logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
1h 18m

Ep 125 Blastomycosis: How fungus became ...

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
About this episode
Fungal infections don’t often make an appearance on this podcast, but when they do, you know you’re in for a wild ride. In this episode, we explore the rare but potentially deadly fungal infection blastomycosis. We trace the journey of Blastomyces spores as they depart from their cozy homes of decomposing wood and make their way first into mammalian lungs be ... Show More
Up next
Apr 14
Ep 207 Tear Gas: How can a chemical weapon be “humane”?
Tear gas is an expected, normalized part of protests today. But its use in international war is banned. How can that be? That’s just one of the questions we investigate in this episode. First, we take you through the long history of tear gas and its emergence alongside deadlier c ... Show More
1h 15m
Apr 7
Ep 206 Oropouche Virus: More than a smidge worrisome
Though discovered relatively recently, Oropouche virus has been making headlines as an emerging vector-borne infectious disease on the rise. Not transmitted by the usual suspects (like ticks and mosquitoes), this virus is instead spread through the bites of midges or no-see-ums. ... Show More
1h 12m
Mar 31
Ep 205 Cancer Part 4: Where do things stand today?
For the entirety of our species’ history, our approach to cancer has largely been to react, to design new therapies and better combinations of treatments. This energy has certainly been well-spent, but what if we didn’t have to use treatment at all? Or what if we could minimize t ... Show More
1h 19m
Recommended Episodes
May 2023
Fungal pandemic threat
We are familiar with fungal infections like Thrush and Athlete’s Foot, but fungal diseases that can kill are on the increase. The World Health Organisation is so concerned that it has published its first ever list of life threatening fungi. James Gallagher hears stories of hospit ... Show More
27m 50s
Feb 2022
Fire Loving Fungi
Burn sites create unlikely food for today’s fungal topic: pyrophilous— or fire-loving, fungi. Today on the show we welcome Dr. Monika Fischer, who has been studying fungi that thrive in post-fire ecosystems. We discuss how wildfires change ecosystems, the roles that fungi play in ... Show More
57m 21s
Jan 2023
Is a fungal pandemic possible?
James Gallagher asks whether the next pandemic might be an invasive fungi? Most people think of athlete's foot or fungal toe nails but the World Health Organisation recently issued the first ever list of life threatening fungi. James hears stories of hospitals being shut down, a ... Show More
30m 52s
Sep 2023
The Science of Fungi
Do fungi breathe? That’s what listener Alice wants to know - and we’ll find out in our punniest episode yet! We visit the Fungarium - the largest and oldest collection of fungi in the world with curator Lee Davies, who describes himself as a “librarian” of mushrooms. We’ll explor ... Show More
23m 39s
Dec 2023
275 - Blight - Emily Monosson
<p>How likely is the fungal infection in The Last of Us? The one that takes over human brains and brings humanity to the brink of extinction, could something like that really happen?</p><p>In this episode we sit down with Emily Monosson, an expert on deadly fungal infections, and ... Show More
47m 18s
Sep 2021
Spalting Fungi, Pigment Ecology & Wood Anatomy - Dr. Seri Robinson
Today’s show is all about spalting fungi and its unique mycology. This time, we are joined by THE expert, Dr. Seri Robinson, who has been studying the phenomena for over a decade. Aside from spalting’s unique mycology, we discuss the auspicious applications of these fungi and the ... Show More
1h 1m
Jan 2021
Is a fungus intelligent?
<p>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 an ... Show More
29m 9s
Sep 2020
Fungus Amungus
<p>Six years ago, a new infection began popping up in four different hospitals on three different continents, all around the same time. It wasn’t a bacteria, or a virus. It was ... a killer fungus. No one knew where it came from, or why. Today, the story of an ancient showdown be ... Show More
31m 52s