Are Humans Hot Enough to Survive a Fungal Apocalypse?

About this episode:   New research has identified massive fungal blooms in North America in the Cretaceous period, suggesting significant ecological upheaval before and after the asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs. In this episode: Arturo Casadevall, senior author of the study, explains why these findings are so significant and his hypothesis that fungi gave mammals an evolutionary leg-up over reptiles. Guest:  Dr. Arturo Casadevall, PhD, MS, is chair of the department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a global expert in host defense mechanisms, fungi, and antibody-based therapies. He is also co-author of the book What If Fungi Win? with Stephanie Desmon. Host:  Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. Show links and related content:  Fungal Surges Marked Cretaceous Mass Extinction that Ended Age of Dinosaurs—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health What zombie show 'The Last of Us' gets right about fungus in a warming world—Washington Post What If Fungi Win?—Johns Hopkins University Press The Discovery of a New Clade of Candida Auris—A "Critical Pathogen"—Public Health On Call (August 2024) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.