Episode 163: Concrete Botany: Reconnecting with the Living World in the Age of Disturbance with Joey Santore
Cannabis Cultivation and Science PodcastShow Notes
In this episode, Tad Hussey sits down with Joey Santore, the self-taught botanist and former railroad engineer behind the cult-favorite YouTube channel and podcast, Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t. Joey shares his journey from "slamming rail cars" for 15 years to becoming one of the most distinctive voices in ecology today.
The conversation dives deep into the "anthropocentric" way we view nature—asking what a plant can do for us rather than learning its unique story—and rants against the "horticultural atrocities" of modern landscaping. From the evolution of "edaphic endemics" on stressful soils to the mental health crisis caused by our "concrete cages," Joey makes a passionate case for looking past the human world and reconnecting with the "living machine" that holds up the entire terrestrial biosphere.
More from Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast
In this episode of the Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast, host Tad Hussey catches up with commercial cannabis consultant Greg Larson to tackle one of the most pressing challenges facing organic growers today: passing strict heavy metal compliance testing in tightly regulated states like South Dakota, Minnesota, and Maine.
In this episode, I sit down with soil microbiologist Colin Bell, Ph.D. (Founder and Developer of Mammoth P) to discuss his return to the brand, the science of soil ecology, and the official relaunch of Mammoth P. Colin shares the story behind regaining control of the company, technical improvements to the formula, and how multi-species bacterial consortia drive nutrient availability in living soil and hydro setups. We also walk through practical application best practices and tackle several long-standing industry myths regarding compost teas, alfalfa media, and microbial safety.
In this episode, I sit down with Jared Nieuwenhuis, Founder and CEO of Cannabis ChemLab, an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory serving medical cannabis programs and national USDA hemp growers. Drawing on over 11 years of experience in laboratory development, environmental testing, and commercial farming, Jared brings an authoritative, science-first perspective to the complex world of analytical testing.
What happens when the very plant celebrated for curing nausea becomes the exact thing causing severe, uncontrollable vomiting?
In this episode of the Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast, host Tad Hussey sits down with Dr. Grey Monroe and PhD candidate Matthew Davis from UC Davis to discuss their groundbreaking PNAS paper, "Genome degradation in plant tissue culture." For decades, cannabis growers have reported a phenomenon known as "genetic drift" or "maternal decline," where long-held mother plants or clonal lines seemingly lose their vigor, yield, or terpene profiles over time. This conversation provides a definitive look into the biological mechanisms driving these changes.