Is a fungus intelligent?

CrowdScience listener Matt wants to know why he's warm blooded. He started thinking about this when he was watching some ants during the recent heatwave in Europe and wondered why their blood didn't boil. What are the pros and cons of being warm-blooded like us or cold-blooded re ...  Show more

Why is it hard to concentrate, and why does it feel like such hard work? The CrowdScience inbox is full of questions like that, so for this show we’re concentrating on concentration and focusing on how we focus. We’ll be answering questions about the extra energy the brain uses w ...  Show more

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 min ...

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 ...

Biologist Merlin Sheldrake, author of the new book “Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures,” speaks with us about fungal networks, lifeforms as ecosystems, and the transformative power of LSD to shift how we think. 

Some specialized fungi can hijack the behavior of ants, wasps, and spiders in order to spread their spores. Learn about the real-life Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps fungi that inspired 'The Last of Us' in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffwo ...  Show more