Welcome to Crazy About Mushrooms

What do the poisoned Emperor Claudius, the Aztec storm deity Quetzacotl and a 5,500 year old Ice Man have in common? They were all crazy about mushrooms! For thousands of years, people the world over have cherished mushrooms as food, medicine and a gateway to the divine. Why do some people love mushrooms? What can we learn from them? "Crazy About Mushrooms" is a radio documentary that explores these questions.

The project is currently being produced by journalist and mycophile (mushroom-lover) Anna McHugh. Funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and supported by KVMR-FM in Nevada City, CA, McHugh is traveling the United States speaking with mushroom luminaries from all over and bringing their stories, and the story of the mysterious mushroom, to light.

McHugh is also working on a companion book by the same title. Check back on this website for updates, follow the project on Kickstarter and Facebook, or contact us to support the project!

Read an article about how CPB and KVMR are supporting this exciting project!
http://yubanet.com/regional/KVMR-Awards-Pair-of-National-Programming-Grants.php

Can Oyster Mushrooms Clean Up Oil Spills?

Paul Stamets of Fungi Perfecti invited me to record his research on oil-digesting mushroom mycelium in Washington State's Puget Sound. Stamets has been cultivating and researching mushrooms for over 30 years, and discovered that the common oyster mushroom can break down and digest oil, and are able to restore life to contaminated soil in as few as 6 weeks!

Listen in on Paul Stamets as he explains his newest experiment using oil-eating oyster mushrooms: the mycoboom! Much like an oil containment boom in design, Stamets's mycoboom is designed to trap, consume and neutralize oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico!