The fungus among us

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 series 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: 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.