logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2021
55m 16s

Cosmic Queries - The Fungus Among Us wit...

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON
About this episode

Can mushrooms take over your mind? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen explore the weird world of fungi with fun-guy fungus expert and ecologist, Merlin Sheldrake. Could inactive spores survive space?

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://www.startalkradio.net/show/cosmic-queries-the-fungus-among-us-with-merlin-sheldrake/

Thanks to our Patrons Bradley Sheldrake, Marc Armstrong, The Warzone12, Luis Cruz, Ely, Andrea Sperini, and 1x4x9 for supporting us this week.

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons



Up next
Yesterday
Do We Have to Die? with Venki Ramakrishnan
Why do we die? Do we have to? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore the paradox of death, the science of aging, and the search for immortality with Nobel Prize-winning structural biologist Venki Ramakrishnan.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire e ... Show More
1h 3m
Jul 8
Cosmic Queries – Black Hole Escape
How much do we actually know about the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice answer fan questions from plasma propulsion to quantum gravity to black hole escape plans.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkm ... Show More
49m 13s
Jul 4
Nuclear Winter with Ann Druyan and Brian Toon
Are advanced civilizations doomed to destroy themselves? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice explore the Cold War, The Drake Equation, and nuclear winter hypothesis with producer of Cosmos and Carl Sagan’s widow Ann Druyan and atmospheric scientist Brian Toon. Originally Aired Aug ... Show More
59m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
The Life-changing Magic of Fungi | Merlin Sheldrake
Have you ever wondered about the secret fungal networks operating unseen beneath your feet? My guest Merlin Sheldrake, author of the New York Times bestseller Entangled Life, reveals a surreal subterranean cosmos of mycelium underlying life as we know it. In this mind-expanding c ... Show More
52m 26s
Jun 2022
Are Mushrooms Truly Magic? with Dr. Patty Kaishian
Jonathan long saw mushrooms as an ingredient to avoid on a menu—until they learned that mushrooms, and fungi more generally, have a lot to do with queerness. In this week’s “Pride In Nature” episode, Dr. Patty Kaishian joins Jonathan to discuss fungi behavior and reproduction, he ... Show More
1h 12m
Sep 2023
S26E109: Have they finally found Planet X?
SpaceTime Series 26 Episode 109 *Have they finally found planet X? Astronomers in Japan have found possible evidence of an Earth-like planet orbiting in the Kuiper Belt. *XRISM space telescope launches into orbit. A powerful new Xray telescope has just blasted into orbit. The X-r ... Show More
34m 39s
Jan 2021
Is a fungus intelligent?
As regular listeners may recall, CrowdScience has delved into the strange world of fungi before, as we dug down into the forest floor to reveal how plants and trees are connected to the vast mycelial network known as the “wood wide web”. But what makes this network possible and h ... Show More
29m 9s
Jul 2022
Smologies #14: ALIENS with Kevin Peter Hand
A Smologies kid-friendly version of… ALIENS! EXTRATERRESTRIALS! MARTIANS! The phenomenal Dr. Kevin Peter Hand of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory dishes on the oceans of distant moons, methane rivers, ice crusts, the James Webb Space Telescope findings, what might be out there, a ... Show More
22m 12s
Dec 2022
Special Ep: Mycology (MUSHROOMS) Tom Volk Memorial Encore
In celebration of Dr. Tom Volk’s life: Mushrooms! Psilocybin! Humongous fungus! Black mold! Foraging! The incredibly charming and warm Dr. Tom Volk, world-renowned mushroom expert, welcomes Alie into his office to dive deep into the underground world of fungal enthusiasts and tou ... Show More
1h 18m
Apr 2024
#411: Aussie Astronaut Adventures & Jovian Journeys: Unveiling Space's Latest Marvels
Embark on an astronomical adventure with Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in the latest episode of Space Nuts, where they celebrate a historic moment for Australia with the announcement of the nation's first female astronaut, Catherine Bennell Pegg. Discover her remarkabl ... Show More
29m 42s
May 2024
The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Tiny Things
Brian Cox and Robin Ince shuffle through the archive to find the smallest things in the world of science, from a particle so tiny nobody has ever actually seen it, to the millions of microbes we’re all made up of. They ask the short-of-stature comedian Andy Hamilton how he’d feel ... Show More
22m 8s
Aug 2022
How do geckos stick to walls?
#012 Rebroadcast This week Melissa and Jam continue in the category of "sticky" things by exploring how geckos stick to walls. How do they do it? Is it magic? Is it like spider-man? Is it intermolecular forces?How to start a podcast. 
30m 42s