Fungus Among Us: Cordyceps, The Zombie Fungus From 'Last of Us' | Minisode w/ Maegan & Melissa

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Join Maegan and Melissa in this minisode as they talk about Cordyceps, the zombie fungus made popular by the video game turned TV show Last of Us. Maegan, the avid gamer, gives some context on societal and pop-culture importance and how this fungus is portrayed in Last of Us; while Melissa, bug scientiest extraordinaire,  gives some terrifying explanations on how Cordyceps function in the real world and how the scenario in Last of Us might not be quite as far-fetched as we'd like to believe.

Resources:
1. How a Fungus Turns Ants into Zombies:
https://www.uu.nl/en/news/how-a-fungus-turns-ants-into-zombies
2. Zombifying Fungus Bypasses Brain: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/study-zombie-ant-death-grip-comes-from-muscle-contractions-not-the-brain/
3. How to Tame a Zombie Fungus: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/06/how-to-tame-a-zombie-fungus/562544/
4. Fungus Amungus (Radiolab Episode):
https://radiolab.org/episodes/fungus-amungus

The Clever Ghouls podcast, hosted by Maegan and Blair, is a show dedicated to watching, analyzing, and discussing the movies that make us think about them long after we’ve left the theater or turned off the TV. We bring quick wit and unique perspectives from backgrounds like art history, cinematography, psychology, analysis, public education, mysticism, mythos, and more to create a curated, inclusive conversation around the spooky movies we love. Tune in on your favorite podcast hosting platform to listen along, join the conversation, and chime in with your own observations!

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