EarthRise w/Derek Beres

Medicating Normal follows the journeys of a newly married couple, a female combat veteran, a waitress, and a teenager whose doctors prescribed psychiatric drugs for stress, mild depression, sleeplessness, focus, and trauma. The subjects struggle with serious physical and mental side effects as well as neurological damage that resulted from taking the drugs as prescribed and also from attempting to withdraw. Angela Peacock, MSW, is a US Army veteran, benzo survivor,... Read More

RP Eddy served at the White House National Security Council and as a senior US diplomat. He is the co-author of Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes.

Robert Whitaker is an American journalist and author who has won numerous awards as a journalist covering medicine and science, including the George Polk Award for Medical Writing and a National Association for Science Writers’ Award for best magazine article. In 1998, he co-wrote a series on psychiatric research for the Boston Globe that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. His first... Read More

I came across this article today and had to respond. This melding of “wellness” with right-wing conspiracies is really disturbing. Specifically, I discuss implicit bias and white privilege in the context of the following paragraph. “There seem to be many incongruences with the black man who was murdered, was he really who he said he was, did he actually die, was that man really a... Read More

Dax-Devlon Ross has led a career as an educator, non-profit executive, equity consultant, and journalist with a focus on social justice. His recent investigative journalism has appeared in The Washington Post, NY Times, and The Guardian. In this episode, we discuss his recent essay, “A Letter to My White Male Friends of a Certain Age.” We had a number of problems with Zoom, so I... Read More

Matthew Remski and Julian Walker join me to discuss the many suspect medical claims made by Kelly Brogan and Sayer Ji. We also talk about Julian’s new essay, “The Red Pill Overlap.” Read Matthew on Brogan and Julian’s essay. Subscribe to my newsletter here.

Matthew Remski and Julian Walker join me for a discussion on conspiracy theories and cult dynamics centered on “Plandemic” and recent videos by comedian JP Sears. Subscribe to my newsletter.

This week I discuss anxiety management techniques during the pandemic. I also cover two studies for Big Think: one at UPenn on why Gen X is more stressed than other generations and another from Penn State about mistakes being necessary for learning.  Subscribe to my newsletter.

My Big Think article discussing a clip from the documentary, “The Plandemic,” has been making the rounds. I recorded this episode to address the points being made in my writing.

I intended to release this brief talk a few weeks ago announcing my anti-anxiety coaching program, EarthRise Wellness. Then the world changed. I had to reassess the entire talk. This podcast is the result.

Dax-Devlon Ross has led a career as an educator, non-profit executive, equity consultant, and journalist with a focus on social justice. He is also one of my best friends. We’ve been having in-depth conversations since first meeting at Rutgers in the nineties. We share our thoughts on this generation-defining moment as well as our thoughts and hopes regarding what comes next.

Jordan Hall is the co-founder of Neurohacker Collective and one of the most interesting polymaths I’ve ever spoken to. We discuss life during the coronavirus, virtual reality, physiology and nootropics, and the fate of America.

Investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney is the author of the NY Times bestselling book, What Doesn’t Kill Us, about his time with The Iceman, Wim Hof. His forthcoming book is The Wedge: Evolution, Consciousness, Stress, and the Key to Human Resilience.

Born in Iran and raised in India, Azam Ali has one of the most beautiful voices in the world. Through her solo albums and work with Niyaz and her former band, Vas, she has spread the explored, studied, and presented the sacred music of the world in new contexts for 25 years. She is also an accomplished producer, percussionist, santur player, artist, and jewelry maker.

Richard J. Miller is the Alfred Newton Richards Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and author of Drugged: The Science and Culture Behind Psychotropic Drugs.

Charles Grob is a professor of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences and Pediatrics and Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. He was the first researcher granted FDA approval to clinically study MDMA and ayahuasca in the nineties and has spent nearly 50 years studying psychedelics.

Michael Ehlers is the former Executive Vice President for Research and Development at Biogen and former Chief Scientific Officer for Neuroscience at Pfizer. He was recently named as an advisor to Field Trip Health, the psychedelic research organization that has opened the world’s first psilocybin research center.

Alla Kovgan is the award-winning filmmaker of “Nora” and many others. Her latest documentary, “Cunningham,” focuses on the work of avant-garde choreographer Merce Cunningham’s work between 1942-72.

David Bienenstock is the author of How to Smoke Pot (Properly): A Highbrow Guide to Getting High and co-creator of the podcast Great Moments in Weed History. Previously, he served as Head of Content at Hight Times and worked at VICE Media, where he co-produced the series, Bong Appetit.

Tim Harford has a popular Financial Times column where he writes thought pieces on the economics of the everyday experience. His books, including The Undercover Economist and Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, have become worldwide bestsellers and his TED talks have garnered over 8 million views.  His new podcast is Cautionary Tales.

Dr. Shahrzad Fattahi is a functional and holistic dentist. A graduate of USC Dental School, she has been in private practice in the Los Angeles area since 1994.

Dan Carlin is the host of Hardcore History, the beloved history podcast that’s been downloaded over 100 million times. His first book is The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments, From the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses.

Austrian director and cinematographer, Richard Ladkani, is behind many important documentaries, including his latest, Sea of Shadows. The National Geographic film, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival 2019. The film illustrates how Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese Mafia have declared war on one of the world’s most beautiful ecosystems, which Jacques Cousteau once called “The Aquarium... Read More

Glenn Albrecht is an Australian philosopher. In 2003, he coined the term “solastalgia.” His most recent book is Earth Emotions: New Words for a New World. https://glennaalbrecht.com/http://www.derekberes.com/

Ronan Levy is one of the founders of FieldTrip, a venture firm blending operational execution with strategic investing across all aspects of the psychedelics value chain. They are behind the world’s first psilocybin research center in Jamaica. https://fieldtriphealth.com/ Stay in touch at https://derekberes.com/

Arthur Holland Michel is the founder and co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College and author of the new book, Eyes In the Sky: The Secret Rise of Gorgon Stare and How It Will Watch Us All.

M.R. O'Connor is a science journalist and author of Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World.

Regan Williams is the CEO and co-founder of Seen & Heard, a nonprofit that provides foster and disconnected youth with professional and personal development via the performing arts.

Ronald Purser is a professor of management at San Francisco State University and author of McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality. 

John Ratey, MD, is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

Maxine Trump is a documentary filmmaker whose latest project, To Kid Or Not To Kid, explores women who choose not to have children.

The link between the stories: science evolves. A look at white nationalism, male pride, calorie counting, and the myth of supplements.

This week I look at articles on the nature of suffering; increased rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide in America; and a month of trying out Marie Kondo's method.

Axel Foley of DVR Podcast Network comes on to discuss issues of the week, including Derek’s article on gambling addiction. For more info visit https://www.patreon.com/DVR.

New research on food deserts and dollar-store produce; old hotels are being converted for low-income housing in Los Angeles; the munchies are real; and a bit of history on vaccinations (which are also real).

This week’s look at recent Big Think articles covering owning your mistakes, an ingenious smartphone study to treat anxiety and depression, and pushups for heart health.

A look at four recent Big Think articles covering MDMA and relationship counselling, Spotify and Big Data, men telling women to wear makeup, and Jordan Peterson on cleaning up your room.

One of the greatest myths is the story we tell ourselves about ourselves. The narrative we believe is the one we live. Fortunately, we can change the narrative any time we choose. Ritual provides us that opportunity. Stay in touch @ www.derekberes.com. 

Evan Caron is the co-founder and managing director of Swytch, a blockchain-based platform that tracks and verifies the impact of sustainability efforts and actions on the worldwide level of C02 emissions. For more information visit swytch.io/

Michelle LeClair is a former high-ranking Scientologist and author of the new memoir, Perfectly Clear: Escaping Scientology and Fighting for the Woman I Love.

Michael Gazzaniga is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Director of the SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind. His latest book is The Consciousness Instinct: Unraveling the Mystery of How the Brain Makes the Mind.

Lauren Slater is a psychologist and author of Prozac Dreams, Opening Skinner’s Box, and, most recently, Blue Dreams: The Science and the Story of the Drugs That Changed Our Minds. We talk about the history of psychotropic drugs as well as the future of psychedelics for therapeutic use. Stay in touch at http://www.derekberes.com.

Will Storr is an award-winning journalist and novelist. His work has appeared in Esquire, The New Yorker, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian. His latest book is Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It’s Doing to Us.

Kris Ex is a writer, thinker, and friend. He’s written many hip-hop articles you’ve read over the last few decades. We talk about what everyone is talking about right now: Marvel’s Black Panther. Stay in touch at http://www.derekberes.com.

We often call emotions “reactions,” but new research suggests they are actually constructions. This knowledge helps us understand better ways of dealing with anxiety. This is the third episode of my new audio program, Clarity: Anxiety Reduction for Optimal Health, which can be found at derekberes.com.

Britt Wray is completing a PhD in Science Communication (with a focus on synthetic biology) at the University of Copenhagen in the Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, co-host of the BBC podcast Tomorrow’s World, and author of Rise of the Necrofauna: The Science, Ethics, and Risks of De-Extinction. Stay in touch at http://www.derekberes.com.

Kurt Andersen is a best-selling author and co-creator of the Peabody Award winning weekly radio show, Studio 360, which is also available in podcast form. He co-wrote a parody book on Donald Trump with Alec Baldwin, You Can’t Spell America Without Me. He’s been a columnist for the New Yorker, New York, NY Times, and Time. He is also known as the co-founder of Spy... Read More

Dax returns to catch up on what’s happening in 2018. We start with the state of politics, move into technology, AI, social relationships, social media, and the art of being a human being. Stay in touch at http://www.derekberes.com.

Matt Lombardo joins me to discuss green man milk, mythology, archetypes, and even a little yoga as we contemplate the legacy embodied in The Last Jedi. Stay in touch: http://www.derekberes.com.

Sameer Gadhia is the singer of California-based band Young the Giant. In this episode we discuss growing up Indian in America, what it was like watching Michigan go “red” in the 2016 election, Kafka, yoga, and, of course, music. Stay in touch at www.derekberes.com.

Natalia Petrzela is a scholar, writer, teacher, and activist. An Associate Professor of History at The New School, her first book, Classroom Wars: Language, Sex, and the Making of Modern Political Culture (Oxford, 2015), explores the roots of the culture wars in American public schools, specifically amid heated battles over sexuality and bilingual education. Natalia’s latest research traces the rise of “wellness culture” since the 1950s, asking how... Read More