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 the ecosystems of which we are part. He teaches about the full range and depth of wild food and foraging including plants, fungi, seaweed, and shellfish. These practices take Mark across a diverse range of habitats – from high mountains, through forests, hedgerows, urban settings and down to the coast. He covers all areas of foraging including traditional and modern food uses, health and nutrition, traditional and modern medicinal uses, survival and bushcraft, wild booze and lots more.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Childhood Spent in Nature   
• Discovering Provenance, Wild Food & Foraging Working as a Chef   
• Scotland as a Mushroom Habitat   
• Foraging Traditions in Scotland   
• Diversity & Abundance in Coastal Foraging   
• Nutritional & Medicinal Value of Seaweeds   
• Cyber-foraging & Impressions on Social Media   
• Edible Conifers   
• Botanical Cocktails   
• Medicinal Mushrooms & Plants   
• Evolution of Foraging Mentorship   
• The Association of Foragers   
• Wild Food Accreditation Systems   
• Adding Mushrooms to School Curriculums   

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Galloway Wild Foods Website: https://gallowaywildfoods.com/   
• Mark Williams Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markwildfood/   
• Association of Foragers: https://foragers-association.org/   
• "A Passion for Mushrooms" (Book): https://antoniocarlucciofoundation.org/book/a-passion-for-mushrooms/   
• Sea Orache: https://gallowaywildfoods.com/orache-identification-edibility-distribution/   
• Palmaria palmata (Dulse Seaweed): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmaria_palmata   
• Nori Seaweed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nori   
• Grifola frondosa (Hen of the Woods): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grifola_frondosa   
• Hymenochaete corrugata (Hazel Glue): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenochaete_corrugata   
• Hypocreopsis rhododendri (Hazel Gloves): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocreopsis_rhododendri   

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 Most Innovative company in 2019 and 2018. David leads technology innovation at Bolt, creating and incubating biomaterials for improved consumer products. His obsession with biomaterials began with graduate research on silk during his Bioengineering PhD at UC Berkeley and UCSF. David has an orange belt in Krav Maga and is a great admirer of stencil graffiti. I’m excited to hear from him about all the future of sustainable materials and how Mylo™ – their mycelium material line, will play a leading role.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Microfluidics & Bio-inspiration   
• Biomaterials Past, Present and Future   
• Decision to Create Sustainable Consumer Goods   
• Synchronistic Connections Researching Spider Silk   
• Founding Bolt Threads   
• In Search of Leather, Turning to Mycelium   
• Learning to Work with Mycelium as a Material   
• How to Transform Mycelium into Leather-like Material
• Properties of Mycelium as a Leather Material   
• Scaling Production of Mycelium Leather   
• Reaction from Product Developers and Fashion Houses   
• Future Uses of Mycelium and other Biomaterials   
• Advice for Working in the Field of Biomaterials   

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Bolt Threads Website: https://boltthreads.com/   
• Mylo Unleather Website: https://www.mylo-unleather.com/   
• Bolt Threads IG: https://www.instagram.com/boltthreads/   
• Mylo Unleather IG: https://www.instagram.com/mylo_unleather/   

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 exploration, Michelle went to culinary school to learn more about the many ways that plants can heal us and became convinced that part of her next evolution would be to help make it easier to be healthy. Camille majored in Industrial Design at Savannah College of Art and Design. During this time, she had the opportunity to study abroad in Hong Kong. Having first-hand experience with manufacturing practices and seeing the impact of what product design could do to our environment, she refocused her efforts to more sustainable design. Through studying Sustainability & Biomimicry, she allowed those principles to reshape her thinking and eventually adopted a plant-based diet for ecological and ethical reasons. Their cookbook will make you a firm believer, like I am, that fungi are the future of food and they can help us heal our bodies, our minds, and the planet itself.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Michelle and Camille Connecting Through Mushrooms  
• In Search of a Mushroom Cookbook  
• Influenced by Mycophilic Cultures   
• Growing Mushrooms at Home   
• Mushroom Cultivation as the Future of Sustainable Agriculture   
• Techniques in Mushroom Cooking & Preparation   
• Health Benefits of Consuming Mushrooms   
• Possible to Eat Too Many Mushrooms?   
• Themes Throughout “Just Mushrooms” Cookbook   
• How the Cookbook is Structured   
• Some Favorite Mushroom Recipes from the Cookbook   
• Evolution Through Writing the Cookbook   
• Integration with the Mycophile Community   
• Future Plans Beyond the Cookbook   

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Just Mushrooms Website: https://www.just-mushrooms.com/
• Just Mushrooms IG: https://www.instagram.com/just_mushrooms_/?hl=en   
• Just Mushrooms Cookbook: https://www.just-mushrooms.com/purchase   

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 Fungal Queendom and all of its aspects: from cultivation and mycoremediation, to historical and cultural relationships. Jason has studied various different healing modalities including Ayurveda in Nepal and Western Herbalism all over Oregon and Washington. As Owner of Feral Fungi, he produces Mushroom Spagyric Tinctures, and he curates AlcheMycology.com where he shares some of his teachings and writings alongside other fascinating discoveries in the world of Fungi. Jason is also a co-organizer of the Radical Mycology Convergence and the Fungi Film Fest. He is on an ever-deepening journey of education to understand the practical applications of his interests, and the golden threads that connect them.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Growing up Adrift in a Disconnected Culture  
• Radical Mycology Convergence  
• Heremetic Sciences – Alchemy, Astrology, Quabbalah  
• Philosophies & Origins of Alchemy  
• Embracing Practical Alchemy in Laboratory Work  
• Doctrines of Signatures, Correspondences & Emanations  
• Alche-mycology & Transmutation  
• Astrology & Planetary Correspondences  
• Astro-mycology - Mushrooms & Their Planets  
• Understanding Through Powers of Observation   
• Embracing the Qualitative  
• Dangers of Reductionism with Herbal Medicines  
• Spagyric Processing – Metaphor of Sulphur, Salt, Mercury  
• Frontiers of Mushroom Spagyrics  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Feral Fungi Website: https://feralfungi.com/  
• Feral Fungi IG: https://www.instagram.com/feralfungi/  
• Alchemycology Website: http://www.alchemycology.com/  
• Radical Mycology: https://www.radicalmycology.com/  
• Robert Bartlett: https://www.spagyricus.com/about-robert-bartlett/  
• Paracelsus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus  
• Plant Path Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-plant-path/id1243181579   
• Manfred M Junius: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Manfred-M-Junius/410051223  

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 that time she and her husband took up a mushroom farm using a unique proprietary lemongrass-bamboo substrate. Terri believes in a triple bottom line approach to growing any of her projects: every community entered must be better when we leave - financially, socially and environmentally. I’m so excited to here about her work in helping rural & underserved communities to find empowerment through mushroom cultivation and all the ways that her company Wake is contributing to the democratization of wellness.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Childhood in Rural Jamaica  
• Inspired to Train Women how to Change Their World with Mushrooms  
• Seeing a Need to Heal People and Environments in Rural Jamaica   
• Economic Policies Impacting Health of Jamaica’s People and Environment  
• Becoming Jamaica’s Mushroom Queen  
• Adapting Cultivation Techniques to Meet the Needs of Communities  
• Improving Understandings of Agriculture through Mushroom Cultivation  
• The Power Multiplier of Empowering Women in Poor & Rural Communities  
• Connecting with Wake Network  
• Landscape of Psilocybin Mushroom Industry in Jamaica  
• History of Psilocybin Mushrooms in Jamaica  
• How Wake’s Programs Integrate and Support Local Communities in Jamaica  
• Plant and Mushroom Medicines Nothing New for Indigenous Cultures  
• Future of Scaling Wake Network Programs in Jamaica  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Wake Network: https://wake.net/  
• Chido Govera (Inspiration): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chido_Govera  
• Pleurotus ostreatus (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurotus_ostreatus  
• Psilocybe cubensis (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybe_cubensis  

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 Mountain Mushrooms by Habitat”, and “Fungi in Forest Ecosystems”, and has authored numerous scientific papers. She is also involved with using mycorrhizal fungi in the restoration of whitebark pine. With over 40 years of experience collecting mushrooms, first as an amateur when she lived in a cabin in Colorado and later as a professional leading forays and teaching field classes in Montana, her love and enthusiasm for the Rocky Mountains and its fungal creatures runs deep.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Interest in Organisms from the Benthic Deep to the Mountaintops  
• Falling in Love with the Colorado Mountains  
• Coming out of the Mountains to Pursue a Graduate Degree  
• Foundations of the Telluride Mushroom Festival  
• Distinguishing Montagne, Alpine and Subalpine Ecosystems  
• Alpine Mushrooms and 1 Inch Dwarf Willows  
• Subalpine Aspen Forests  
• Montagne Conifer Forests  
• Role of Soil pH and Tree Age in Fungal Community Composition  
• Mycorrhizal Fungi as Key to Resiliency of White Bark Pine Forests  
• Biogeography of Arctic Alpine Fungi   
• Native and Endemic Fungi of Mountain Biomes  
• Writing “The Essential Guide to Rocky Mountain Mushrooms by Habitat”  
• Future of Research on Mycorrhizal Fungi  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Cathy Cripps Faculty Profile: https://plantsciences.montana.edu/directory/faculty/1524013/cathy-cripps  
• Orson K. Miller: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3852/10-042  
• Dwarf Willows: https://www.bbcearth.com/news/the-worlds-tiniest-tree  
• Amanita alpinicola (fungus): https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mtax/mt/2017/00000132/00000003/art00025;jsessionid=26t1ks7l10pq2.x-ic-live-02  
• Arrhenia auriscalpium (fungus): https://plantsciences.montana.edu/facultyorstaff/faculty/cripps/Arrhenia%20paper.pdf  
• Dentinum repandum (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnum_repandum  
• Hericium coralloides (fungus): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/hericium_coralloides.html  
• Suillus americanus (fungus): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/suillus_americanus.html  
• Suillus of whitebark pine: https://plantsciences.montana.edu/facultyorstaff/faculty/cripps/MohattRPViewDoc.pdf  

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 sound installations at venues around the world, including The Mendel Museum (Brno), the NTT InterCommunication Center (Tokyo), the Halles de Schaarbeek (Brussels), the Arnolfini Gallery (Bristol), the Centre for Experimental and Improvised Music (Madrid), and the old Franciscan Abbey on Sherkin Island (Ireland). His recordings of fungi have also been featured on the BBC. Michael is also a qualified ecologist, and his work in that field led him to establish the Comillane Gardens botanical gardens and nature reserve on Cape Clear Island, 10 miles south of the Irish mainland.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Early Explorations of  Electroacoustic Music & Mycology  
• Translating the Bio-Electrical Activity of Organisms into Sound  
• Different Approaches to Translate Biodata from Organisms  
• Audio Translation of Electrical Resistance vs Bioelectrical Action Potentials
• What Does Sound Coming from Mushrooms Tell Us?  
• Acoustic Differences Between Day and Nights Cycles of Fungi  
• Does Translating Bioelectrical Activity Also Us to Communicate with Other Organisms?  
• Bioactivity Translation Equipment  
• Michael's Mushroom Sound Exhibitions  
• Different Sounds of Mushrooms Indoors vs Outdoors  
• Differences in Sounds Between Mushroom Species  
• Understanding Bioactivity as Future of Understanding Fungal Networks  
• Demonstration Transcribing Bioelectrical Action Potentials of Mushrooms into Sound   
• Upcoming Projects and Collaborations  

EPISODE RESOURCES:      

• Michael Prime Bandcamp: https://michaelallenzprime.bandcamp.com/music  
• Michael Prime Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSX2bfcI0BR-phhw1DGH7JA  
• Tony Bassett (only reference we could find): http://www.fsr.org.uk/spi/spibass1.htm  
• Merlin Sheldrake: https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/  
• Peziza repanda (fungus): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/peziza_repanda.html  
• Laricifomes officinalis (AKA Agarikon mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laricifomes_officinalis  
• Macrolepiota procera (AKA Parasol mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera  

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. I’m excited to learn more about foraging in the Welsh countryside, how wild foods can add new dimensions to our lives and even the legal and conservation aspects foragers consider as we enjoy the wild harvest.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Moving to the Country, Discovering Mushrooms  
• Anglo-Saxon Mycophobia  
• Fungal Edibility & Toxicity in Perspective   
• Environmental Conservation in the UK   
• Property Rights in the UK  
• “The Charter of the Forest” More Influential than Magna Carta?  
• How Foraging Benefits Conservation Efforts  
• Cultural Influences on Foraging in the UK, Continental Europe and America  
• Mushroom Foraging Seasons in the UK   
• Exploring the Biodiversity of Elan Valley in Wales  
• Clashes with Authority in UK Forests  
• Bringing Together Conservation Authorities and Foraging Culture  
• Building Back Connection with the Land   
• Gift of Educating Others About Wild Mushrooms  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Daniel Butler Website: https://www.fungiforays.co.uk/  
• Elan Valley, Wales: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elan_Valley  
• "Charter of the Forest": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_Forest  
• Northern Goshawk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_goshawk  
• Calocybe gamose (AKA St. George's Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calocybe_gambosa  
• Boletus edulis (AKA Porcini Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis  
• Craterellus cornucopioides (AKA Black Trumpet Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craterellus_cornucopioides  

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 received her PhD in Physical Chemistry from Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia, in 1992, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in radiopharmaceutical chemistry at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization in Sydney, Australia. Dadachova’s laboratory has pioneered the treatment of infectious diseases including fungal and bacterial infections and HIV with radiolabeled antibodies (so called radioimmunotherapy). Her other research interests are radioimmunotherapy of melanoma, blood cancers and osteosarcoma as well as the development of melanin-based radioprotectors for cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, soldiers on the battlefield and astronauts in space.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Research Pathways of Melanin, Melanoma and Fungi Coming Together  
• Black Fungi in Soil Surrounding Chernobyl  
• Melanin in Fungi  
• Basics of Radiation and Types of Radioactive Particles  
• Fungi in Outer Space  
• How Fungi Use Melanin to Protect Themselves Against Ionizing Radiation  
• Fungi Surviving in Antarctica  
• Melanated Fungi Harvesting Radiation  
• Radiotropism  
• Applied Technologies for Radiation Protection from Melanized Fungi  
• The Power of Eating Melanized Mushrooms  
• Radioimmunotherapy  
• Radiopharmaceuticals  
• Future Research & Applications  

EPISODE RESOURCES:    

• Dr. Ekaterina Dadachova Academic Website: https://pharmacy-nutrition.usask.ca/profiles/kate-dadachova.php#Bio  
• Dr. Ekaterina Dadachova Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=A6Ud3q0AAAAJ&hl=en  
• Cryptococcus neoformans (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptococcus_neoformans  
• Cryptococcus antarcticus (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptococcus_antarcticus  
• Auricularia judae (fungis): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricularia_auricula-judae

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 world with an interdisciplinary approach. After receiving a Bachelor's of Science in Ecology from University of California at Santa Cruz and a Master of Environmental Management in Ecotoxicology at Duke University, Leif spent the following years becoming versed in the rapidly emerging fields of applied mycology and soil biology.  Though it may be unbeknownst to many, we are currently living in a renaissance of knowledge for understanding the processes and interconnectivity of nature. What a great opportunity to learn from a hands-on expert about how we can leverage our emerging understanding of plants, fungi, microorganisms, nutrients, water and more to enhance the resiliency, fertility and productivity of our landscapes.

TOPICS COVERED:

• Childhood in Nature, Studying Ecology, Mycelium Running
• Environmental Conditions Bioremediation Can Address
• Unbounded Ability of Natural Organisms 
• Benefits of Fungi to the Environment
• Chemistry of Fungal Decomposition & Ligninolytic Enzymes
• Interactions Between Fungi, Bacteria Virsuses and More in Soil
• Technology in Applied Mycology
• Contaminant Removal – Organic, Inorganic, Pathogens
• Engineering & Implementing Bioremediation Projects
• Real-World Examples of Bioremediation Projects
• Geomycology & Biogeochemistry
• Evolution of Environmental Institutions & Regulatory Frameworks
• All groups of Fungi Can Break Down Contaminants?
• Advice in Pursuing Bioremediation Projects

EPISODE RESOURCES: 

• Integrated Land Enhancement: https://integratedlandenhancement.com/
• Applied Mycology Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/appliedmycology/
• Fungi for the People: https://fungiforthepeople.org/
• Mushroom Mountain: https://mushroommountain.com/
• Lentinus tigrinus (AKA Tiger Sawgill Mushroom): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/lentinus_tigrinus.html
• Hericium erinaceus (AKA Lions Mane): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/hericium_erinaceus.html