The Mushroom Show

We are honored to have Dr. Toby Kiers here to enlighten us on the incredible fungal networks that span the globe, enriching our lives without ever being seen. Dr. Kiers is the co-founder and executive director of SPUN - the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, whose mission is to map mycorrhizal fungal networks and advocate for their protection. They propose that these vast networks that extend all over the world are analogous to clean air and water in terms of sustaining the planet. 
In our conversation, we begin to connect the dots between plants and fungi, the role that fungi plays in soil and forests around the world, how these fungi have evolved to be "nutrient merchants", carbon sequestration, the incredible field work that Dr. Kiers and her team are conducting in Patagonia, and how to be a myconaut. Enjoy! 

0:00 - Framing the Conversation
1:30 - Thinking About Soils Before Thinking About Fungi
3:50 - Mycorrhizal Fungal Networks - Arbuscular vs Ectomycorrhizal
11:11 - "Intelligent" Networks (Labelling Nutrients with Nanodots)
14:05 - Carbon Sequestering in Soil & Nutrient Systems
17:19 - SPUN - Mapping the Networks Around the World
22:21 - Field Work in Patagonia
24:00 - Conservation Efforts
26:25 - Upcoming Hotspots
32:26 - SPUN's Forging Connections with Local Communities (Anti-Helicopter Research)
33:29 - Threats Facing Fungal Networks
36:43 - Mindshift Towards Conserving Things We Cannot See
41:24 - Visualizing Nutrient Flows (Fungal Soundscapes)
42:00 - How People Can Get Involved - 3 F's Initiative
43:21 - How to be a Myconaut (Citizen Science)
47:47 - Where to Connect and Learn


🎉 The FreshCap team has launched our enormous mushroom E-Book!! Get yours for FREE by signing up here: 👉 https://freshcap.link/ebook 👈

In this episode of the mushroom show, we talk to Kevin Feeney who is the author of Fly Agaric: A Compendium of History, Pharmacology, Mythology & Exploration. He is an expert on the iconic Amanita muscaria (the mushroom emoji, in case you don't know) and we delve into the fascinating facts and myths about this mushroom, including his personal experience with it's psychoactive effects. 

Kevin Feeney, PhD, JD, is a cultural anthropologist and lawyer currently working as a Program Director and Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Studies – Social Sciences at Central Washington University. His primary research interests include examining legal and regulatory issues surrounding the religious and cultural use of psychoactive substances, with an emphasis on peyote and ayahuasca, and exploring modern and traditional uses of Amanita muscaria, with a specific focus on medicinal use and preparation practices. His research has been published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Human Organization, and Curare, among other books and journals. He is a current member of Chacruna’s Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, and recently joined the Board of Advisors for Psyched Wellness, a Canadian health supplements company emphasizing medicinal mushrooms. 

Timestamps:
0:00 Framing the Conversation
1:23 Being Drawn to the Mushroom 
4:40 Writing the Book on Amanita Muscaria
8:37 Poisonous Non-Consumables for Sale (Why Amanitas Were Sold)
14:23 What Compounds Live in Amanita, and Why Are They Useful?
18:00 The Difference Between Muscimol & Ibotenic Acid
25:50 Methods of Preparing Amanita Muscaria
31:00 Differences Between Psychoactive Mushrooms (Psilocybe vs Amanita); Where they grow, what they grow on, what the effects are.
36:30 Mycophilia vs Mycophobia - The Reputation of The Amanita Genus
41:32 The Time-warping Experience of Taking Amanita
50:47 Potential Therapeutic Effects of Amanita 
57:05 YouTube Community Question 1: Did Vikings Use Amanita Muscaria For Supernatural Strength During Battle?
1:02:00 YouTube Community Question 2: Can You Grow Amanita Muscaria?
1:05:03 YouTube Community Question 3: Is Repetitive Motion Syndrome a Feature of the Amanita Experience?
1:07:27 YouTube Community Question 4: Is the "Reindeer Thing" Legit?
1:11:40 Keep an Open Mind 

Webpage: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kevin-Feeney
Amazon Page USA: https://www.amazon.com/Fly-Agaric-Compendium-Pharmacology-Exploration/dp/0578714426/
Amazon Page Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Fly-Agaric-Compendium-Pharmacology-Exploration/dp/0578714426/

Thank you for listening! Tell us in the comments what you loved about this interview, and who you would like to see on the Mushroom Show in future episodes.

Shelby Hartman is the CEO and Chief Editor of DoubleBlind Magazine, as well as a self-proclaimed lover of psychedelics; her rich experience in reporting on their history, policy, and recreational use made for an incredibly engaging & informative conversation. We dive into what's happening with the popularization of psychedelics, what the path towards legal psilocybin might look like, if synthetic psilocybin is the same as taking a whole mushroom, and so much more.

Eric Whitehead is an absolute pro when it comes to wild foraging, because his expertise and life experience is deeply rooted in nature. In this episode of the Mushroom Show, Eric reveals some of the things that led him to start his company Untamed Feast, the differences between eating a dried mushroom over fresh mushroom, how there is a "lawless Wild West" when it comes to mushroom foraging, and what to look for when you are foraging. 
There's so many actionable takeaways from this episode, and we could have talked with Eric for hours. Let us know what you loved, what we might have missed, and who you would like to see on the show in future episodes. 

0:00 Framing the Conversation
1:05 A Wild Upbringing
6:13 The Dangers & Thrills of Foraging (The Wild West of Matsutake)
15:20 The Beginnings of Untamed Feast
23:00 How Do We Avoid Mycophobia
32:00 The Dragon's Den
41:19 Going From Dried Mushrooms to Complex Products
45:44 How to Find Morels (Lots of Mushroom Sex)
57:10 Verpas vs Morels
1:02:50 Porcini Mushrooms
1:11:30 Are Mushrooms Better Fresh or Dried?
1:18:10 Viewer Questions: Why Can't Some Mushrooms Be Farmed?
1:24:00 Viewer Questions: Where to Forage for Wild Mushrooms?

Myc Tyson is on a mission to spread the word about fungi to every person on the planet! Myc has demonstrated this by starting the hugely successful subreddit r/Mushroomgrowers back in 2015, starting an online mushroom culture business, and orchestrating various mycophilanthropy projects - giving back to the world via the power of Mushrooms. Click the links below to learn more about the work Myc has done in Kenya. This was such an awesome conversation and Myc is doing some really important work in the field of mushrooms. 

As always, let us know what you loved, what we missed, and who you want us to bring on the show next time. Thanks for watching! 

Chapters:
0:00 Framing the Conversation
0:59 Introducing Mr. Myc Tyson! (Appreciating the Beards)
4:00 Myc's Mushroom Background
7:45 The Creation r/MushroomGrowers and Quitting an IT Career
15:00 The Power of Lion's Mane
22:58 Mycophilanthropy
33:03 Growing Mushrooms at Home
40:40 Mushrooms Find a Way
44:47 The Pros and Cons of Myco-preneurship
50:57 The Secret Sauce for Agaricus Farming
55:20 The Doorway to Mycology & Mike Tyson Himself
1:01:50 How to Connect with Myc

Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2p8aks8c

Links:
Myc's Website: https://myctyson.com/
Hericium Labs: https://www.hericiumlabs.com/
Eco Agric Uganda: https://www.ecoagricuganda.org/

Alan Rockefeller is a renowned citizen mycologist, and has contributed an enormous amount of information and insight into the world of mushrooms.  In this interview, we cover everything from Alan's discoveries in Mexico to the future of psilocybin to the importance of reconnecting with nature.
 

0:00 Framing the Conversation
2:12 Alan's Laboratory
3:30 The Drive to Study Mycology
4:44 Mexican Mushrooms
8:10 Citizen Science & Mycological Exploration
10:22 DNA Barcoding & Sequencing
18:58 Mushroom Type Distribution
20:00 Why Plants are Deadlier Than Mushrooms
22:20 Tips for Identifying Mushrooms
28:25 Tips for Photographing Mushrooms
30:05 Psilocybin Research
38:15 Amanita vs Psilocybe
40:35 The Future of Psilocybin
43:24 Mushrooms for Connection
47:20 Mushrooms Growing Near Humans
48:40 Exciting Things in the Mushroom Space

https://www.inaturalist.org/
https://mushroomobserver.org/
https://mimosatherapeutics.com/

This week's guest on the Mushroom Show is Jeff Chilton, who is a veteran of the mushroom industry. He has been enamored by mushrooms since the psychedelic era of the 60's, and has since become a leading expert in medicinal mushrooms, grown culinary mushrooms on massive commercial scales and he has a deep understanding of psychoactive mushrooms. After 10 years of commercial growing experience, he co-authored the best-selling Mushroom Grower's Guide with Paul Stamets in 1983. Jeff has an absolute wealth of mushroom knowledge and experience and in this interview we covered his experience travelling in search of mushroom knowledge from Mexico to China, the policies of psilocybin in the future, the differences between mycelium on grain and mushroom fruiting body, and so much more!

Thank you for watching, let us know in the comments what you liked about this interview and let us know who you want to see on the Mushroom Show in future episodes.

0:00 Updates to the Mushroom Show
0:30 Framing the Conversation with Jeff
5:10 (Conversation Start) Jeff Chilton's Mushroom History
8:20 Entering the Commercial Mushroom Industry
10:55 Psilocybe Mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest
13:56 Pre-Internet Mushroom Knowledge
17:30 Writing The Mushroom Cultivator with Paul Stamets
21:10 Flocking to Oaxaca in the 60's
24:30 The Changing Narrative on Psychoactive Substances
31:45 What About Microdosing?
34:45 Restrictions of Era and Country
42:05 Jeff's Take on Fantastic Fungi
47:54 The Nammex Story
51:30 Grow Where it Makes Sense
53:51 Mycelium on Grain Explained
59:55 The Beneficial Compounds in Mushrooms and How We Test for Them
1:10:56 What is the Future of Medicinal Mushrooms?
1:22:04 Closing Remarks About the Mushroom World

🎉 The FreshCap team has launched our enormous mushroom E-Book!! Get yours for FREE by signing up here:
👉  https://freshcap.link/ebook  👈

Check out the Nammex Whitepaper: https://www.nammex.com/redefining-medicinal-mushrooms/

In this episode of the Mushroom Show we are interviewing Jasper Degenaars, who hails from the Netherlands and is currently located in Guatemala where he is the CEO (or Chief Education Officer) at the prestigious Fungi Academy. Fungi Academy is a center for learning about how to grow mushrooms, community, and wellness. Located on the gorgeous Lake Atitlan, Fungi Academy operates as a hub for international mycophiles to come teach, learn and grow together. 

We talk about Jasper's journey into the mushroom world, how culture and legality are not always in sync, how Fungi Academy has altered their positioning as an organization in recent years, benefits and drawbacks of operating in Guatemala, censorship of mushroom content online, and what Jasper is most excited about in the mushroom realm. 

My conversations with Jasper are always a pleasure and we're so happy to share this one with you guys - enjoy! Check out the timestamps in the description if you want to skip to a particular section! And as always, enjoy the conversation! 

0:00 Intro

1:13 Jasper’s Personal Journey Into Mushrooms

7:55 Legality and Culture are Not Always In Sync

11:06 The Evolution Of Fungi Academy

16:55 What Fungi Academy Is And Future Plans

21:30 Fungi Academy Operating In Guatemala

26:52 Censorship In The Mushroom Space?

35:04 The Mushroom Email (Mushroom Magic On A Monday)

40:07 What’s Exciting About Mushrooms Right Now?

42:06 What Mushroom Are You Most Interested In?

44:54 Where To Learn More About Fungi Academy

There are many reasons to use functional mushrooms, but Tony and Tegan have narrowed down the top contenders for harnessing the power found within our fungal friends. In this episode of Mushroom Coffee, Tony and Tegan discuss the 4 top reasons for what motivates people to use functional mushrooms. 

0:00 Intro
3:45 - Reason #1 - Immunity
4:28 - Mushrooms as Immunomodulators
7:05 - When Will I Feel the Effects of Functional Mushrooms?
8:35 - Reason #2 - Energy
9:00 - The People Who Benefit from the "Energy Mushroom" the Most? 
12:40 - Reason #3 - Brain Health
13:43 - How the Effects of Mushrooms can Compound for Bodily Benefits
14:23 - Anecdote of Nerve Growth Regeneration from Lion's Mane
16:40 - The Hardest Working Mushroom?
17:20 - Reason #4 - Sleep & Relaxation
21:42 - Anecdote of Sleep-Assisting Reishi Combo
22:30 - Summary
24:12 - Tony & Tegan's Main Reasons for Using Mushrooms
24:50 - Outro; Thanks for Watching!

🎉 The FreshCap team has launched our enormous mushroom E-Book!! Get yours for FREE by signing up here: 

👉  https://freshcap.link/ebook 👈

Andrew Carter is the co-founder of Smallhold - a distributed agriculture mushroom company. Smallhold is growing “the produce of our times” and finding innovative ways to get more fresh high quality gourmet mushrooms into people's hearts, minds, and of course- stomachs. In this episode, we talk about how Smallhold got its start, how the idea of “distributed agriculture” works, what some of the challenges are of growing mushrooms on a small scale, and what the future holds for mushrooms in North America. Enjoy!

0:00 Intro
1:29 How Andrew Got Started In Mushrooms
4:51 Is Location Important For What You Do? (Specialty Mushrooms)
6:55 Smallhold And “Distributed Agriculture”
11:08 Farms In Brooklyn and Austin - What’s Next With R&D
13:45 Challenges Of Growing Mushrooms With Smallhold Systems
18:30 Smallhold Similar To The Mella? Challenges Anticipated?
24:30 Can Mushrooms Be “Branded”?
29:08 What Is Next With Smallhold and The Future Of Mushrooms
31:40 Different Species Of Mushrooms That Smallhold Grows
34:50 The Growth Of Interest And Awareness Of Mushrooms 
41:35 Where To Learn More About Smallhold


Website: smallhold.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallhold/