Since we just spent a number of years thinking about viruses, here’s a question: Should we be pretty worried about funguses, too?

This hour, a look at the real-life fungal infection of ants that inspired the video game and HBO seriesThe Last of Us, which is now back for its second season. Plus, we talk with a local mushroom farmer and an author who writes fungal fiction and looks at the role of fungi in our world.

GUESTS:


William Beckerson: Post-doctoral research Fellow with the National Science Foundation


Patricia Kaishian: Mycologist and visiting assistant professor of biology at Bard College


Chris Pacheco: Owner of Seacoast Mushrooms in Mystic, Connecticut


Jeff VanderMeer: Author of a number of books, including the Southern Reach Trilogy, which includes Annihilation; he co-founded The Sunshine State Biodiversity Group

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 6, 2023.

Since we just spent a number of years thinking about viruses, here&rsquo;s a question: Should we be pretty worried about funguses, too?
This hour, a look at the real-life fungal infection of ants that inspired the video game and <a href="https://www.hbo.com/the-last-of-us">HBO series</a> The Last of Us, which is now back for its second season. Plus, we talk with a local mushroom farmer and an author who writes fungal fiction and looks at the role of fungi in our world.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>
William Beckerson: Post-doctoral research Fellow with the National Science Foundation
</li>
<li>
Patricia Kaishian: Mycologist and visiting assistant professor of biology at Bard College
</li>
<li>
Chris Pacheco: Owner of&nbsp;<a href="https://seacoastmushrooms.com/">Seacoast Mushrooms</a>&nbsp;in Mystic, Connecticut
</li>
<li>
Jeff VanderMeer: Author of a number of books, including the Southern Reach Trilogy, which includes Annihilation; he co-founded&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sunshinestatebiodiversitygroup.com/">The Sunshine State Biodiversity Group</a>
</li>
</ul>
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p">Spotify</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9b6b3cee-f69b-4729-a78b-181f851d80e8/the-colin-mcenroe-show">Amazon Music</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/The-Colin-McEnroe-Show-p1208473/">TuneIn</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-colin-mcenroe-show-connecticut-public-lXR08dxQSM5/">Listen Notes</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters">Subscribe to </a><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters">The Noseletter</a>, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
Join the conversation on <a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 6, 2023.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.