Chicago Botanic Garden Summer 2019

18 chicagobotanic.org Garden plants a new podcast Harry Potter fans, Star Wars nerds, and other like-minded pop culture wizards, listen up: The Chicago Botanic Garden has created a spe- cial treat for your ears. e new Botanical Mystery Tour pod- cast focuses on the real-life science be- hind plants in pop culture. ere are four episodes in the rst season, with more being added all the time. In each episode, social media specialist Jasmine Leonas and writer Erica Masini interview a Garden scientist, horticul- turist, or educator about plant-related topics found in popular TV shows, mov- ies, and books. Leonas and Masini nd out what’s real and what’s fantasy with the help of the experts at the Garden. In the rst episodes, for example, Leo- nas and Masini discuss the plausibility of robot bees taking over as pollinators in an episode of Black Mirror with sci- entist Paul CaraDonna, Ph.D., and the mysteries of mushrooms in Alice in Wonderland with Gregory Mueller, Ph.D., Chief Scientist and Negaunee Foundation Vice President of Science. “We wanted to create something that would make the Garden more accessi- ble to millennials,” Leonas said. “We know millennials make up the largest share of podcast consumers. ere wasn’t really a podcast out there that explores plants as characters in pop cul- ture, so we wanted to make one that did that in a fun and engaging way.” When Leonas rst brought the idea to Masini (both are millennials and pod- cast fans themselves), Masini was all in. “ is is the nerdiest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said. “Let’s do it.” “ ere is amazing science and research happening here that we wanted to highlight,” Masini said. “It’s important to us that scientists are part of the cul- tural conversation. e podcast gives a voice to personalities here who are do- ing critical conservation work.” Leonas and Masini work together with producer Charles Goss to record each episode at the Garden. ey’re looking forward to recording future episodes, including discussions on Game of rones, Black Panther, and more. Botanical Mystery Tour can be found on iTunes, Google Play, and all your favor- ite podcast apps. Learn more botanicalmysterytour.com Want to ask a question or submit an idea? Send a note to bmt@chicagobotanic.org . Jasmine Leonas (left) and Erica Masini