What you should know about the poisonous death cap mushroom species

By Scott Simon

Published September 13, 2025 at 4:43 AM PDT

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Prof. Anne Pringle, a mycologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, about the latest research on death cap mushrooms, revealing new information about the enigmatic fungus.

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Scott Simon

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.

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