Plants, people, & Jaguar in the Amazon with Dr. Glenn Shepard

Did you know that in some cultures, humans are believed to transform into forest animals as a part of the hunting tradition? Or that the elderly may transform into the fierce jaguar in the last phases of life? This week, I speak with Dr. Glenn Shepherd about topics ranging from medicinal plants and poetry, to the life cycle and different cosmologies that shape the ways that humans perceive the processes of aging and death. We also explore how certain psychoactive plants and fungal endophytes (including ergot alkaloids cultivated in sedges!) are used by Indigenous groups in medicine. Learn more about Glenn’s work in the Amazon on his blog Notes from the Ethnoground, and follow him on Twitter @TweetTropiques or on Facebook and Instagram @ethnoground_photography #ethnobotany #Amazonas #psychoactive

Om Podcasten

Have you ever wondered where your food comes from? Not just where it’s grown today, but where it originally popped up in the world? Have you ever bit into a delicious ripe fruit and wondered, hey – why is it this color? What’s responsible for this amazing flavor? Is this good for my health? Could it even be medicinal? Foodie Pharmacology is a science podcast built for the food curious, the flavor connoisseurs, chefs, science geeks, plant lovers and adventurous taste experimenters out in the world! Join American ethnobotanist Dr. Cassandra Quave on this adventure through history, medicine, cuisine and molecules as we explore the amazing pharmacology of our foods.