Episodes

  • Cosmic Radio Interview with Terry Henkel
    Jul 1 2025

    Join Cosmic Radio for an interview with Cal Poly Humboldt's beloved Biology Professor Terry Henkel.
    Mycology is a mainstay of the Humboldt Botany Program with courses in mycology, forest pathology and mushroom identification.
    "My research investigates macrofungal biodiversity and ecological relationships in the remote tropical rainforests of South America's Guiana Shield and the Guineo-Congolian region of Central Africa. My lab also examines the overlooked but important roles that native forest pathogenic fungi have in shaping forest communities in Northern California".
    Terry has an amazing and relaxed style of proficiently teaching us more about the Fungi Kingdom both here in the United States and abroad. This is my final Fungal Kingdom episode ( for now) after a powerhouse of mycologist guests including David Hibbett, Joseph Heitman and Robert Douglas-check them all out!!

    Check out the following links about Dr. Henkel's research:

    https://www.humboldt.edu/biological-sciences/terry-henkel-phd -Dr. Henkel Cal Poly Humboldt web page
    https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Terry-Henkel -Dr. Henkel's published research papers
    https://www.hbmycologicalsociety.org/ -Humboldt Bay Mycological Society
    https://amazonteam.org/maps/guiana-shield/ -Guiana Shield
    https://tropicalfungi.org/guineo-congo/ -Magrofungi of Northern Gondwana

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    1 hr and 49 mins
  • Cosmic Radio Interview with Robert Douglas
    Jun 6 2025

    Join me as we walk and talk through Jackson Demonstration State Forest in Mendocino County with Robert Douglas. Robert is a mycologist, biologist and Environmental Specialist with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention. As we walk and discover this magical forest, camping site and destination location for fungi foragers, you can hear the Noyo River, song birds and Robert belting out owl calls!!!!
    Keep in mind this podcast was not recorded in the studio, so you will hear all the sounds of the forest, me breathing hard on the hike and me tripping a few times!
    Enjoy!!

    To learn more, check out these web sites!!

    Jackson Demonstration State Forest: https://www.visitmendocino.com/listing/jackson-demonstration-state-forest/
    CalFire JDSF: https://www.facebook.com/CALFIREJDSF/
    CalFire: https://www.fire.ca.gov/
    Mendocino Mushroom Club: https://www.mendocinocoastmushroomclub.org/
    Mendocino Foragers: https://www.foragemendocino.com/

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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Cosmic Radio Interview with Dr. Joseph Heitman: Professor and Chair of Molecular Genetics and Professor in Medicine at Duke University and CIFAR's Co-Director for the Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities Research Program
    May 2 2025

    Join me on Cosmic Radio as we speak with Dr. Joseph Heitman.
    Dr. Heitman is a professor and Chair of Molecular Biology and Professor in Medicine at Duke University and CIFAR's Co-Director for the "Fungal Kingdom: Threats and Opportunities" Research Program. Last month Dr. David Hibbett gave us an introduction into the fascinating study of the Fungal Kingdom. This month Dr. Heitman talks about the threats to humans, animals and plants by fungi and the breakthrough treatments and promising medicines that fungus can give us. We also talk about FUNGUS IN SPACE!
    Your going to love this interview!!
    check out the following links and learn all about Dr. Joseph Heitman's work:

    • https://mgm.duke.edu/profile/joseph-heitman
    • https://cifar.ca/research-programs/fungal-kingdom/
    • https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-white-nose-syndrome
    • https://cifar.ca/cifarnews/2024/08/21/cifar-researchers-discover-potential-treatment-for-a-fungus-devastating-amphibian-populations-worldwide/
    • https://cifar.ca/bios/david-s-blehert/
    • https://www.v-meer.de/my-co-space


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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Cosmic Interview with Dr. David Hibbett; Biology Professor at Clark University with an focus on Evolutionary Mycology
    Apr 4 2025

    Join me for a fascinating interview with Dr. David Hibbett, Biology Professor from Clark University who focuses on Evolutionary Mycology.
    Dr. Hibbett answers questions we all think about and want to know more about from the Fungal Kingdom. He is so fun and passionate about fungi and after listening to this interview, I hope that you will also become a "mycophile"!!! (lover of fungi)

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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Cosmic Radio: Interview with Dr. Silvano Colombano
    Mar 9 2025

    Join my for an amazing thought-provoking interview with Dr. Silvano Colombano! Dr. Colombano is a retired NASA Biophysicist. He is now working on his original doctoral thesis and writing a new paper about the Nature of Life: Implications for the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis.
    His computer modeling studies are helping Dr. Colombano understand the origins of life and how the languages of life, DNA coding, originate and work. Dr. Silvano was mind blowing!!!

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    58 mins
  • Cosmic Radio with Dr. Peter Schultz Part II
    Feb 8 2025

    Join me for our second interview with Dr. Peter Schultz. We've move on from the Chicxulub Impactor and into The Deep Impact Mission, the LCROSS mission and his current work in Chile! Check out the pictures and links I added for more information on his work and by next week I will add the rest of the interview I had to cut for time for the radio program.

    Dr. Shultz is so completely into his work, you cant help getting as excited as he does when you hear him talk about all his research and findings. I was blown away!
    He is one sick dude!!!

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    59 mins
  • Cosmic Radio with Dr. Peter Schultz
    Jan 3 2025

    Join me as I interview Planetary Scientist Dr. Peter Schultz. His work is extensive! So much, we are having him on the show for two consecutive months. This month we will be talking about Dr. Shultz's work on the Chicxulub Crater off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. He tells us how he used the NASA Ames Vertical Gun the model how the impactor created the second largest crater on earth!

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    58 mins
  • Go Europa Clipper! Interview with Todd Barber
    Dec 6 2024

    Learn all about NADS's newest flagship mission.....EUROPA CLIPPER!!!! Our good friend Todd Barber is make to tell us all the intricate parts of this modern marvel of spacecrafts that will be exploring the Galilean Moon EUROPA!!! A water-world in the Jovian System. Check out the links as well so you can see and play with the Clipper Vault Plate!!!

    https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/

    https://europa.nasa.gov/spacecraft/vault-plate/

    https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/

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    58 mins