape the mycological community. There are plants out there that have reversed their role with fungi. These are the parasitic mycoheterotrophs. Join me for a discussion with Dr. Tom Horton from the SUNY college of Environmental Science and Forestry about these incredible marvels of evolution. This is certainly one you don't want to miss!

Writer/Producer Austin Winsberg was super young when he got to run his own network TV show, but that's just part of the story that includes Fred Savage, Punky Brewster, John Stamos, The Sound of Music, finger-banging and so much more...

Do you think your state's flower is boring and uninspiring? American poet Robbie Q. Telfer does and he is calling for a change. He would like to see the state flower of Illinois represent something truly Illinoian. Robbie stops by the podcast for a conversation regarding his call to action and so much more. It is people like Robbie that remind us of the Ed Abbey quote - "The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders."

Camilla Cleese has had to live with a famous last name all her life (put "John" in front of it and you'll figure it out). So does coming from Comedy Royalty put pressure on an already 6'1" female comic trying to make it in the stand-up world? Find out in this fascinating, funny, snarky episode...

The gang is back in the MonkeyCage to talk movies, celebrities, beards and more. Empire, McFarland USA, Justin Bieber and the Kardashians get the treatment this week...

Steve stops by for a fun discussion about some of our favorite nature-themed books.

Denny's story of bringing this film to the world is just as fascinating as the story of these unsung musicians who were an idelible party of some of the greatest music of all time. We talk about both...