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Paul Stamets
50 episodes curated for the conscious community.
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50 episodes
Amanita Muscaria: History, Identification & Safety of Fly Agaric
Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric, has ancient roots in pest control and cultural mythology. Despite its striking beauty, this mushroom poses serious health risks at high doses.
39K views
Lactarius Deliciosus: Identifying & Foraging the Saffron Cap
The saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus) is an easy-to-identify edible mushroom with striking green staining and orange milk. Learn how to distinguish it from toxic lookalikes and why this species returns year after year to the same habitat.
78K views
Winter Chanterelle: Late-Season Edible Mushroom Identification
The winter chanterelle (Craterellus tubaeformis) is a cold-hardy edible mushroom that thrives in late-season forests. Its trumpet shape, ridged gills, and ability to survive freezing make it a prized find.
42K views
Psychedelics in Media & Science: Why the Field Changed
A SXSW panel explores how documentaries, books, and research shifted public perception of psychedelics from taboo to therapeutic potential.
87K views
Psychedelic States of Consciousness: Natural Dimensions of the Mind
Exploring how altered states of consciousness are a natural part of human neurobiology, from sleep and dreams to psychedelic experiences and the evolution of perception.
120K views
Mushroom Mycelium for Bee Health: Decentralized Biodiversity Initiative
Paul Stamets launches Mycelial Earth, a decentralized blockchain-powered initiative using reishi mushroom extracts to boost bee immunity and restore ecological biodiversity.
46K views
Early Morels: Identification, Habitat & Edibility
Paul Stamets explores Early Morels (Verpa bohemica) in this Earth Day mushroom hunt, covering where they grow, how to identify them, and the complex questions surrounding their edibility and toxicity.
59K views
Growing Mycelium Rafts for Backyard Cultivation
Learn how to create mycelial mother patches using inoculated logs and wood chips, then expand them as gifts for lasting fungi colonies in your yard.
153K views
Agarikon Harvesting in Old Growth Forests: Low-Impact Collection and Medicinal Research
Paul Stamets documents the discovery and careful harvesting of Agarikon in Olympic National Forest, extracting a tissue sample for strain sequencing and medicinal compound analysis.
109K views
Mycelium Leather: How Mushrooms Replace Animal Hides in Fashion
Paul Stamets endorses mycelium-based leather as a sustainable alternative to animal hides, championing Stella McCartney's use of reishi mushroom in high fashion.
79K views
Cauliflower Mushroom: Sparassis Radicata's Underground Root System
Discover how Sparassis radicata (cauliflower mushroom) develops underground primordia up to six feet deep and produces potent anti-fungal compounds for forest survival.
49K views
Puffball Spores: Nature's Ancient Antibiotic & Spore Dispersal
Puffballs are fungi that disperse billions of spores through impact and wind, with indigenous peoples discovering their powerful antimicrobial healing properties long before modern science confirmed them.
36K views
Agarikon Cloning Technique: Preserving Fungal Strains from Old-Growth Forests
Learn how mycologists use cork borers and tissue culture to clone endangered Agarikon fungi from remote forests and preserve their unique medicinal properties indefinitely.
86K views
Garden Giant Mushrooms: Growing, Foraging & Cooking
Learn how to cultivate Stropharia rugoso-annulata (Garden Giant mushrooms) in your backyard for years, harvest abundant crops, and prepare them in the kitchen.
663K views
Ganoderma Oregonense: Foraging, Cooking & Medicinal Uses
Ganoderma oregonense (Oregon Reishi) is a rare edible polypore with antimicrobial and wound-healing properties. Learn how to identify, harvest, and prepare it.
57K views
Chicken of the Woods: Foraging, Identification and Grilling
Learn to identify, harvest, and prepare Chicken of the Woods mushrooms safely. Paul Stamets explains why this sulphur-colored fungus tastes like chicken and requires careful cooking.
1.2M views
Mortality, Consciousness, and the Right to Choose Psilocybin at End of Life
Reflecting on mortality and spiritual autonomy, a mycologist argues that access to psilocybin at end of life is a fundamental right, not a crime.
41K views
Agarikon Strain 65: Searching for a Super Strain
Paul Stamets explores strain 65 of Agarikon, a rare forest medicinal mushroom with anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties, in search of a potential breakthrough therapeutic.
33K views
Agarikon Mushroom: Ancient Medicine Meets Modern Antiviral Research
Agarikon (Fomitopsis officinalis) is a rare old-growth forest fungus with potent antiviral and antibacterial properties verified through modern biomedical research.
71K views
Mushrooms, Consciousness & Terence McKenna's Legacy
Dennis McKenna and Paul Stamets reflect on Terence McKenna's life, work, and influence on mycology, consciousness studies, and psychedelic research.
148K views
Earth Day Call to Action: Reframing Our Relationship With Nature
Paul Stamets frames Earth Day as an urgent moment to recognize our biological interdependence with nature and mobilize citizen scientists to invent solutions for future generations.
49K views
BeeMushroomed Feeder: Mycology Solution for Bee Decline
Paul Stamets introduces the BeeMushroomed Bee Feeder, a mushroom-based solution designed to strengthen bee immunity and combat declining pollinator populations threatening global food security.
75K views
Mushroom Hunting: Edible Species & Ecosystem Abundance
Paul Stamets documents a spontaneous discovery of three edible mushroom species in one location, revealing the joy and ecological principles behind mushroom hunting.
37K views
Cauliflower Mushroom: The Antifungal Edible Hidden Underground
Paul Stamets discovers a pristine specimen of Sparassis crispa, the cauliflower mushroom, and explains how its unique antibiotic properties compete against other fungi.
89K views
Parasol Mushroom Satellite Colonies: A 20-Year Cultivation Story
Paul Stamets documents the sprawling success of parasol mushrooms naturalizing across his property two decades after planting a single bag of spawn in 2003.
37K views
BeeMushroomed Feeder: Fungal Support for Bee Health
Paul Stamets introduces a low-cost feeder system delivering polypore mushroom extract to strengthen bee immunity naturally through functional mycology.
63K views
Agarikon Mushroom: Ancient Medicine of Old Growth Forests
Agarikon, a rare polypore mushroom of the Pacific Northwest, was valued by both ancient Greeks and Indigenous peoples for its healing properties. Its presence near sacred First Nations sites suggests deep ancestral knowledge of this potent fungus.
34K views
Turkey Tail Mushroom: Immune Support & Interconnected Ecosystems
Turkey tail mushrooms form complex ecosystems with algae, bacteria, and trees while supporting human immunity. Paul Stamets explores how these fungi link microbiomes across species.
34K views
Lion's Mane Mushroom Neurogenesis: Mycelium & Fruiting Body Compounds
Lion's Mane produces erinacines and hericenones that support nervous system health. Both mycelium and fruiting bodies must be combined for optimal neurogenic benefits.
81K views
Maitake Mushrooms: Immune Support and Cultivator Secrets
Discover why maitake mushrooms support immune function and blood sugar balance, plus the cultivator secret Paul Stamets reveals about prized maitake brains.
93K views
Panaeolus castaneifolius: Identifying a Grassland Mushroom Species
Paul Stamets identifies a purple-brown spored Panaeolus mushroom in Machu Picchu's grasslands. Learn how to distinguish this non-psychoactive species from related Panaeoli.
39K views
Mycelium Heat Production and Mushroom Thermal Dynamics
Mycelium releases heat as an exothermic reaction, but fruiting mushrooms appear to absorb or dissipate that heat, creating cooler microclimates. Explore the thermal mystery of fungal fruiting.
37K views
Turkey Tail Mushroom: Immune Benefits and Medical Research
Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) is one of the most well-studied medicinal mushrooms for immune support. Paul Stamets explores its active constituents and ongoing clinical research.
108K views
Wood Chip Fermentation for Mycelium Expansion
Submerged fermentation of wood chips creates an oxygen-depleted environment that eliminates competing bacteria, allowing mycelium to colonize aggressively when exposed to air.
61K views
Jack o'Lantern Mushroom: From Poison to Cancer Research
The bioluminescent Jack o'Lantern mushroom contains compounds now in FDA clinical trials for cancer treatment, exemplifying how dose separates poison from medicine.
56K views
Biodiversity as Biosecurity: How Fungi Protect Ecosystems
Paul Stamets explains how mycelial networks form Earth's natural internet, connecting forests and communicating threats. Fungal diversity is essential to food webs and planetary survival.
47K views
Mycototes: Mobile Mushroom Cultivation for Mycoremediation
Paul Stamets unveils mycototes, a portable cultivation system using garden giant mushrooms for microfiltration and food production. Learn how this low-tech method scales mycoremediation worldwide.
38K views
Lion's Mane Mushroom: Brain Health and Myelin Regeneration
Lion's Mane contains compounds that regenerate myelin on axons and may support cognitive function. Research suggests potential benefits for fighting dementia-related cognitive decline.
739K views
King Stropharia: Growth Timelapse & Ecological Benefits
Watch King Stropharia mushrooms fruit in real time. This species helps gardens, eliminates E. coli, and even breaks down TNT.
53K views
Organic Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation Time-Lapse
Watch a certified organic shiitake mushroom kit transform over five days in this stunning time-lapse video from mycologist Paul Stamets, showcasing the rapid fruiting cycle of home mushroom cultivation.
35K views
Medicinal Mushrooms: Antimicrobial, Immune-Boosting, and Disease-Fighting Properties
Paul Stamets reveals four medicinal mushrooms with proven antimicrobial, antiviral, and immune-enhancing properties used in clinical trials and ancient medicine.
286K views
Fungi as Teachers: Mycelium, Nature's Intelligence & Ecological Survival
Paul Stamets explores fungi as Earth's communicating networks and a force for good, arguing that understanding mycelium is essential to human survival and consciousness evolution.
5.1M views
Growing Morels at Home: Cultivation Methods & Verification
Paul Stamets demonstrates cultivated morel mushrooms and explains how mycologists verify that harvested morels originated from planted spawn using culture compatibility tests.
109K views
Lactarius fragilis identification: candy caps, maple syrup flavor
Paul Stamets identifies Lactarius fragilis candy caps in the wild, highlighting their translucent milk, maple syrup taste, and culinary potential for cookies.
55K views
Cordyceps Capitata Parasitizing Truffle: Rare Discovery in Old Growth Forest
Paul Stamets documents an exceptionally rare find: Cordyceps capitata parasitizing Elaphomyces granulatus truffles in old growth forest. A personal first for the legendary mycologist.
63K views
Truffle-Hunting Squirrels: Fungi's Role in Old-Growth Forests
Rare footage captures wild squirrels excavating underground truffles in old-growth forests. Paul Stamets explains how hypogeous fungi connect the forest food chain from small mammals to apex predators.
46K views
Agarikon and the Quest to Save a Rare Medicinal Mushroom
Paul Stamets documents his expedition to find and culture Agarikon, a rare old-growth fungus with dual antiviral and antibacterial properties against tuberculosis and other pathogens.
45K views
Chicken of the Woods: Identifying Laetiporus Conifericola in Old Growth Forests
Paul Stamets documents a pristine fruiting of Laetiporus conifericola (Chicken of the Woods) in Pacific Northwest old growth conifers, explaining regional taxonomy and identification.
92K views
Turkey Tail Mushrooms for Cancer Support: NIH Clinical Research
Paul Stamets details how turkey tail mushrooms (Trametes versicolor) are grown at scale and harvested for PSK extracts in breast cancer clinical trials funded by NIH.
57K views
Reishi Mushroom Taxonomy & Immune Benefits Explained
Paul Stamets explains the correct taxonomy of Reishi mushrooms and their potent antiviral, immunomodulatory properties for disease resistance.
99K views