The fungus among us

The HBO television adaptation of the video game, The Last of Us, takes place after a global pandemic caused by a fungal infection. Which sparked the question: how much should we be afraid of fungal infections in our world today? This hour, we learn about the real-life fungal infection of ants that inspired the video game, and we discuss the role of fungi in our world. Plus, we talk with a local mushroom farmer and an author who writes fungal fiction.

GUESTS: 

• William Beckerson: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the National Science Foundation, who works in Dr. Charissa de Bekker’s lab, where they study zombie fungus
• Patricia Kaishian: Mycologist and Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology at Bard College. 
• Chris Pacheco: Owner of Seacoast Mushrooms in Mystic, CT
• Jeff VanderMeer: Author of a number of books, including “The Southern Reach Trilogy”, which includes Annihilation. He recently co-founded The Sunshine State Biodiversity Group, an environmental non-profit

Join the conversation onFacebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.