Planthropology

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What's up, Plant People?? It'  time again to answer your burnign plant questions that jump from backyard pruning to big-picture ecology, keeping the science clear and usable. We sort out plant naming, native planting nuance, and a few garden myths, then close with research that changes how we think about trees and carbon storage.

• late winter gooseberry pruning for fruiting wood age and open center structure 
• variety versus cultivar and why common language bends the rules 
• how to attract nighttime pollinators with pale fragrant night-blooming natives 
• when native plant cultivars can help and when true local genetics matter 
• why terracotta pots breathe, why drainage holes matter, and why gravel layers backfire 
• how plants handle waste through leaf drop and guttation 
• feeding carnivorous plants safely with fish food or dried insects 
• invasive species control through prevention, smart plant choices, and local ecosystem fixes 
• tree longevity, clonal forests, and what “immortal” can mean in biology 
• new findings on late-season carbon sequestration and what it implies for watering practices 

If you'd like to support the show, the best thing you can do is to tell a friend about it! Leave us a rating review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or Podchase or anywhere else you can.

The Secret Story of Nutmeg - A hidden history
Mysteries and Histories of a seed that shaped the world...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the show
As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com

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What's up, Plant People! I'm back today with an episode that's been a LONG time coming! I chatted with Dr. Ben Goulet-Scott and Dr. Jacob Suissa back at the beginning of the year to talk about their social media outlet/non-profit/incredible new book, all called Let's Botanize! They met in graduate school, and built a strong friendship that grew into what Let's Botanize is today. Tune in to today's episode as we discuss:
• botanizing as a natural history hobby rooted in observation and note-taking 
• how Jacob and Ben’s paths through grad school shape their approach to teaching plants 
• using curiosity about plants to support climate and biodiversity awareness 
• building Let’s Botanize as a nonprofit with a board, interns, and shared skills 
• why their book uses 101 prompts to help anyone connect with plants 
• balancing social media reach with real-world learning and community “third spaces” 
• how scientific uncertainty can be communicated without dumbing it down 
• memorable plant mysteries like marcescence and why some trees keep dead leaves
This is a fun and insightful conversation, and I know y'all are going to love it!
Learn more about and connect with Let's Botanize at the links below!
Instagram
TikTok
YouTube
Website

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and Guest Tease
02:55 Meet Jacob Souissa
04:09 Meet Ben Goulet Scott
09:16 Why Start Lets Botanize
11:58 COVID Growth and Mission
16:16 Plants and Human Connection
20:23 Public Feedback and Aha Moments
24:16 Midroll and Support
26:31 Nonprofit Team and Board
30:30 Interns Community and Next Steps
33:33 Book Mission And Prompts
36:43 Three Sections Parts Patterns Perspectives
39:42 Paper Book And Unplugging
42:53 Botanizing As Community
45:10 Instagram Process And Philosophy
48:44 Marcescence Mystery Explained
52:11 Embracing Scientific Complexity
54:35 Take Home Messages
57:48 Where To Find Lets Botanize
58:54 Final Reflections And Outro

The Secret Story of Nutmeg - A hidden history
Mysteries and Histories of a seed that shaped the world...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the show
As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail
What's up Plant People?? Planthropology is finally back! It may look a little different over the next year, but ride along with me today and let's chat about the plans I have and the cool stuff that's coming up. Thanks for sticking with me, and if you know of some good news you'd like to hear on my new segment, let me know. If you'd like EVEN MORE good news and hope about our world, go check out Alaina Wood and Katharine Hayhoe!
Listen to Deep Roots!

Support the show
As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail
What's up, Plant People?? On today's episode, I chatted with scientific illustrator, J Spahr of @Science_Visuals to unpack how art turns complex research into clear, accurate stories that spark curiosity. From watercolor botanicals to layered digital paintings and ecosystems in one frame, we explore process, ethics, and impact.

• the path from a found textbook to a science illustration career
• Europe’s legacy of artists working with scientists
• art as storytelling and science communication
• choosing mediums and building layered digital workflows
• designing infographics that condense seasons, species, and behavior
• client collaboration, revisions, and scientific accuracy
• social media’s trade-offs and unexpected reach
• why AI images miss context, accuracy, and trust
• the joy of learning fast through research illustration
• practical plant science: why asters shrug off frost

Make sure to follow J on Instagram and check out her website at scivisuals.com!

If you'd like to support the show, leave a rating and review, email planthropologypod@gmail.com, find me all over the place on social media, snag merch at planthropologypodcast.com, or buymeacoffee.com/planthropology

The Secret Story of Nutmeg - A hidden history
Mysteries and Histories of a seed that shaped the world...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the show
As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail
A perfect circle of mushrooms in the grass can feel like a message. We follow that feeling into the heart of fungi and folklore with Amanda McLoughlin and Julia Schifini of Spirits, exploring why mushrooms unsettle us, how they anchor myth, and what they can teach us about living with limits and wonder. From fairy rings and house spirits to cordyceps and body horror, we trace the line between ecology and story: a mycelial network expands and fruits at the edge, myth calls it a threshold, and we decide whether to cross.

We dig into the science that fuels the myths—external digestion, predatory oyster mushrooms hunting nematodes, and the eerie intelligence of networks that appear overnight. Then we connect those facts to the rules of folklore: hospitality laws, shared flood stories, and warnings against greed that echo modern forager ethics. We also examine the complicated modern history of psychedelics, sacred ritual, and the mid‑century rush that stripped context in favor of spectacle, reminding ourselves that power without reciprocity becomes a curse in every tradition.

Finally, we turn to fungi as caretakers: recyclers of forests, soil makers, and even potential allies against plastic pollution. Along the way, Amanda and Julia share why house spirits matter, how rituals make homes feel alive, and why returning to stories of reciprocity might be the most practical climate strategy of all. Press play for a smart, spooky tour of mushrooms, myth, and the moral math of sharing a planet. If this conversation re‑enchanted your sense of the woods, subscribe, share with a curious friend, and leave a review telling us the mushroom story you’ll never forget.
The Secret Story of Nutmeg - A hidden history
Mysteries and Histories of a seed that shaped the world...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the show
As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com