Paul Stamets: The Mycelial Web of Burning Man

Life is a Festival #180

At Burning Man 2025 inside the Playa Alchemist Pyramid, I sat down with legendary mycologist Paul Stamets to explore mushrooms, mycelium, and the cosmos. Together we connected fungal intelligence with Burning Man culture, random acts of kindness, and the future of psychedelic medicine.

Our conversation ranged from Stamets’ new book Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats,, to reflections on mycelium as a cosmic organizing principle and the healing power of biodiversity. We discussed the dangers of misidentification, the promise of clinical trials, and how Burning Man functions as a living ritual for transformation.

Paul Stamets is a pioneering mycologist, author of eight books, and an Invention Ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has discovered new species of mushrooms (including Psilocybe stametsii), collaborated on breakthrough fungal research, and is known widely as the guide of Fantastic Fungi. His work bridges ecology, medicine, and culture with a vision of mushrooms as allies in human and planetary evolution.

Timestamps

(04:00) – Stamets introduces his new book Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats
(06:00) – Trickster mushrooms: dangers of misidentification
(10:00) – Random acts of kindness vs. AI’s transactional mindset
(17:00) – Psychedelics as a creative leap
(20:00) – Mycelium as metaphor and cosmic network
(25:00) – Burning Man as default-mode reset and the importance of biodiversity and discomfort.
(29:00) – Lightning, vibration, and music: how mycelium “listens” to thunder and drums.
(34:00) – Clinical trials: comparing pure psilocybin vs. whole mushrooms, healing and neuroplasticity.
(46:00) – Mushrooms vs. other psychedelics, democratization of psilocybin, and accessibility.
(49:00) – Bees, immunity, and mycelium as planetary medicine: discoveries with pollinators and viral resistance.

Links