Mycologist Paul Stamets explains what fungi do for the planet and how they could be used to correct many of the problems that ail us.

Mycologist Paul Stamets wears a cool Indiana Jones-like hat, fitting for a researcher who is adored like a rock star by fans of his work. The hat is made from a mushroom – birch polypore – but it’s not the only mushroom Stamets has brought to the studio with him. Tucked into his backpack is a huge, 40-pound mushroom called Agarikon, which looks a bit like a beehive.

“It’s really hard. It sounds like wood; it feels like wood; it’s the longest living mushroom in the world,” Stamets explains.