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Monster House Presents

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Hey there, Monster Talk listeners. We're still dealing with a lot of big real-world drama behind the scenes, so I need to pull one from the archives this week.

Now, I don't believe I've ever run an old episode before, but this one's been on my mind a lot lately.

When we originally ran this story back in 2013, the video game The Last of Us had not been released yet, and now it's a video game phenomena, and also a hit HBO TV series.

At the heart of the video game is the story of two people trying to cross a country that's had its population devastated by a fungal infection that turns people into horrifying zombie-like creatures.

Not only do they need to face these monstrous hazards, but also the pockets of humans who've survived but have slipped into various modes of survival ranging from fascism to survivalists to cannibal religious zealots.

It's a mess, but it's also a beautiful story, and the fungus at the heart of this narrative is based on the one which we discussed in this episode.

In fact, the guess that we talked to, my collegeist Dr. David Hughes, was a consultant on the original Last of Us video game.

This is a good episode, and right at the core of what I wanted to do when we set this show up, we tell a science story using monsters, and there's a lot to learn about brains and ants, behavior, fungus, spores, so much more.

But before we get to the rebroadcast, I want to say goodbye to someone.

My uncle, Charles Jackson, will probably be dead by the time this episode reaches you. He's in hospice care right now, and even though he's been ailing for some time, I was shocked by the sudden passing of his wife, my Aunt May was just a few days ago, and now we're facing a double celebration of their lives later this week.

Uncle Charles and his family lived just far enough away from us that it was a big deal to go drive and visit, but he was simply the best storyteller in my family.

And all our family gatherings were unions, weddings, funerals. I always tried to find the corner where he would hold court, and he was a good listener too, and I think a good storyteller has to be.

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