Hey everyone, it’s Ryan.

I know many of you are patiently waiting for Episode 6 of A Morel Dilemma, and it is coming next week. I genuinely cannot wait for you to hear this one.

But it is actually available right now for supporter members. You can go to www.thepoisonlab.com/support and get every single episode right now for as little as $1 a month. And full disclosure, I only get about half of that. It does not go to profit. It just helps repay some of the very real costs of making this show: the interviews, editing, sound design, hosting, and the absurd amount of time that went into producing it.

So if you have been enjoying the series, becoming a supporter is an incredible way to help make work like this possible. And if you are already supporting the show, thank you. Truly. It helps more than you know. And for everyone else listening, thank you for being here and for sharing the series.

But for today, I wanted to give everyone a small glimpse into the supporter bonus episodes that have been available to members throughout the series. See the episode here

https://the-poison-lab.captivate.fm/episode/a-morel-dilemma-preview-supporting-member-bonus-episodes

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• Ad free episodes
• Bonus content and early access
• Discounts and give aways on GOTA PICCEM Mushroom card game

The GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!

The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!

• Full book reading (6 minutes!)

Tox trinkets (Rep the show at home!)

• Email: [email protected]

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This preview features the opening conversations from two supporting member bonus episodes in The Poison Lab outbreak series.

First, we head to Ontario, where a mass aconite poisoning unfolded after a restaurant spice was contaminated with one of the most dangerous plant toxins in the world. Then we travel to Australia, where the poppy seed supply was contaminated with thebaine, triggering seizures and severe poisonings across the country.

These are the kinds of outbreak stories that show how quickly a routine exposure can become a public health emergency, and how clinicians, poison centers, laboratories, and public health teams work together to figure out what went wrong.

In this bonus episode of A Morel Dilemma, Ryan shares his recent interview on WTMJ Conversations with Libby Collins.

The conversation goes behind the scenes of the series and explores why Ryan spent two years investigating the 2023 Bozeman, Montana morel mushroom outbreak, one of the strangest poisoning outbreaks in recent history. Ryan discusses how the outbreak challenged long-held assumptions about morels, why mushroom poisonings are not all the same, and how public health investigators work through uncertainty when people become seriously ill from a shared exposure.

The episode also covers mushroom foraging safety, the difference between true and false morels, why raw or undercooked morels can be dangerous, and what Wisconsin poison center toxicologists commonly see during mushroom season. Ryan also talks about broader poisoning outbreaks, including vape-associated lung injury, contaminated synthetic cannabinoids, pediatric exploratory ingestions, THC edibles, and other toxicology problems that show up far more often than mushrooms.

This is a good episode for anyone who wants a more conversational introduction to A Morel Dilemma, the public health stakes behind poisoning outbreaks, and the strange world of mushroom toxicology.

Topics covered include:

• Why foraging is becoming more popular
• Why you should never eat a mushroom unless you are 100% sure of its identification
• True morels vs. false morels
• Why morels should never be eaten raw or undercooked
• The Bozeman morel mushroom outbreak
• How investigators think through foodborne poisoning mysteries
• Mushroom poisonings seen by poison centers in Wisconsin
• Death caps, destroying angels, and amatoxin poisoning
• Pediatric poisoning risks, including laundry pods, THC edibles, and household chemicals
• Why poisoning outbreaks are difficult to recognize and investigate
• What A Morel Dilemma is really trying to uncover

You can learn more about the series at ThePoisonLab.com or TheMorelDilemma.com.

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Join as a supporting member

• Ad free episodes
• Bonus content and early access
• Discounts and give aways on GOTA PICCEM Mushroom card game

The GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!

The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!

• Full book reading (6 minutes!)

Tox trinkets (Rep the show at home!)

• Email: [email protected]

More Show Resources

• Ryan's Medical Games and Resources
• Show Website

In Episode 5, we put the morel mushroom on trial. This bonus episode shows how we built the case.

Dr. Grant Comstock joins me for the full, unfiltered causation breakdown using the Bradford Hill criteria, a public health framework used to separate true causation from simple association. We walk through the CDC data step by step, looking at strength of association, timing, dose response, plausibility, consistency, specificity, and the places where the morel theory starts to strain.

This is the deeper dive behind the trial: how toxicologists stress-test an outbreak theory when there is no smoking gun, no known toxin, and no easy answer.

Select references

1. CDC Bozeman Montana Outbreak Data
2. Ryan's paper on the Bradford hill criteria in EVALI

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• Ad free episodes
• Bonus content and early access
• Discounts and give aways on GOTA PICCEM Mushroom card game

The GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!

The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!

• Full book reading (6 minutes!)

Tox trinkets (Rep the show at home!)

• Email: [email protected]

More Show Resources

• Ryan's Medical Games and Resources
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The case against the morel mushroom is starting to come together, but there are still major problems. Not everyone who got sick ate morels, and not everyone who ate morels got sick. If the mushroom is really the culprit, those gaps have to be explained.

In Episode 5 of A Morel Dilemma, we put the CDC data on trial with Dr. Grant Comstock and stress-test the evidence linking morels to the Bozeman outbreak. We look at case definitions, dose response, why some may have gotten sick but not others,

Because the question is no longer just whether morels can make people sick.

It is why this is happening now.

and whether this is truly a new danger or something that has been hiding in plain sight.

Select references:

1. Dr. Beck's Study
2. Dr. Leang's Case Series

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• Ad free episodes
• Bonus content and early access
• Discounts and give aways on GOTA PICCEM Mushroom card game

The GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!

The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!

• Full book reading (6 minutes!)

Tox trinkets (Rep the show at home!)

• Email: [email protected]

More Show Resources

• Ryan's Medical Games and Resources
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When every obvious test comes back negative, investigators have to look for another way to prove what caused the outbreak. So this episode takes a step sideways, from Bozeman, Montana to a small mountain village in the French Alps, where researchers faced a different kind of mystery: a cluster of ALS cases with no clear cause.

What they found there may help explain how scientists can link a mushroom to a devastating illness, even without finding a toxin.

In Episode 4 of A Morel Dilemma, we follow the investigation into Montchavin, mushrooms, environmental exposure, and the kind of epidemiologic detective work that becomes necessary when the lab tests do not give you the answer.

Select resources

1. Mt Chavin investigation
2. Mushroom Identifcation

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The GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!

The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!

• Full book reading (6 minutes!)

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• Email: [email protected]

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In this bonus episode, we go deeper into the public health machinery behind a mass poisoning investigation.

Dr. Michael Yeh, a medical toxicologist at the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health, explains how the CDC gets pulled into unusual outbreaks, how poison centers and health departments help spot early signals, and what happens once a local cluster starts looking like something bigger.

We also explore several real-world investigations, from lead-contaminated applesauce to synthetic cannabinoid poisonings to Diamond Shruumz chocolate products, and ask a practical question: when something strange is happening, who do you call?

This is a behind-the-scenes look at the systems, people, and detective work that help identify poisoning outbreaks before they spread.

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• Ad free episodes
• Bonus content and early access
• Discounts and give aways on GOTA PICCEM Mushroom card game

The GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!

The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!

• Full book reading (6 minutes!)

Tox trinkets (Rep the show at home!)

• Email: [email protected]

More Show Resources

• Ryan's Medical Games and Resources
• Show Website

With the restaurant closed and the first interviews underway, investigators bring in the CDC and FDA to help answer the question at the center of the outbreak: what actually made people sick?

The leading suspect is still the morel mushroom, but proving that is not simple. The symptoms could fit bacterial food poisoning, spoiled fish, a chemical contaminant, a mislabeled spice, or even a toxic mushroom mixed in by mistake. So the team starts testing everything they can: patient samples, food samples, bacteria, pesticides, heavy metals, classic mushroom toxins, and more.

In Episode 3 of A Morel Dilemma, we go inside the science of a poisoning investigation and ask what happens when every obvious test comes back negative. Because when there is no toxin to find, the mystery does not end. It gets harder.

Review the show where ever your listening

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• Ad free episodes
• Bonus content and early access
• Discounts and give aways on GOTA PICCEM Mushroom card game

The GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!

The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!

• Full book reading (6 minutes!)

Tox trinkets (Rep the show at home!)

• Email: [email protected]

More Show Resources

• Ryan's Medical Games and Resources
• Show Website

In this bonus episode, Dr. Rob Bassett from Philadelphia Poison Control walks us through one of the most useful teaching tools in mushroom toxicology: GOTTA PICCEM.

This mnemonic organizes toxic mushrooms by their clinical syndromes and, most importantly, by the timing of symptom onset. That timing can be one of the biggest clues toxicologists use to decide whether a mushroom exposure is likely to be mild, dangerous, or potentially life-threatening.

Dr. Bassett is a gifted educator, and in this episode he breaks down the major mushroom toxins in a way that is practical, memorable, and useful for anyone who might someday need to recognize a serious mushroom poisoning.

Select Resources:

1. Richard Hamilton's Original Mnemonic

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• Ad free episodes
• Bonus content and early access
• Discounts and give aways on GOTA PICCEM Mushroom card game

The GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!

The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!

• Full book reading (6 minutes!)

Tox trinkets (Rep the show at home!)

• Email: [email protected]

More Show Resources

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This bonus episode takes a deeper look at the muscarine poisoning case discussed by Dr. Matthew Stanton. We break down how muscarine causes toxicity, why its symptoms can become life-threatening, and why its important for foragers to recognize so they can be treated.

Select References:

1. Dr. Stanton's case report
2. Wisconsin Muscarine Case Series (Not yet available)

Review the show where ever your listening

Get Messages from Toxo (Join the Newsletter!)

Join as a supporting member

• Ad free episodes
• Bonus content and early access
• Discounts and give aways on GOTA PICCEM Mushroom card game

The GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!

The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!

• Full book reading (6 minutes!)

Tox trinkets (Rep the show at home!)

• Email: [email protected]

More Show Resources

• Ryan's Medical Games and Resources
• Show Website