The fungi kingdom

07/06/22 • 30 min

1 Listener

It’s not just fauna and flora, there’s a third, much overlooked kingdom of life – fungi.

Fungi are essential for plant and soil health, and therefore our own survival.

It’s not just the mushrooms that we eat, in this programme we celebrate fungi in all its forms. Fungi already play important roles in our food production and medicine, scientists are now investigating fungi based solutions for environmental pollution and waste disposal.

We’re joined by biologist Merlin Sheldrake in the United Kingdom, author of ‘Entangled Life’, Giuliana Furci, mycologist and founder of the Fungi Foundation, the world’s first non-governmental organisation for the protection of fungi, based in Chile and Danielle Stevenson, a mycologist looking at soil toxicity in the United States.

(Picture: fungi growing on a log. Credit: BBC)

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

It’s not just fauna and flora, there’s a third, much overlooked kingdom of life – fungi.

Fungi are essential for plant and soil health, and therefore our own survival.

(Picture: fungi growing on a log. Credit: BBC)

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

Previous Episode

Lemn Sissay: My life in five dishes

The internationally acclaimed poet and playwright Lemn Sissay OBE shares the story of his life by recalling five memorable dishes.

His is an extraordinary story of family, and identity, lost and found.

Born to an Ethiopian mother in the north of England and quickly placed into long-term foster care, Lemn was, for years, deprived of any knowledge of his heritage. His traumatic upbringing and subsequent search for his family and identity have informed much of his award-winning writing.

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If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

(Picture: Lemn Sissay holding a cup of coffee. Credit: BBC)

Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

Researcher: Siobhan O’Connell

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From tackling poverty and hunger, to maggot farming, to harnessing the power of seaweed - since 2017, The Food Chain has been celebrating and rewarding innovation in food. This year, as part of the BBC Food and Farming Awards, we're looking for a new champion who is trying to change the way we deal with our food.

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Do you know a remarkable person aged 18-30 who’s challenging the way we think about food? Nominate them for our Global Youth Champion Award 2022.

Find out more and read our terms and privacy notice here: bbc.com/foodchain

The deadline for nominations has been extended to 23:00 GMT on Thursday, 18th August 2022. *Page updated 28 July 2022 due to entry window extension

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Picture: Woman holding a plant growing in soil (Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Elisabeth Mahy