EP128 Mycology, Mushroom Lore, and Psychedelic Fungi: What We’re Still Figuring Out with guest Alan Rockefeller

The study and discovery of mushrooms is a wide-open opportunity for everyone! Much of what we think we know about mushrooms is built on poor historical descriptions and incomplete science. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with world-renowned mycologist Alan Rockefeller about the cubensis species complex, the myriad mushrooms still to be named, unknown evolutionary pressures, the necessity and variety of secondary metabolites, wood lover’s paralysis, and mycelium versus fruiting body mushroom supplements.

The Emerald Triangle of Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties in Northern California is the heartland of American cannabis. On Episode 127 of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with heritage farmer Nik Erickson of Full Moon Farms in Humboldt about his family’s property, from the Gold Rush to the Green Rush, exciting stories from the hide-and-seek CAMP law enforcement days, the impact of legalization and the internet on hill folk, and how NorCal generational regenerative farms work together to produce the most meaningful flowers available.

On this memorial episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los welcomes world-famous soil biologist Dr. Elaine Ingham to discuss using indigenous microorganisms to optimize plant resilience, choosing companion plants by their function, beneficial insects as both garden defense and food web antagonist, using soil food web biomimicry for indoor growing, increasing biological activity in coco coir pots and choosing the right compost tea for the correct use.

Natural farming techniques replace our reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and grow the tastiest flower imaginable. On episode 125 of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with natural farming educator David Hoover about four fast and easy natural farming fertilizer preparations that you can have ready before your summer garden is even planted.

Cannabis lab analytics are essential for making reliable cannabis tinctures and oils for patients. On episode 124 of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with chemist Amber Wise, PhD about contacting labs, choosing your tests, how to interpret them, and how to use the results to make better tinctures, oils and edibles.

When we use cannabis, our whole body fires up! During this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los chats with neuropharmacologist and physiologist Dr. Elizabeth Thompson about the cascade of body systems that light up in the first minute using cannabis, how each system tells of story about the experience of getting high, and how you can use this understanding for your own health and wellness.

We love growing our own flower! And we also love hash! On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los sits down with Conner Terpwizard to discuss what flower characteristics make it good for hashing, how to choose genetics that will result in hash that meets your desires, and how to handle the plant during cultivation and post harvest to create the best hash possible.

While the US continues to struggle in its relationship to cannabis medicine, it sure would be helpful if we could obtain non-THC cannabinoids from more plants than just cannabis. On episode #121 of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los chats with cutting-edge plant biochemist Dr. Paula Berman about the Wooly Umbrella plant, its rare biochemical attributes, successful extraction methods, and the future of non-cannabis cannabinoids from this species.

Now is the time for cultivators to discover energy efficient solutions to growing cannabis. On episode 120 of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los welcomes Evan Mills PhD to talk about the new 2025 update to his groundbreaking 2012 paper on cannabis energy consumption, ways in which cultivators can become more energy efficient, and how entrenched political and economic preference is given to indoor cultivation, making everything more difficult.

Greenhouses continue to increase in popularity as homegrowing expands across the country. On Shaping Fire episode 119, host Shango Los welcomes back OG greenhouse consultant Eric Brandstad to talk about small greenhouses for homegrowers and patients, managing airflow, heat and cold, and how to trick greenhouses out for optimal yield and convenience.