Stumped

Did you know cities have been deliberately planting male trees for decades and your allergies might be the result? ...We looked into it. 🌳

Welcome to Valid Source? The podcast where we investigate the internet myths, viral claims, and trending gossip you've been thinking about but haven't had time to research. We're not experts. We're just two friends willing to do the extra digging.

This episode: Ashley's planning a llama visit and Harley admits she once did farm community service hours which somehow leads to the most chaotic Met Gala in recent memory, featuring Cardi B in marshmallow couture, Bad Bunny as an old man, and Jeff Bezos slipping in through the back door to avoid protesters throwing fake pee bottles outside (because of course he did).

Then we go deep on trees. Harley investigates Pando, a single aspen tree in Utah that spans 106 acres, weighs 13 million pounds, and has been alive since before the pyramids were built. Ashley learns, live on air, that the "walking palm" tree that rainforest guides swear can literally get up and walk might be a myth or might not be, because scientists genuinely can't agree. Harley breaks down Botanical Sexism, the reason our cities are absolutely drowning in pollen, and spoiler: it comes down to someone deciding female trees were too messy.

And finally, they both discover the Wood Wide Web! A fungal internet under every forest that lets trees share food, send distress signals, and apparently keep their dead relatives alive way past their expiration date.

Valid Source? verdict on trees: ancient, communicative, quietly keeping each other alive underground, and doing more for their community than most people and we did this to ourselves.