Dr. Matthew Kasson - Mycologist + Plant Pathologist

Specimens

In episode 046 Elle chats with Dr. Matthew Kasson: Mycologist and Plant Pathologist who studies fungus biodiversity centered around tree diseases and fungus-arthropod interactions.

Socials:

https://x.com/ImperfectFunGuy

https://twitter.com/plantdisease

Research, Sci-Comm and related press and media:

Online media, Nightmare-fuel fungi exist in real life, Popular Science (PopSci) https://www.popsci.com/environment/zombie-fungus-real-life-diseases/. Single author piece on the real-life fungal threats we face given all the attention fungi are getting from HBO’s The Last of Us. Feb. 3, 2023.

Online media, How to keep your jack-o’-lantern from turning into moldy, maggoty mush before Halloween, The Conversation, How to keep your jack-o'-lantern from turning into moldy, maggoty mush before Halloween (theconversation.com). Single author piece on how fungi impact our seasonal celebrations and rituals particularly around Halloween. Oct. 6, 2022. Re-published by Scientific American, Popular Science, and PBS.

Printed and Online media, Wild mushrooms are curious organisms that require respect, The Washington Post, Wild mushrooms aren't all poisonous, but they all require caution - The Washington Post. Single author piece on how our fears of a small number of fungi shape our willingness to interact with them. August 24, 2022

Online media, Beyond flora and fauna: Why it’s time to include fungi in global conservation goals, The Conversation, Beyond flora and fauna: Why it's time to include fungi in global conservation goals (theconversation.com). Co-authored piece with Brian Lovett (WVU PSS) and Patty Kaishian (Bard College) on how fungi are regularly excluded from talks on global conservation. May 17, 2022. Re-published in Indonesian.

Online media, Finding mental-health clarity under pandemic pressures. Nature. Finding mental-health clarity under pandemic pressures (nature.com) Single author column on my mental health struggles in academia. Dec. 14, 2021.

Research

Podcast with Online Media, Episode 25: “Of Peeps and People…and Plant Pathology” Plantopia, https://www.plantopiapodcast.org/25. The official podcast on The American Phytopathological Society featuring my work in forest pathology, science communication, and advocacy. July 21. 2022.

Podcast with Online Media, Episode 4: How cicadas become flying saltshakers of death Overheard at National Geographic, Episode 4: How cicadas become flying saltshakers of death (nationalgeographic.com) May 25, 2021.

National Radio with Online Media, Drugged Cicadas Mate Like Wild After Their Butts Fall Off, All Things Considered, National Public Radio., Drugged Cicadas Mate Like Wild After Their Butts Fall Off : NPR Coverage of Brood X and my lab’s research of cicada fungus Massospora. May 18, 2021.

Online Media, Drugged, Castrated, Eager to Mate: the Lives of Fungi-Infected Cicadas, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/science/cicadas-fungus-butts.html, Coverage of our Fungal Ecology paper on cicadas " Psychoactive plant- and mushroom-associated alkaloids from two behavior modifying cicada pathogens.", July 28, 2019.

Online Media, This Parasite Drugs Its Hosts With the Psychedelic Chemical in Shrooms, The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/07/massospora-parasite-drugs-its-hosts/566324/, Coverage of our BioRxiv pre-print "Psychoactive plant- and mushroom-associated alkaloids from two behavior modifying cicada pathogens.", July 30, 2018.

SciComm

Online media, These fungi demand more pumpkin in their pumpkin spice lattes. Popular Science. Some fungi are fans of pumpkin spice lattes, too | Popular Science (popsci.com). Coverage of my Sept. 9, 2022 viral tweet seeing which fungi preferred growth media with real pumpkin compared with pumpkin spice and pumpkin spice latte-substituted growth media. Sept. 15, 2022.

National Radio with Online Media, A Disturbing Twinkie That Has, So Far, Defied Science, National Public Radio, Scientists Are Fascinated By An 8-Year-Old, Moldy Twinkie : NPR, Coverage of my viral Twitter experiment isolating fungi from moldy Twinkies. Oct. 15, 2020.

Online Media, Injecting Marshmallow Peeps With Fungi, for Science, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/science/marshmallow-peeps-fungus.html?searchResultPosition=1, Coverage of our Twitter #fungalPeeps project, March 29, 2019.

Expertise

Online and printed media, Janet Yellen ate magic mushrooms. Here's why she didn't get high. The Washington Post. Interview to talk about Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's trip to China and consumption of a mushroom known as jian shou qing. Aug. 16, 2023. Janet Yellen ate magic mushrooms. Here's why she didn't get high. - The Washington Post

Online media, The fungal threat to human health is growing in a warmer, wetter, sicker world. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/07/health/fungus-health-threat-scn/index.html. Coverage on the fungal craze surrounding HBO’s The Last of Us. Feb. 7, 2023.

Online media, We Asked a Mycologist About The Last of Us and It Got Weird. Esquire. https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a42760795/last-of-us-fungus-cordyceps-mycologist/ Interview to speak about the fungal craze surrounding HBO’s The Last of Us. Feb. 5, 2023.

National Radio with Online Media, Finally, scientists have found a true millipede, All Things Considered, National Public Radio., Finally, scientists have found a true millipede : NPR Coverage of my colleague’s discovery of the first true millipede with commentary from me. Dec. 20, 2021. Finally, scientists have found a true millipede : NPR

Elle Kaye socials

www.instagram.com/ellekayetaxidermy

www.twitter.com/ellektaxidermy

Podcast socials

www.instagram.com/specimenspod

wwww.twitter.com/ellektaxidermy

www.patreon.com/specimenspod

www.ellekayetaxidermy.co.uk/product-page/specimenspodmerch

Artwork © 2021 Madison Erin Mayfield

www.instagram.com/madisonerinmayfield

www.twitter.com/MEMIllustration

Music

Giraffes - Harrison Amer via premiumbeat.com

Researched, edited and produced by Elle Kaye

Concept/Title © 2020 Elle Kaye