The Psymposia Podcast
Episodes
#66 Hamilton's Pharma Cope, Part 4: "The Face of Psychedelic Ethics"
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia discusses Hamilton Morris's misinformation about their research, organizational structure and membership, and his reliance on extremely unre...
#65 Hamilton's Pharma Cope, Part 3: Paid Protestor Paranoia
15 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia discusses Hamilton Morris's misinformation about their funding, his relationship with Compass Pathways, his claims that the nonprofit Usona ...
#64 Hamilton's Pharma Cope, Part 2: Psychedelic Cult Defenders
14 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia discusses their history with the Church of Psilomethoxin and addresses Hamilton Morris's misinformation about their funding and the alleged ...
Hamilton's Pharma Cope, Part 1: "DEA Informants"
13 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia addresses Hamilton Morris's misinformation, including his speculation that they are DEA informants, their behavior at the FDA advisory commi...
#62 Even More Psychedelic Figures in the Epstein Files
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia discusses more notable psychedelic figures who have turned up in the Epstein files — including Paul Krassner, Rupert and Merlin Sheldrake,...
#61 Psychedelic Funders in the Epstein Files
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia discusses notable psychedelic figures who have turned up in the Epstein files — including major funders and investors Austin Hearst, Steve...
#60 Andrew Callaghan Isn't Devastated
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia discusses flaws in Andrew Callaghan's journalism, his response to sexual abuse allegations, and how it relates to our experience as the subj...
#59 Bitter Karella: Queer Horror and Mushroom Magic
20 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia senior writer Russell Hausfeld sits down with author Bitter Karella to discuss their debut novel "Moonflow," their micro-fiction and text a...
#58: MAPS Psychedelic Science Contract Muzzles Speakers
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On June 6, Psymposia reported on the presenter contract for MAPS' Psychedelic Science 2023. The contract includes clauses that limit when and where p...
#57: Greg Lake: The Church of Psilomethoxin interview
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Psymposia Senior Writer Russell Hausfeld interviews Church of Psilomethoxin co-founder Greg Lake. Hausfeld and Lake discuss recent ch...
#56 - Travis Kitchens: The M-Scale and the Occult Roots of the JHU Psychedelic Research Program
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, the Psymposia team speaks with writer Travis Kitchens about his recent piece "A Channel for Magic: Ralph Hood’s Mysticism Scale and...
#55 - Sasha Sisko: On the Ground at Wonderland Miami
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Psymposia senior writer Russell Hausfeld interviews independent reporter Sasha Sisko about being kicked out of Wonderland Miami 2022....
#54 - #Wonderbanned
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On November 3rd, the "Wonderland Miami" psychedelic conference banned the entire Psymposia team from the event. Compass Pathways consultant Hamilton M...
#53 - We’re back! News Recap and Updates from the Team
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re back…mostly. In this episode we ramble about the Psychedemia conference, the serpent handler researcher who helped legitimize Johns Hopkins’...
#52 - Right-Wing Psychedelia at University of Madison-Wisconsin
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This talk was presented live by Dr. Brian Pace and Dr. Neşe Devenot at the UW–Madison Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substan...
#51 - Part Three: Jordan Peterson's Psychedelic Hierarchy, ft. Thought Slime
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of this deep dive, Psymposia and Thought Slime analyze Jordan Peterson's fascination with psychedelics as an example of the reactionary, r...
#50 - Part Two: Jordan Peterson's Psychedelic Hierarchy, ft. Thought Slime
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of this deep dive, Psymposia and Thought Slime analyze Jordan Peterson's fascination with psychedelics as an example of the reactionary,...
#49 - Part One: Jordan Peterson's Psychedelic Hierarchy, ft. Thought Slime
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In part one of this deep dive, Psymposia and Thought Slime analyze Jordan Peterson's fascination with psychedelics as an example of the reactionary,...
Power Tripping #9: The Complainers Group
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Both underground and above-ground therapists and practitioners present their psychedelic services in service to "healing." Why, then, is it so hard to...
Power Tripping #8: Who Am I Fooling?
20 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to psychedelics, there's a lot we don't know. The same is true of the practitioners, institutions, and communities that have sprung up a...
Power Tripping #7: Political Science
13 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What's going on with the MAPS narratives? How is it possible that Mel, Leah, and Meaghan's experiences have been so at odds with the "standard story" ...
Power Tripping #6: Open Heart Surgery
06 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Psymposia team discusses the reticence of psychedelic advocates to consider cases of unequivocal abuse and neglect of participants in MAPS clinica...
#48 - Drugs and Anti-Capitalism with Hilary Agro
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We talk drugs and anti-capitalism with anthropology PhD candidate, Hilary Agro. Ranging from prohibition to psychedelic clinical trials and beyond, we...
#47 - Part Two: Right-Wing Psychedelia
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our discussion about Brian Pace and Neşe Devenot's recently published paper: "Right-Wing Psychedelia: Case Studies in Cultural Plasticity...
#46 - Part One: Right-Wing Psychedelia
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss Brian Pace and Neşe Devenot's recently published paper: "Right-Wing Psychedelia: Case Studies in Cultural Plasticity and Political Pluripo...
Power Tripping #5: House Full of Sh*t
02 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What the hell is going on in this house full of shit? And where do we go from here? We don’t have answers, but we have ideas and plenty of questions...
What's a year of Psymposia worth to you?
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dear Plus Three listeners, Thanks so much for your continued support throughout the year. We couldn't do it without y'all. Psymposia is a small 5...
Power Tripping #4: Bad Hug
26 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many people are familiar with MK-ULTRA, the CIA's illegal human experimentation program, which involved psychedelics and resulted in torture technique...
Power Tripping #3: I Am the Wolf
19 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Pollan, Tim Ferriss, Gabor Maté, and a number of other "thought leaders" have offered glowing endorsements of Françoise Bourzat and her appr...
Power Tripping #2: That's an Old Story
12 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Power Tripping is Psymposia's weekly deep-dive into New York Magazine's Cover Story: Power Trip podcast, co-produced with Psymposia. The Psymposia...
Power Tripping #1: I See a Sh*tshow
05 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Power Tripping is Psymposia's weekly deep-dive into New York Magazine's Cover Story: Power Trip podcast, co-produced with Psymposia. This week, Lil...
#45 - Part Two: Digital Capitalism on Psychedelics with Emma Stamm
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of our conversation with Villanova visiting professor of philosophy Emma Stamm, we discuss the "psychedelic industry's" increasing fixatio...
#44 - Part One: Talking Acid Communism with Emma Stamm
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In part one of our conversation with Villanova visiting professor of philosophy Emma Stamm, we discuss Mark Fisher’s Acid Communism, leftist though...
#43 - Part Two: Dave Rubin Courts Right-Wing Psychedelic Billionaire Christian Angermayer
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Part Two, the crew continues their break down of Atai Life Sciences' founder and COMPASS Pathways investor Christian Angermayer's recent appearance...
#42 - Part One: Dave Rubin Courts Right-Wing Psychedelic Billionaire Christian Angermayer
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Part One, the crew breaks down Atai Life Sciences' founder and COMPASS Pathways investor Christian Angermayer's recent appearance on right-wing You...
#41 - We (Still) Hope Michael Pollan Changes His Mind
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The crew reviews Michael Pollan’s recent New York Times Op-Ed "How Should We Do Drugs Now?” Co-hosts: Neşe Devenot, Brian Normand, David Nickl...
#40 - Part Two: Has Atai Taken the Psychedelic Throne from MAPS? (The Murderous Dictator Episode)
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Part Two Normie, Dave, Russell, and Sarvesh continue their conversation about Atai Life Sciences and how the introduction of for-profit psychedelic...
#39 - Part One: Has Atai Life Sciences Taken the Psychedelic Throne From MAPS?
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Normand, David Nickles, and Russell Hausfeld are joined by new team member, Sarvesh Ramprakash, to discuss Atai Life Sciences' recent IPO on Nas...
#38 - Part Two: The Psychedelic Capitalism Debate That Wasn't
07 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Part Two, the Psymposia crew continues to deconstruct a conversation between two self-described entrepreneurs who recently discussed psychedelics a...
#37 - Part One: The Psychedelic Capitalism Debate That Wasn't
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Psymposia crew deconstructs a conversation between two self-described entrepreneurs who recently discussed psychedelics and medicalization during ...
#36 - Part Two: Ioan Grillo - Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ioan Grillo is a journalist who has reported on the Mexican Drug War and cartel violence for the last 20 years. His books include "El Narco: Inside Me...
#35 - Part One: Ioan Grillo - Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ioan Grillo is a journalist who has reported on the Mexican Drug War and cartel violence for the last 20 years. His books include "El Narco: Inside Me...
#34 - Psychedelic Anarchy with Thought Slime
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia sits down with Thought Slime to chat about carving out a leftist space in psychedelia. Co-hosts: Neşe Devenot, David Nickles, Brian Pace, R...
#33 - Queering psychedelics and tripping out on gender with Jae Sevelius
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia advisory board member and psychedelic researcher, Jae Sevelius, joins us to talk about queer theory, psychedelic research with transgender a...
#32 - It's All Red Flags: 5-MeO-DMT with Dr. Martin Ball
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia editors discuss Dr. Martin Ball’s “session info” document that the retired 5-MeO-DMT practitioner sent to Psymposia. Dr. Ball has refe...
#31 - Alex Zaitchik on Degrowth and Big Pharma
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Psymposia Advisory Board member Alex Zaitchik drops in to chat about his work and experiences as an investigative journalist with a critical analysis ...
#30 - Giving a F*ck About People Who Use Drugs with Yarelix Estrada
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're joined by our new advisory board member Yarelix Estrada to discuss her experiences with organizing psychedelic societies, psych...
#29 - The Tesla of Mental Health?
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Normand and David Nickles are joined by Psymposia Senior Writer Russell Hausfeld to discuss MindMed's CEO, Jamon Rahn's, recent claims that his ...
#28 - Qoup At The Qapitol: Q'mon Man
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss a prominent participant in the bumbling coup attempt of January 6: "QAnon Shaman" Jake Angeli. Along with a coalition of D...
#27 - The Thought Leader and the Critic
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This episode explores the rise of self-styled “thought leaders” within the psychedelic community, using Anand Giridharadas’ book “Winners Take...
#26 - Livestream: The Gang Goes Non-Profit
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We kicked off the start of our ongoing livestreams with the announcement of Psymposia's 501(c)(3) non-profit status, discussions of corporadelic dynam...
#25 - Press Release: Plus Three found to have neuroprotective effects against corporadelic BS
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we explore the myriad of problems that result from media outlets treating corporate press releases as though they're legitimate news s...
#24 - From Mining to Mushrooms
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded live at the Capital Psychedelic Summit, hosted virtually in Washington D.C., Russell Hausfeld joins Brian Normand and David Nickles to discus...
#23 - "Grow, Gather, Give" Is an Anti-Capitalist Approach (and That's a Good Thing)
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded live (online) for the Capital Psychedelic Summit in Washington D.C., the Plus Three crew picks up the threads of a recent panel discussion a...
#22 - Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories in Psychedelia
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Terence McKenna once mused, “Conspiracy theory is a kind of epistemological cartoon about reality.” Looking around at the world, things appear awf...
#21 - American Trip - Ido Hartogsohn
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Ido Hartoghson joins the show to talk about the ideas in his new book, American Trip: Set, Setting, and the Psychedelic Experience in the Twentie...
#20 - The LSD Silo Bust (Everything You Wanted to Know and a Few Things You Didn’t)
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In response to the unexpected early release of William Leonard Pickard from prison, we discuss some of the characters and stories surrounding the case...
#19 - MDMA, PTSD, ACAB
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore the implications of MAPS’ main political strategy: demonstrating affinity for and utility to the police, the military, t...
#18 - Seizing the Doors of Perception
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we unpack some of the characters and dynamics of the psychedelic “arm” of the Intellectual Dark Web. We use Neşe Devenot’s rec...
#17 - Psychedelic Capitalists Part 2: Pandemic Profiteers and Non-Cooperative Actors
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Normand, David Nickles, and Russell Hausfeld continue their conversation about neoliberals in psychedelia, including companies using the corona...
#16 - Psychedelic Capitalists Part 1: Psilocybin and Gold and Lithium, oh my!
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Normand and Dave Nickles are joined by Psymposia Senior Writer Russell Hausfeld to discuss capitalist logic in psychedelia, the principles of op...
#15 - Psychedelics, Sex, Power, Silence
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sexual abuse in psychedelic therapy (above and underground) is a long-standing, documented, and enduring reality maintained through cultures of silen...
#14 - Douglas Rushkoff on the Parallels Between Psychedelic and Digital Mainstreaming
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we talk with Douglas Rushkoff, author, teacher, and host of the Team Human podcast. Rushkoff’s work explores how different technolog...
#13 - Dear Psychedelic Researchers
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we discuss our recent stories: Dear Psychedelic Researchers Amidst Pandemic, Psychedelic Investor Christian Angermayer Can't Imagine ...
#12 - Capitalism can’t save us from coronavirus. Neither can psychedelics.
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the midst of increasing global engagement with the fallout of the novel coronavirus, we examine some responses to the pandemic within the "psychede...
#11 + Alan Piper: Strange Nazis
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alan Piper is a maverick historian of ideas with a penchant for unique, deep dives into rich veins of psychedelia. His 2015 monograph, Strange Drugs...
#10 - This Is What Psychedelic Mainstreaming Looks Like
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's not the Hokey Pokey, but psychedelic mainstreaming seems to be what it's all about. We explore some of the realities and questions of what it mea...
#9 - Lucy in the Sky with Nazis
13 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss Brian Pace's recent article, which stirred up quite a bit of controversy. To stir things up a little more, we've unpacked some of our pers...
# 8 - Manufacturing Authority
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Well, it’s official, psychedelics have entered the corporate-wellness mainstream. If you have any doubts, check out Gwyneth Paltrow’s new Netflix ...
# 7 - Why We Do What We Do
31 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The team shares their personal stories and talk about how and why they became involved in psychedelic advocacy and drug policy reform. Happy New Year ...
#6 - Abusing Power: Taking Predatory Daniel Pinchbeck At His Word
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Author Daniel Pinchbeck sexually harassed and coerced interns, community members, and those less-powerful than himself, harming untold numbers of wome...
#5 - Psychedelics X Climate
11 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The team explores the Psychedelic/Climate-Change connection, and tools for addressing existential crisis. Climate change is the challenge of our era, ...
#4 - Psilocybin Incorporated
27 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The crew recaps the Economic Models for the Expansion of Psychedelics panel at the Horizons Perspectives on Psychedelics conference in New York. They ...
#3 - Live From Brooklyn: The Set and Setting of the Psychedelic Renaissance is Capitalism
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Live from Brooklyn, New York, the team discusses psychedelic science unfolding in a capitalist culture and deconstructs the 'Standard Story' of psyche...
#2 - Decriminalization Now!
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The historical record is clear - drug prohibition is directly connected to the prosecution of minorities: ethnic or political. Not only do we see a co...
#1 - We Hope Michael Pollan Changes His Mind
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Pollan thinks we’re not ready to decriminalize psilocybin, despite his bestselling book, How to Change Your Mind, where he capitalized on th...