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For almost a century, researchers have heard independent reports from Papua New Guinea, China, and the Philippines, of a mushroom with a strange hallucinogenic property. Almost everyone who tries it sees the same thing: scores of tiny people, under a foot tall, that look like little elves or fairies in colorful clothes.
Biologist Colin Domnauer devoted his PhD to figuring out why this is happening. He joins Flora to report his findings.
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Segment Guests
Colin Domnauer
Colin Domnauer is a doctoral candidate in biology at the University of Utah.
Segment Transcript
The transcript is being processed. It will be available 2-3 days after this story’s publication date.
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About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.
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Dee Peterschmidt is Science Friday’s audio production manager, hosted the podcast Universe of Art, and composes music for Science Friday’s podcasts. Their D&D character is a clumsy bard named Chip Chap Chopman.