the last of us

Arts

'The Last of Us' finale ends after a season's worth of table-setting

10:01pm May 25, 2025

HBO's hit zombie drama spent much of its second season maneuvering Ellie and Abby together. Critic Eric Deggans says it has a pacing issue that many streaming shows share.

Lies and consequences lend new weight to 'The Last of Us' Season 2

7:00am April 13, 2025

The second season of HBO's hit zombie series takes what works the first season and turns it upside down, mining new drama from the uncertainty.

Queue Listen Now

The premise of The Last of Us is that the cordyceps fungus turns people into creatures that do the fungus's bidding.

'The Last Of Us' made us wonder: Could a deadly fungus really cause a pandemic?

9:24pm February 10, 2023

by Michaeleen Doucleff

In the hit HBO show, the world has been devastated by a pandemic caused by a deadly fungus. Is that even possible? Could the next pandemic come from fungi? Turns out it's a very real question.

In the video game and HBO show The Last of Us, an infectious fungi turns humans into zombies.

Science

The zombie fungus from 'The Last Of Us' is real — but not nearly as deadly

5:38am January 30, 2023

by Giulia Heyward

This species of fungus, Ophiocordyceps, is known for using "mind control" on insect hosts. Humans, however, are immune.