It all started with rumours of an 800-meter underground organism hidden under the streets of Cambridge and a plate of mushrooms on toast. With cream. In this three-part series, Tim Hayward falls down a rabbit hole into kingdom (or as some call it queendom) Fungi. Along the way he starts to question pretty much everything he thought he knew about the world, discovering scientists doing pioneering research that’s changing how we understand life on Earth and offering solutions to some of our biggest challenges.

In this final episode, Tim tries to grow a lion’s mane mushroom. He then finds out about a “body snatcher” fungus that hijacks ants and manipulates their behaviour - which makes him wonder about what the complex chemical compounds produced by fungi might do to humans. He investigates the new wave of research interest around psilocybin, an alkaloid found in many species of fungi - and the significant promise these compounds are showing as potential treatments for addiction, PTSD, anxiety and even dementia - and then gets a look at a cutting-edge research lab growing medicinal mushrooms in the forests of Finland.

Featuring:
Charissa de Bekker, Assistant Professor studying fungi that manipulate behaviour
Zoe Cormier, journalist and writer
Albert Garcia-Romeu, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Thomas Hartle, the first person to undergo psilocybin treatment legally in Canada
Eric Puro, CEO of KÄÄPÄ Biotech
Joette Crosier, Lab manager at KÄÄPÄ Biotech

Presenter: Tim Hayward
Producer and Sound Designer: Richard Ward
Executive Producer: Miranda Hinkley
Image courtesy of Carolina Magnasco
A Loftus Media production for Radio 4 Show less