The Psymposia Podcast

In this episode we discuss our recent stories: Dear Psychedelic Researchers Amidst Pandemic, Psychedelic Investor Christian Angermayer Can't Imagine Life Beyond Capitalism   "Flattening the Curve is Complete BS": Pandemic Advice From Psychedelic Investor Christian Angermayer Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe Devenot, David Nickles, Brian Pace. Editor: Matt Payne. Support us on Patreon  or make a tax-d...

In the midst of increasing global engagement with the fallout of the novel coronavirus, we examine some responses to the pandemic within the "psychedelic community." Recognizing that the US has a longstanding history of privatizing profits while socializing costs, we also discuss the normalization of a "capitalist animism"—treating social phenomena like markets or financial capital as living entit...

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 Make for Strange Bedfellows: Ernst Jünger, Albert Hofmann, and the Politics of Psychedelics  was foundational for the critique explored in Brian Pace's controversial Lucy in the Sky with Nazis: Psychedelics and the Right Wing . In this interview, Pac...

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 means to take psychedelics "mainstream." Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe Devenot, David Nickles, Brian Pace. Editor: Matt Payne. Support us on Patreon  or make a tax-deductible donation .  Patrons Reliable Spores, Houston Puck, Dave Hodges, James Hubbard,...

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 perspectives while exploring questions of psychedelics as non-specific amplifiers of consciousness, the far right, the so-called "Intellectual Dark Web," white supremacy, and psychedelics and social change. Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe Devenot, David Ni...

Well, it's official, psychedelics have entered the corporate-wellness mainstream. If you have any doubts, check out Gwyneth Paltrow's new Netflix series, The Goop Lab. Or maybe don't. Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe Devenot, David Nickles, Brian Pace. Editor: Matt Payne. Support us on Patreon  or make a tax-deductible donation .  Patrons Reliable Spores, Houston Puck, Dave Hodges, James Hubbard, Lin...

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 y'alls. Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe Devenot, David Nickles, Brian Pace. Editor: Matt Payne. Support us on Patreon  or make a tax-deductible donation .  Patrons Reliable Spores, Houston Puck, Dave Hodges, James Hubbard, Lindsay Munson, Evan Freimuth...

Author Daniel Pinchbeck sexually harassed and coerced interns, community members, and those less-powerful than himself, harming untold numbers of women in the psychedelic community. He has described himself as being "sexually fixated, creepy, predatory," using psychedelics as "tools of seduction," "making unwanted advances" towards much younger women, and "seeking sexual contact with volunteers in...

The team explores the Psychedelic/Climate-Change connection, and tools for addressing existential crisis. Climate change is the challenge of our era, but the media still distracts us with comparatively trivial matters. Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe Devenot, David Nickles, Brian Pace. Editor: Matt Payne. Support us on Patreon  or make a tax-deductible donation .  Patrons Reliable Spores, Houston Pu...

The crew recaps the Economic Models for the Expansion of Psychedelics panel at the Horizons Perspectives on Psychedelics conference in New York. They also discuss the corrosive effects that Compass Pathways, a for-profit psilocybin startup has had in psychedelic science and research.  Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe Devenot, David Nickles, Brian Pace. Editor: Matt Payne. Support us on Patreon  or ma...

Live from Brooklyn, New York, the team discusses psychedelic science unfolding in a capitalist culture and deconstructs the 'Standard Story' of psychedelic medicalization. They also talk about incoming corporations seeking to capitalize on psychedelic medicines, and ongoing decriminalization efforts across the country. With opening standup by comedian Adam Strauss. Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe De...

The historical record is clear - drug prohibition is directly connected to the prosecution of minorities: ethnic or political. Not only do we see a complete lack of scientific or evidentiary basis for prohibition and criminalization, we can see it has been a product of white supremacy, xenophobia, misogyny, and imperialism.  Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe Devenot, David Nickles, Brian Pace. Editor:...

Michael Pollan thinks we're not ready to decriminalize psilocybin, despite his bestselling book, How to Change Your Mind, where he capitalized on the rising wave of psychedelic normalization. The team critically examines his New York Time's op-ed where he urges caution. Co-hosts: Brian Normand, Neşe Devenot, David Nickles, Brian Pace. Editor: Matt Payne. Support us on Patreon  or make a tax-deduct...