Morel Dilemma

You've played or watched Mushroom 11, and you want to know more about how the green blob works. It is really alive? What's it made of? What was with that awesome epilogue? Using the six major characteristics of life, Izzie, Julia Keren-Detar, and Eric Glickman-Tondreau keep exploring the video game.

Why are some fungi brightly colored, while others are just brown? Can we capture the colors of a fungus before they fade into memory? In this episode, Izzie explores how fungi were used to create an iconic ancient color and how the fungal rainbow has recently gotten more attention.

Pop Cultures is a miniseries within Morel Dilemma that explores how fungi and mushrooms are used and presented in media. In the first installment, Izzie talks with Julia Keren-Detar, the co-developer of Mushroom 11, a puzzle platformer like no other. The protagonist is an amorphous green gob that can't run, jump, or push. Instead of controlling the character, players destroy the character. And instead of defeating enemies, the blob absorbs them.

This episode is best enjoyed with headphones, on low volume.

Episode 2 tells only part of the story of mushroom cultivation. Specialty mushroom growers use different substrates and grow mushrooms completely unrelated to Agaricus bisporus. Izzie talks with Chris Bailey and Justin Reyes, two employees of Gourmet Mushrooms - the company that led the push to domesticate new edible fungi. From wine country to a Bali forest to a Michigan farm with a long-awaited surprise, Gourmet Mushrooms is leading the way to more interesting mushroom cuisine.

 

Last week, a team of scientists from the University of Montana made a discovery that breaks all the supposed rules of lichen biology. Izzie delves into lichen biology and charts their history and uses, before discussing the groundbreaking paper. At intermission, caller Meg shares a story of the freedoms of Grandma's house.

It's good to have a husband when it's crunch time and you can't land an interview. Nate and Izzie talk about the process by which industrial mushroom farmers prepare compost and spawn to generate amazing numbers of mushrooms. At intermission, caller Anschel waxes on the agency a little mushroom can give a small, lost girl in Wonderland.

In the first episode, Izzie explores the biology of fungal reproduction: How fungi get the places they do, how they grow, what a mushroom means, and what makes fungi different from plants. At intermission, listener Kay Labella reads about fairy ring mushroom, Marasmius oreades.