The Fuzzy Ruckus: The Power of Lichen
Leave a reviewArtist Ashley Eliza Williams was so shy growing up that they found it hard to speak to people. Instead, they withdrew from the world of humans and found comfort in the forest, where they spent hours exploring, scavenging, and collecting — eventually discovering lichen. They began painting portraits of lichen’s wild, colorful, and fuzzy shapes.
© WNYC Studios | 00:26:43
|Episode: 13 |
Full episode description
Episode One: The Mastermind: An Octopus Heist
This is an Episodic show. You can listen to it in any order, but episode one is always a great place to start.Full Episode description
Artist Ashley Eliza Williams was so shy growing up that they found it hard to speak to people. Instead, they withdrew from the world of humans and found comfort in the forest, where they spent hours exploring, scavenging, and collecting — eventually discovering lichen. They began painting portraits of lichen’s wild, colorful, and fuzzy shapes.
In time, Ashley learned that lichen is actually a composite organism, a mixture of two species — algae and fungi — working together to live. This idea originally challenged evolutionary theory so much that scientists didn’t believe it. But lichen had much more to teach us.
Chef Prashanta Khanal fills us in on the food science of lichen, and how its collaborative powers also extend to making certain foods healthier! Learning that lichen draws its strength from collaboration eventually encouraged Ashley to break out of her shell and reconnect to the world, where they would find not just friends and collaborators, but their true love.
Check out Ashley Eliza Williams’s beautiful paintings.
Visit chef Prashanta’s cooking blog, the Gundruk, for more on Nepali food history and recipes.
This episode features punk rock legend Laura Jane Grace, who makes a musical cameo on the song The Fuzzy Ruckus. Watch the music video and find the link to stream on our songs page.
Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Brenna Farrel, Mira Burt-Wintonick, Alan Goffinski, Ana González, Tanya Chawla, Joe Plourde, Sarah Sandbach, Valentina Powers and Lulu Miller. Fact-checking by Diane Kelly. Transcription by Caleb Codding.
Special thanks to Siya Sharma-Gaines, Niran Bhatt Scharpf, Scott LaGreca, and Sarita Bhatt.
Our advisors are Ana Luz Porzecanski, Andy J. Pizza, Anil Lewis, Dominique Shabazz, Liza Demby, Princess Daazhraii Johnson and Tara Welty.
Learn more about storytellers, listen to music, and dig deeper into the stories you hear on Terrestrials with activities you can do at home or in the classroom on our website,
Badger us on social media: @radiolab and #TerrestrialsPodcast or by emailing us at terrestrials@wnyc.org.
Sign up for our NEWSLETTER for trivia, resources, music, fun facts, worksheets, and much more at terrestrialspodcast.org.
Visit the Terrestrials website to learn more about the show, meet our team, listen to the songs and discover fun activities, drawing prompts, music how-tos and games that educators, parents and families might enjoy together.
If you’d like to “badger” a future expert, suggest story ideas or feedback, email us at terrestrials@wnyc.org.
Listen to just the songs from Terrestrials.
Sign up for Radiolab’s newsletter! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up here.
Radiolab for Kids and Terrestrials are supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today.
Follow Radiolab on Instagram, X and Facebook @radiolab.
Support for Terrestrials is provided by the Simons Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Kalliopeia Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation.
© WNYC Studiosbop| Status: Active, 20 episodes | Kind: Episodic | Episode URL
The content, Artwork and advertising within this podcast is not owned or affiliated with Sound Carrot and remain the property of their respective owners.