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In the 1970s, Senator Frank Church, a Democrat from Idaho, stuck his neck out–unlike members of Congress today–to take on the real deep state–the FBI and CIA carrying out LSD mind-control experiments on Americans, terrorizing activists, and committing assassinations with the mafia, including against witnesses. The Church Committee Report, based on real Congressional investigations, not just performative show trials, shows us how to confront and dismantle the lawless, mass-murdering MAGA regime. Historians Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Brian Hochman, the Hubert J. Cloke Endowed Director of the American Studies Program at Georgetown University, are out with the definitive account, The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation into the National Security State. They walk us through the decades of U.S. presidents of both major parties allowing a surveillance state to expand, running dangerous operations against the American people. The most chilling legacy is not the cartoonish villainy of poison darts and imperial assassinations, but the insidious cruelty of undermining activists. So pay attention. Don't let anyone–even a well-meaning ally–weaponize purity tests to gatekeep the Fourth American Revolution. Stopping the MAGA threat requires all of us building together in coalition. Based on the Church Committee's own findings, we know exactly what tools the FBI and CIA use to dismantle movements. They have very specific, terrifyingly effective strategies to divide and conquer We the People. Here is what they do when they want to destroy a movement from the inside out: Snitch Jacketing: This is psychological warfare. They plant false information–maybe they leave a map or a weapon in an activist's car–specifically to make you think your friend is a police informant. They leverage paranoia to make us eat our own. Fabricated Dissent: They create fake zines, fake newsletters, and fake correspondence to manufacture feuds between groups. They want the anti-war movement fighting the labor movement so neither fights the state. The "Friendly" Infiltrator: Watch out for the guy who shows up out of nowhere with coffee and too many questions. They send plainclothes agents into our resilience communities to map our networks and identify leaders and how they operate. Entrapment: They find an "easy mark" in a group, push them toward violence, then arrest everyone for a plot the FBI invented. They manufacture terrorism. The "Suicide" Strategy: J. Edgar Hoover's FBI sent a letter to Martin Luther King Jr., threatening to expose his private life and pressuring him to kill himself. They try to break you psychologically so that you back down and disappear. According to historians Guariglia and Hochman, activists under siege were aware of the threats long before the Church Committee exposed them, and developed resilience strategies we can learn from today: Reject the "All-Powerful" Myth: Don't give a lawless regime a bigger shadow than it actually has–that is what they want: to live inside your head. When you start believing the government is an all-knowing, all-powerful shadow monster, you are doing their work for them. Paranoia is a tool of the oppressor. Build a Culture of Care: The only way snitch-jacketing works is if we don't know each other. Build deep, resilient relationships. When we take care of each other, their wedges don't work. Sousveillance (Watch from Below): Do not rely on police body cams; those tapes have a magical habit of being turned off when they're needed. Film everything. Control the narrative with your own evidence, eyes, and ears. Divest from Big Tech: Google, Amazon, and Apple are regime collaborators. We need to build our own infrastructure from high-tech mesh networks to low-tech zines. If you rely on the master's tools, they will shut you down, as we're seeing now with TikTok's mass-censorship under the new owners–MAGA donors, the Ellisons. Get Educated: Practice tech hygiene. Go to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and use their Surveillance Self-Defense guide. Learn how to encrypt, what to carry, and how to stay safe. We're fighting a generational struggle, but we outnumber them. As Andrea's film Mr. Jones reminds us: The truth cannot be killed. Stay safe, vigilant, and united–that is how we win. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: join on Patreon. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect: join on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join: join on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group: join on Patreon. Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community
Summary In this conversation, Gary Roberts and Ash discuss the profound impact of yoga and alternative healing methods on mental health, particularly for first responders. Ash shares insights on yoga nidra, a deep relaxation practice, and its benefits for stress management and healing. They explore the importance of preparation in healing journeys, the stress response in high-pressure professions, and the spiritual aspects of yoga. Practical advice is given for first responders to incorporate grounding practices into their lives, along with addressing common misconceptions about yoga and meditation. Takeaways Yoga is often misunderstood as just physical exercise. Yoga nidra is a powerful tool for relaxation and healing. Preparation is crucial for effective healing experiences. The stress response can be detrimental to mental health. Yoga offers a holistic approach to well-being. First responders need grounding practices to manage stress. The yogic path includes ethical and spiritual dimensions. Finding personal peace is essential for healing. Breath work can prepare individuals for deeper experiences. Misconceptions about yoga can hinder its benefits. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background of the Guest 03:53 Yoga as a Healing Modality 08:14 The Role of Yoga Nidra in Mental Health 11:57 Integrating Yoga with Psychedelic Therapy 16:03 The Importance of Preparation in Healing 20:03 Understanding Stress Responses in First Responders 23:48 The Path of Yoga and Self-Discovery 30:03 Practical Steps for Grounding and Relaxation 34:01 Misconceptions About Yoga and Meditation 37:55 Finding Your Personal Path in Healing 43:05 Conclusion and Resources for Further Exploration How to Get Involved: Gary Roberts is the founder and CEO of Neurovus an AI driven mental health app that learns through personal conversation and your waerables, a company based not only on creating and selling a mobile app but one on a mission to change the landscape of how mental health and addiction are treated. Gary founded a non-profit called Promises Recovery Centers for those who need it and created the first-ever educational training facility for Physicians, Therapists, and Mental Health advocates using innovative therapeutics like psilocybin, Mdma, and LSD. You can learn more about Neurovus or Global Retreats reach out to gary@gooddudesgrow.com or connect with him their site, on LinkedIn, and on Instagram. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to visit the show on Apple Podcasts and leave a rating and review! We love hearing from you! — We bring unbiased content educating you about Hemp CBD, Cannabis, and Innovative Therapeutics like Psychedelics. Helping people understand the benefits of Hemp CBD, Cannabis, and Psychedelics, removing the fear of the unknown, dispelling myths, and presenting facts. Are you unsure about Hemp-Derived CBD, Cannabis, and Psychedelics but are interested in learning more about the benefits of this alternative solution to big pharma? We will step out into the unknown to clearly understand what is and isn't possible with Plant-Base Medicine and breakthrough therapies using Psychedelics through success stories about health, business, and more.
Psychedelics, substances like LSD and psilocybin mushrooms that cause altered states of consciousness, often remind people of hippies in the 1960s. But more researchers are looking into their potential benefits for our well-being. Scientists say psychedelics – which are illegal for recreational use in Canada – could have massive implications on how we treat and heal from major mental health disorders like PTSD, depression and anxiety. Garvia speaks with Dr. Monnica Williams, clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Ottawa, where she is the co-director of the new master's program in psychedelics and consciousness studies. They discuss the latest research and whether psychedelics will, and should, become mainstream. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We have a special episode of Raise the Line on tap today featuring the debut of host Dr. Parsa Mohri, who will now be leading our NextGen Journeys series that highlights the fresh perspectives of learners and early career healthcare professionals around the world on education, medicine, and the future of care. Parsa was himself a NextGen guest in 2024 as a medical student at Acibadem University in Turkey. He's now a general physician working in the Adult Palliative Care Department at Şişli Etfal Research and Training Hospital in Istanbul. Luckily for us, he's also continuing in his role as a Regional Lead for the Osmosis Health Leadership Initiative (OHLI). For his first guest, Parsa reached out to a former colleague in the Osmosis family, Negeen Farsio, who worked with him as a member of OHLI's predecessor organization, the Osmosis Medical Education Fellowship. Negeen is now a graduate student in medical anthropology at Brunel University of London, a degree which she hopes will inform her future work as a clinician. “Medical anthropology is a field that looks at healthcare systems and how human culture shapes the way we view different illnesses, diseases, and treatments and helps you to see the full picture of each patient.” You are sure to enjoy this heartfelt conversation on how Negeen's lived experience as a patient and caregiver have shaped her commitment to mental health and patient advocacy, and how she hopes to marry humanity with medicine in a world that yearns to heal. If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast
"A report from Spikerz, an Israeli company that tracks hacking, suggests that in 2025, music hacks were a sizeable number of methods bad actors were using to extract money from unsuspecting persons and companies. We have the numbers and multiple examples."
In this episode, host David Myers interviews Jim Newton, renowned political journalist and UCLA lecturer, on his recent book on musician Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, the iconic American band. Newton reflects on his personal and professional pathway to writing about the Dead. He traces his first serious recognition of “Deadhead culture” to the 1982 US Festival, where the band's community stood out sharply against the broader music landscape. The conversation emphasizes the Dead's “unique alchemy”: a convergence of Bay Area time and place, the improvisational ethos, the band's eclectic musical catalogue, and the formative social experimentation of the Acid Tests. Newton argues that the band's unusually porous relationship with its audience, rooted in these early LSD gatherings where the Dead were not the central attraction, helped produce a distinctive form of loyalty and collective identity that endured long after the scene expanded beyond its intimate origins.Newton frames the Dead as culturally radical but not conventionally political, aligning the band more with a bohemian ethic of lived values than an evangelical politics of persuasion. The Dead, Newton suggests, modeled community, freedom, and “collective bliss” as a refuge in both the late 1960s and the Reagan-era 1980s. Turning to Jerry Garcia, Newton offers a sober epitaph: an obsessive musical genius with vast curiosity and a deep resistance to responsibility, ultimately undone by addiction and isolation. Yet the episode closes on the enduring afterlife of the Dead through successor acts and cover bands, arguing that the phenomenon persists because it meets persistent social needs that are captured, for Newton, most powerfully in the song “Ripple.”Jim Newton is a veteran journalist, author and teacher. In 25 years at the Los Angeles Times, Newton worked as a reporter, editor, bureau chief, columnist and, from 2007 through 2010, editor of the editorial pages. He is the recipient of numerous national and local awards in journalism and participated in two staff efforts, coverage of the 1992 riots and the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, that were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Newton began working at UCLA full-time in early 2015, teaching in Communication Studies and Public Policy and founding Blueprint, a new UCLA magazine addressing the policy challenges facing California and Los Angeles in particular. He serves as the magazine's editor-in-chief. Newton also is a respected author of important works of history including Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made, Eisenhower: The White House Years, Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace, and his 2020 release Man of Tomorrow: The Relentless Life of Jerry Brown, and most recently: Here Beside the Rising Tide: Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, and an American Awakening.
In this episode, Jack Eidt interviews author Max Talley on his book called Peace, Love, and Haight, set in the wild San Francisco district of Haight-Ashbury in 1969. The hippie counterculture clashes with the capitalist society in the era of the Vietnam War, the push for civil rights, and the sexual revolution. We feature clips from LSD guru and CIA turncoat Dr. Timothy Leary, poet Allen Ginsberg, psychonaut Terence McKenna, political activist Eldridge Cleaver, and of course the sounds of the Grateful Dead. Support the Podcast via PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio Max Talley [https://maxtalley.com/] is an author, editor, musician, visual artist, and writing teacher – he's doing it all – who has published multiple novels, essays, and short stories and won awards for his mix of literary, psychedelic-dystopian, crime, sci-fi, and satirical works. His latest which we will discuss today are the story collection, Destroy Me Gently, Please by Serving House Books, and Peace, Love & Haight – as in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury – from Three Rooms Press. He resides in Santa Barbara where we encountered him in, of all places, a noisy hotel lounge. Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes for a PBS SoCal project called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs. Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/ Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/ Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats Episode 276 Photo credit: Max Talley
durée : 00:59:26 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Elodie Maillot - Le caca peut aussi guérir. Enfin, pas vraiment le caca lui-même, mais plutôt notre microbiote. On parle de transfert de microbiote et même de greffe fécale ou de greffe de microbiote. Cela suscite de nouveaux espoirs de guérison, de maladies digestives bien sûr, mais aussi d'autres pathologies. - réalisation : Véronique Samouiloff
durée : 00:58:17 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Elodie Maillot - Imaginons nos cellules non-humaines comme autant d'étoiles dans le ciel : elles musclent nos systèmes immunitaires, digèrent nos aliments et agissent sur nos humeurs. Cette biodiversité fait notre identité. Peut-on encore se définir comme humains lorsqu'on réalise qu'on dépend autant des microbes ? - réalisation : Rafik Zénine
durée : 00:58:23 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Elodie Maillot - Comment nourrir nos microbiotes ? Que disent de nous les micro-organismes qui se retrouvent dans nos matières fécales ? Est-ce qu'ils racontent nos repas, nos vies, nos trajectoires intimes, nos voyages ou nos rencontres ? - réalisation : Véronique Samouiloff
durée : 00:58:55 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Elodie Maillot - Comme nos forêts, la diversité de notre flore intestinale est en péril, et ce mouvement affecte notre santé… D'où l'idée de cartographier les microbes de différentes populations grâce à la collecte de selles humaines. On comparera notre microbiote occidental à celui d'un chasseur-cueilleur. - réalisation : Véronique Samouiloff
RSS/iTunes/Spotify We’re going GUESTLESS and UNTETHERED on this episode of YOU DON’T KNOW DICK, and what a long, strange trip it is! We’re checking out the Roger Corman-directed 1967 film THE TRIP starring Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper – and written by Jack Nicholson – and it’s full of surreal visuals, mind-expanding dialogue and hippy nonsense! Roger Corman went on an LSD trip as prep for the film, and he imbues it with plenty of independent energy (helped by Fonda and Hopper filming guerilla style on the streets of LA), but is it consciousness expanding weirdness or boring nonsense? Let’s find out!The post Episode 309 – You Don't Know Dick – The Trip (1967) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.
La CIA ha davvero somministrato droghe a persone inconsapevoli per studiare il controllo mentale? Sì: è la storia reale del Progetto MK Ultra, uno dei programmi segreti più controversi degli Stati Uniti, e no, non è una teoria del complotto.Un esperimento reale che ha persino ispirato parte dell'universo della serie tv Stranger Things. In questo nuovo episodio di Assurdo ma vero ricostruiamo cosa successe davvero negli anni '50, '60 e '70, quando la CIA condusse esperimenti illegali su centinaia di civili e militari, usando LSD e altre sostanze senza alcun consenso. Lo scandalo esplose negli anni '70, ma gran parte dei documenti venne distrutta nel 1973, rendendo ancora oggi impossibile capire l'intera portata del progetto. Prendi parte alla nostra Membership per supportare il nostro progetto Missione Cultura e diventare mecenate di Geopop: https://geopop.it/ngCbN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
0:30 - BLM Brandon responds to Bill from Canaryville on property tax hikes and downtown development 33:59 - Insurrectionists, ICE, and Local Law Enforcement 51:57 - Founder & Principal Broker for HealthInsuranceMentors.com, C Steven Tucker, breaks down Trump's "Great Healthcare Plan" and gives odds on it passing congress 01:14:49 - Christopher Whalen, chairman of Whalen Global Advisors and editor of The Institutional Risk Analyst, on Mamdani’s universal child care plan: “This is all pie in the sky — kind of Bill de Blasio on LSD.” Check out Chris’ most recent book Inflated: Money, Debt and the American Dream – 2nd Edition 01:39:11 - Senior Pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago & founder and CEO of Project H.O.O.D., Corey Brooks, asks Brandon Johnson - Why would a city mayor defend a dictator while his own streets continue to burn? Support Pastor Brooks as he walks across America to spread faith, unity, and opportunity at projecthood.org 01:54:59 - Multi‑Emmy‑Award‑winning reporter Liz Collin on the violent protests gripping Minneapolis today, drawing parallels to the city’s unrest in 2020. Follow Liz on X @lizcollin 02:16:42 - Open Mic Friday!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New research is transforming the outlook for cervical and uterine cancers -- two of the most serious gynecologic malignancies worldwide – and we'll be hearing from one of the people shaping that progress, Dr. Mary McCormack, on this episode of Raise the Line. From her perch as the senior clinical oncologist for gynecological cancer at University College London Hospitals, Dr. McCormack has been a driving force in clinical research in the field, most notably as leader of the influential INTERLACE study, which changed global practice in the treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer, a key reason she was named to Time Magazine's 2025 list of the 100 most influential people in health. “In general, the protocol has been well received and it was adopted into the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines which is a really big deal because lots of centers, particularly in South and Central America and Southeast Asia, follow the NCCN's lead.”In this conversation with host Michael Carrese, you'll learn about how Dr. McCormack overcame recruitment and funding challenges, the need for greater access to and affordability of treatments, and what lies ahead for women's cancer treatment worldwide. Mentioned in this episode:INTERLACE Cervical Cancer Trial If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/AnalyticJoin The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0KIn this segment of Notorious Mass Effect, Analytic Dreamz breaks down the raw, underground urbano/trap single “Pase y Toque” by BeatBoy (MX) and Victor Mendivil, released December 12, 2025, via Xkalibvr Music as a digital-only track (≈2:48 runtime).Victor Mendivil, born 2005 in Mexico, fuses hip house, reggaetón, and gangsta rap. He broke through via features on corridos tumbados tracks (e.g., Óscar Maydon's “Hong Kong” in 2023), often praised on X for outshining collaborators. In 2025, he signed a 360 deal with Rico o Muerto (founded by Óscar Maydon, partnered with Downtown Artist & Label Services), positioning him as flagship artist alongside collabs with Natanael Cano, Alemán, Luis R Conriquez, and more. BeatBoy provides bass-heavy, party-oriented trap production with low-visibility underground roots.The explicit track dives into hedonism, nightlife, substances (keta, popper, LSD, nitro), luxury (Mansory Tesla, Johnny Dang diamonds), sex, and street bravado with aggressive, raw delivery tailored to Mexican urbano/trap scenes. Lyrics emphasize “puro pase y toque” repetition, blending braggadocio and party energy without mainstream polish.No music video, radio airplay, or major chart entries (Billboard Hot 100, Hot Latin Songs absent as of January 2026). Growth relies on Spotify/Apple Music streams, fan-made playlists (some with thousands of saves), and niche X/TikTok buzz in Latino communities. Pre-release “filtrada” versions sparked discussion, but explicit content caps algorithmic/radio push.Analytic Dreamz analyzes its niche traction: limited editorial support, no visuals or viral catalysts yet, but tied to Mendivil's rising street credibility post-Rico o Muerto signing. Upside hinges on label investment, potential TikTok uptake in Mexican subcultures, or future remixes—positioning it as early momentum for an emerging Mexican rap voice rather than immediate breakout.Join Analytic Dreamz for this no-fluff, data-driven look at an authentic underground release reinforcing Victor Mendivil's ascent in 2025-2026 urbano rap. Stream “Pase y Toque” now and stay locked in for more Notorious Mass Effect.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Dr. Keith Humphreys is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine and a leading expert on treating addictions, drug laws and policy. We discuss all the major addictive substances and behaviors, including alcohol, opioids, gambling, stimulants, nicotine, cannabis and more, focusing on how genetics and certain use patterns shape addiction susceptibility. We discuss the best evidence-based tools for recovery, from 12-step programs to emerging treatments such as psychedelics and ibogaine. Anyone interested in making better choices for their health and/or seeking to avoid or overcome addictions ought to benefit from this episode. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman David: https://davidprotein.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman Helix Sleep: https://helixsleep.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:58) Keith Humphreys (00:03:22) Addiction; Genetic Risk (00:09:14) Alcohol Use Disorder & Alcoholism; Genetic Predisposition & Addiction Risk (00:18:03) Sponsors: David & BetterHelp (00:20:37) Women & Alcohol Use; Young Adults; Cannabis Use (00:23:36) Health Benefit to Alcohol?, Red Wine, Cancer Risk; Social Pressure (00:31:47) Alcohol in Social Gatherings, Social Anxiety, Vulnerability, Work & Dates (00:37:41) Old vs New Cannabis & THC Levels; Smoked vs Edible Forms (00:44:38) Cannabis & Psychosis Risk; Cardiac Health; Youth Cannabis Use & Transition to Adulthood (00:52:29) Sponsor: AG1 (00:54:13) Industries of Addiction, Regulation; Gambling, Slot Machines, Novelty; Casinos (01:05:28) Decriminalization vs Legalization; Cannabis, Gateway Drug? (01:08:50) Psylocibin or LSD, Addiction Treatment; Microdosing, Clinical Trial Challenges (01:18:58) Sponsor: Helix Sleep (01:20:32) Brain Plasticity & Age; Ketamine, Depression, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) (01:28:10) SSRIs, Mass Shootings, Suicide, Side Effects; Drug Approval; Ibogaine & PTSD (01:36:10) Caffeine Addiction?; Stimulants & Rehab; Prescription Stimulants & ADHD (01:44:04) Nicotine, Mistaking Withdrawal for Benefit (01:47:24) Sponsor: LMNT (01:48:44) Tool: How to Talk to Someone with Addiction (01:55:23) Perception of Addicts, Character Defect, Pain (02:00:58) Overcoming Addiction, Immediate Rewards, AA; Addict & Co-Dependency? (02:09:53) Longterm Drug Use, Dopamine, Cues & Relapse; Social Media (02:16:21) Brain Stimulation, TMS; Homelessness, Substance Use & Rehab (02:26:11) Addiction Treatment Policy, Rehab & Insurance (02:29:08) Tool: 12-Step Programs, AA, Accessibility & Benefits (02:38:08) AA, Higher Power, Cult?; Flexibility, Tool: Open AA Meetings (02:44:38) GLP-1s, Weight Loss, Alcohol Addiction; Pharmaceutical Advertisements (02:52:39) Social Media Addiction, Tool: Avoiding Social Media Strategies (02:58:36) “Failure to Launch”, Youth, Video Games, Social Media; Recovery Pathways (03:04:13) AA as an Action Program, Tool: Try Different AA Meetings (03:08:21) Hospice, Death, Overcoming Fear of Death (03:13:54) Addiction to Escape Death?, Desire for Oblivion (03:18:11) Men vs Women & Addiction; Lying; Relapse; Fentanyl & Addiction Advice (03:24:27) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Leonard Pickard, a prolific LSD manufacturer and the "Acid King" of the 90s, joins the DTFH!PSA: Take LSD seriously! It can have benefits, but also a lot of pitfalls. There's a lot of research on its effects, and some people are just genetically predisposed to have a bad time with it. Read up properly before making any decisions for yourself!Wisconsin family! Duncan is coming to Skyline Comedy in Fox Valley, Wisconsin, January 15-17. Click here to get your tickets now.This episode is brought to you by: Check out squarespace.com/DUNCAN for a free trial, and when you're ready to launch, use OFFER CODE: DUNCAN to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/duncan and get on your way to being your best self.
Andy's let-down impressions, sorting out the new rules of fascist showbiz, Josh judges Coppola, Andy steps onstage, MNF on LSD, listener questions, and much more Spiraling.
My guest this week is journalist and author Susannah Cahalan. Susannah's first book, "Brain on Fire," about her experiences with a very rare autoimmune disease that was misdiagnosed as mental illness, was a #1 NY Times bestseller, sold over a million copies, and was made into a Netflix original movie. Her second book, "The Great Pretender," was named a best book of 2020 by Time, The Guardian and The Sunday Times. And her newest book is "The Acid Queen," which tells the fascinating story of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, who is best known as the wife of LSD pioneer Timothy Leary, but who played a major role in bringing psychedelics into the mainstream.NPR called Susannah "one of America's most courageous young journalists." She's been profiled in the New York Times, featured as an answer on Jeopardy!, and appeared as a guest on The Today Show and Fresh Air, among many others.What I loved most in this episode was hearing about how Susannah's process has evolved from something that was very structured, even rigid, into something that's way on the other end of the spectrum, that involves candles made by witches and doing what it takes to open up a “magical circle” where you can engage with the work on a deeper level.We covered:- The side effects of growing up in a house where the grown-ups read newspapers- The gossip column she started for her high school paper- Interning at The New York Post as a 17-year-old- The rare autoimmune disease she experienced in her 20s that was initially misdiagnosed as mental illness, and the fascination with consciousness it fostered- Adapting to the large amounts of time you spend alone as a writer- Resisting the lure of spending too much time alone and in your head- The mix of speaking, ghostwriting, and side projects that supplement the income she makes writing books- Her biggest speaking fail- Her transition from structured–even rigid–writing routines to something way more woo woo- The steps she takes to open up a “magical circle” when it's time to write- The shop in New York City that she gets to create special candles for each project (I'm so in–check the show notes on Substack for a link)- Why writing in the mornings and interviewing and editing in the afternoons works for herVisit Susannah on Instagram @susannahcahalan or at susannhacahalan.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
durée : 00:58:24 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Pauline Maucort - Les agriculteurs entre productivisme et subsistance, ou comment le régime de propriété de la terre détermine son mode d'exploitation, les conditions de travail des hommes, et les impacts environnementaux. - réalisation : Cécile Laffon
durée : 00:58:24 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Pauline Maucort - Composter, trier, changer son véhicule essence pour un électrique… les efforts pour le climat pèsent lourd sur les plus modestes, qui sont pourtant celles et ceux dont l'impact carbone est le plus faible. - réalisation : Cécile Laffon
durée : 00:58:20 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Pauline Maucort - Les expériences de sécurité sociales de l'alimentation se multiplient pour rendre accessible une alimentation saine et choisie tout en assurant une rémunération juste aux paysans. Outil de gouvernance : la démocratie délibérative, horizon de lutte sociale et environnementale. - réalisation : Cécile Laffon
durée : 00:59:12 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Pauline Maucort - De la difficulté, pour les militants de la cause climatique, de mobiliser au-delà des classes aisées. - réalisation : Cécile Laffon
To learn about The Freedom Project - Click here In this Dead Talk session, two familiar teachers step in right away—Joseph Campbell and Ram Dass—and the atmosphere is set with an image of a “classroom after it's over,” signaling the core theme: no pressure, no performance, nothing to prove. Campbell reframes the Hero's Journey in a way that lands like a revelation: the journey was never meant to be a permanent identity or a life-long mandate. It's a map for early identity formation, but many people turn the map into a moral obligation—equating struggle with legitimacy and suffering with worth. From his current perspective, the journey doesn't end in triumph…it ends in irrelevance—not failure, but the relaxing of the need to matter. The “return” isn't to be admired; it's to be absorbed back into life, ordinary and intimate, without a narrative. Ram Dass deepens that message with warmth and humility, sharing that he spent much of his life trying to be a “spiritual hero,” until life dismantled the role through his stroke—forcing surrender in public. The gift, he says, is that when you can no longer perform wisdom, you either become it or drop the act entirely. That collapse revealed something truer: love remained even when he wasn't useful, articulate, or “teaching.” The session's central question emerges: “What are you no longer willing to carry?” The conversation then pivots into a powerful explanation of the Freedom Project as a field, not a program—something co-created by everyone touched by it. A program is information moving one direction; a field is mutual attunement, where insights land faster, resistance softens without confrontation, and people feel seen without being analyzed. The field holds ambiguity without panic, supports nervous system settling through contextual safety, and helps participants become coherent with the version of themselves they're tuning toward—without forcing linear steps. Campbell also revisits “Follow Your Bliss,” clarifying that bliss was never meant as indulgence or pleasure—it's the subtle feeling of life moving through you: curiosity, fascination, a signal of direction. The reason people resist bliss isn't laziness—it threatens identity, disrupts duty-as-virtue conditioning, and removes the “moral high ground” of sacrifice. Bliss doesn't justify itself, and that's why it's so liberating. Finally, Ram Dass speaks candidly about LSD and psychedelics: they don't create alignment, install wisdom, or heal trauma by themselves. They can offer a glimpse—showing what's possible when self-reference drops—but they don't teach the nervous system how to live there. Psychedelics are a door-opener, not a home. The session closes with the same overarching invitation: as the hero dissolves, life becomes simpler, more present, and more intimate—service without superiority, love without a role, and freedom without the need to matter.
The crew is officially back from the holidays and ready to raise hell. They kick things off sharing their excitement for what's coming next—and showing love to Bob for the sweetest handmade bracelet surprise. From there, it spirals fast: a woman trading sexual favors for booze, a hitchhiking trip fueled by LSD, and a man with an alarming obsession with horses. The hosts also get into clapping back at internet trolls, why their YouTube channel being free and uncensored is a game-changer, and what's coming up next—including an upcoming live show and a storm rolling into town. Same chaos, new year.Watch Full Episodes & More: YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What does it take to redefine psychiatric care with psychedelic therapies? In this episode, Dr. Dan Karlin of MindMed joins host Dr. Talar Hopyan to discuss the clinical, regulatory and cultural shifts underway in mental health. They explore the momentum behind MindMed's LSD program for anxiety and depression, how the team is preparing for NDA filing and commercialization and why purposeful growth—not hype—is key to long-term success in psychedelics. What you'll learn: Why MindMed's MM120 program could reshape the treatment landscape for anxiety How collaboration with regulators is enabling more responsible innovation What intentional scaling means for the future of psychedelic biotech The views expressed in this podcast belong solely to the speakers and do not represent those of their organization. If you want access to more future-focused, actionable insights to help biopharmaceutical companies better execute and succeed in a constantly evolving environment, visit the Syneos Health Insights Hub. The perspectives you'll find there are driven by dynamic research and crafted by subject matter experts focused on real answers to help guide decision-making and investment. You can find it all at https://www.syneoshealth.com/insights-hub. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to rate and review us! We want to hear from you! If there's a topic you'd like us to cover on a future episode, contact us at podcast@syneoshealth.com.
“The world is a very volatile place, with currently 110 conflicts globally, and yet healthcare staff in the hospitals, even here in London, are not prepared to be the only clinician who can help in a crisis or hostile setting,” says Dr. David Gough, CEO of the David Nott Foundation, which equips providers with the skills and confidence needed to function in war and other extraordinary situations. A former British Army doctor injured in Afghanistan, Gough brings lived experience as well as a background in tech to his current role at the Foundation, which itself is anchored in decades of field work amassed by its namesake, a renowned war surgeon. As Dr. Gough points out to host Lindsey Smith, the cause could be helped by augmenting medical school curricula, but in the meantime, the Foundation is filling the knowledge gap by using prosthetics, virtual reality simulations and cadavers to train a broad swath of health workers including surgeons, anesthetists, and obstetricians. Tune in to this important Raise the Line conversation as Dr. Gough reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of NGOs in doing this work, his plans to expand the Foundation's footprint in the US, and the gratifying feedback he's received from trainees now operating on the frontlines in Ukraine and elsewhere. Mentioned in this episode:David Nott Foundation If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast
"This is our second of two year opening shows. We will cover new Public Domain availability, anniversaries for this new year and some predictions for 2026."
A life long search for freedom took Eli Jaxon-Bear around the world and into many spiritual traditions from a Zen monastery in Japan to a Sufi circle in Marrakesh, among others. His search ended when he was drawn to India (1990) where he met his final teacher, Sri H.W.L Poonja, lovingly known as Papaji; a direct disciple of the renowned Indian Sage Ramana Maharshi. Confirming Eli's realization, his teacher sent him back into the world to share his unique psychological insights into the nature of egoic suffering in support of self-realization. Eli infuses his teaching with his teacher's living transmission of silence and peace. He presents a unique map of egoic identification as a vehicle for ruthless self-inquiry and final realization of true freedom. His life is dedicated to passing on the transmission of his teacher. We talk about resisting the Vietnam war, going underground, living in a commune, growing marijuana, living in a shadow play, LSD, waking up and seeing the truth, psilocybin, facing his own death in an LSD trip, surrendering the ego, searching in India and finding a teacher, realization vs learning, theraputical use of psychadelics, meditation, hypnosis, seeking fulfillment, meeting an enlightened sufi, finding everything you really need, his books, and a lot more. links are on the podcast shownotes page support the show through Patreon
Sigue la espiral amarilla porque nos sumergiremos en los secretos del proyecto MK Ultra. ¿Realidad, ficción o teoría conspirativa?
Psychedelics have changed the human family over and over... will they do it again? What are these "magical" substances? How do they work? What is this experience about and what does it look like from the inside? They changed my life and still do. Whew and wow! Blessings
I säsongsavslutningen av Hundåren möter vi Isabella Lundgren, en av landets främsta jazzsångerskor. Som 18-åring i Värmland fick hon ett stipendium till New Yorks mest prestigefyllda musikutbildning. Columbia Records ryckte i henne, hon körade bakom Moby och gästade Woody Allens jazzband på den snurrande scenen högst upp i Rockefeller Center. Men ett gränslöst liv med alkohol, droger och sex på Manhattan gjorde att hon förlorade stipendiet. Sliten och skuldsatt återvände hon till Sverige. Hör Isabella berätta om vägen tillbaka till musiken, som gick via tolvstegsprogram, präststudier och en livsförändrande LSD-tripp.Följ Tomas Andersson Wij på sociala medier:Instagram: @tomasanderssonwijFacebook: /tomasanderssonwijAvsnittet är sponsrat av STIM (@stimsweden) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're back next week but until then, we have ANOTHER bonus subscriber episode for you to enjoy.BUT CRUCIALLY, DON'T FORGET! The comedy history podcast that has spent as much time talking about the invention of custard as it has the industrial revolution is here with its first ever live show! Thursday 15th January at the Underbelly Boulevard in London's Soho.
durée : 00:59:18 - LSD, la série documentaire - À l'image de la société qui se fracture, la création redevient un champ de la guerre culturelle. Aux côtés des intellectuels ou des scientifiques, les artistes sont devenus des épouvantails pour certains discours populistes.
durée : 00:59:23 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Bruno Benquey - Appelé “théâtre subventionné” par ses contempteurs pour en souligner le coût, le théâtre public voit ses moyens remis en cause et doit, à nouveau, justifier de son utilité. Prendre le pouls du théâtre public, c'est prendre le pouls de la politique culturelle française. - réalisation : Agnès Cathou
durée : 00:59:21 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Bruno Benquey - Entrepreneur, employeur, producteur, communiquant, les artistes qui veulent percer doivent aujourd'hui assumer toutes ces responsabilités et pleinement comprendre l'économie dans laquelle ils s'insèrent. - réalisation : Agnès Cathou
durée : 00:59:32 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Bruno Benquey - Malgré les crises que traversent le milieu de la culture, ce sont chaque année plus de 12 000 étudiants qui poussent les portes de la quarantaine d'écoles supérieures d'art et de design en France. - réalisation : Agnès Cathou
As the world reacts to the long awaited Stranger Things series finale, Ryan speaks with filmmaker Chris Garetano about the chilling real world legends that helped inspire the show, the Montauk Project at Camp Hero. Officially a decommissioned military base, Camp Hero has long been rumored to be the site of covert government experiments involving mind control, LSD testing, child abductions, non human contact, and even time manipulation, echoing real programs like MK Ultra. Garetano, whose investigations include the documentary The Montauk Chronicles and the History Channel series The Dark Files, breaks down firsthand testimony, corroborated accounts, and disturbing evidence gathered over years of research. Together, they explore where science fiction ends, where history begins, and why the truth behind Montauk may be far darker and more real than Stranger Things ever imagined. Please take a moment to rate and review us on Spotify and Apple. Book Ryan on CAMEO at: https://bit.ly/3kwz3DO Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/somewhereskies ByMeACoffee: http://www.buymeacoffee.com/UFxzyzHOaQ PayPal: sprague51@hotmail.com Substack: https://ryansprague.substack.com/ All Socials and Books: https://linktr.ee/somewhereskiespod Email: ryan.sprague51@gmail.com SpectreVision Radio: https://www.spectrevision.com/podcasts Opening Theme Song by Septembryo Copyright © 2025 Ryan Sprague. All rights reserved. #StrangerThings #MontaukProject #CampHero #UFOs #HighStrangeness #ConspiracyTheory #ParanormalPodcast #TrueMysteries #GovernmentSecrets #SomewhereInTheSkies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 339 Humans are finally going back to the moon. NASA's Artemis II mission is set to launch in April, taking four astronauts in a loop around the moon. If it goes well, it'll set the stage for a lunar landing by Artemis III - bringing us closer to creating permanent settlements on the surface. And that's not all - SpaceX is planning to visit Mars this year as part of its plans to colonise the Red Planet. Plus, in May we might see the launch of a new American space station. Will these missions mark 2026 as the year that kick-started our spread off planet? GLP-1 weight loss drugs are set to get cheaper this year. The patent on semaglutide - the active ingredient in drugs like Ozempic - is about to run out, meaning more people will be able to access these hugely impactful medications. A pill version is also on the horizon, plus one upcoming drug that can cut body weight by a whopping 24 per cent. The first phase 3 trials of LSD are taking place this year. 55 years after being banned, the psychedelic drug is being tested once again for its ability to reduce anxiety and treat mental health conditions. Research suggests LSD can rewire your brain and relieve moderate to severe anxiety for at least three months. But will the trials prove its benefits outweigh any side effects? A carbon border tariff is being imposed by the EU - taxing imports of materials like steel from countries that aren't doing enough to keep their emissions down. The policy is a positive step for climate action and will help to make EU industries more competitive. And it looks like countries around the world are soon to follow suit. Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Jacob Aron, Michael Le Page and Alexandra Thompson. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"This is our first of two year opening shows. We will cover new Public Domain availability, anniversaries for this new year and some predictions for 2026."
durée : 00:58:22 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Céline du Chéné - L'histoire des cabarets artistiques commence à Montmartre à la fin du XIXe siècle, où deux établissements, le Chat Noir créé en 1881 et le Moulin Rouge en 1889, vont façonner l'image que nous nous faisons encore aujourd'hui des cabarets. - réalisation : Laurent Paulré
durée : 00:58:23 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Céline du Chéné - Le cabaret a parfois encore mauvaise réputation et a souvent été confondu avec les bars à strip-tease. Pourtant, s'il a toujours aimé jouer avec les interdits, le cabaret est aussi ce lieu qui a accompagné l'évolution des mœurs, que ce soit à travers le déshabillage ou le nu. - réalisation : Laurent Paulré
durée : 00:58:16 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Céline du Chéné - Fin 19ᵉ siècle, dans le sillage du Chat Noir, on va retrouver des cabarets artistiques dans toute l'Europe. Mais c'est à Berlin que le cabaret va vivre ses plus belles heures, au point où aujourd'hui encore le cabaret berlinois des années 1920 reste une référence dans l'imaginaire collectif. - réalisation : Laurent Paulré
durée : 00:58:19 - LSD, la série documentaire - par : Céline du Chéné - Depuis une quinzaine d'années, on assiste à une véritable éclosion de cabarets mêlant dissidence et expérimentation artistique, nous rappelant que le cabaret porte en lui une longue histoire d'accueil de toutes les sexualités et de tous les genres. - réalisation : Laurent Paulré
Imagine for a second that Eckhart Tolle wasn't a spiritual teacher, but a deep cover operative with a gun to his head. And just for a second, pretend that Tolle’s Power of Now wasn't a way to find peace, but a survival mechanism used to slow down time when your reality is collapsing. And your memory has been utterly destroyed by forces beyond your control. Until a good friend helps you rebuild it from the ground up. These are the exact feelings and sense of positive transformation I tried to capture in a project I believe is critical for future autodidacts, polymaths and traditional learners: Vitamin X, a novel in which the world’s only blind memory champion helps a detective use memory techniques and eventually achieve enlightenment. It’s also a story about accomplishing big goals, even in a fast-paced and incredibly challenging world. In the Magnetic Memory Method community at large, we talk a lot about the habits of geniuses like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. We obsess over their reading lists and their daily routines because we want that same level of clarity and intellectual power. But there's a trap in studying genius that too many people fall into: Passivity. And helping people escape passive learning is one of several reasons I’ve studied the science behind a variety of fictional learning projects where stories have been tested as agents of change. Ready to learn more about Vitamin X and the various scientific findings I’ve uncovered in order to better help you learn? Let’s dive in! Defeating the Many Traps of Passive Learning We can read about how Lincoln sharpened his axe for hours before trying to cut down a single tree. And that's great. But something's still not quite right. To this day, tons of people nod their heads at that famous old story about Lincoln. Yet, they still never sharpen their own axes, let alone swing them. Likewise, people email me every day regarding something I've taught about focus, concentration or a particular mnemonic device. They know the techniques work, including under extreme pressure. But their minds still fracture the instant they're faced with distraction. As a result, they never wind up getting the memory improvement results I know they can achieve. So, as happy as I am with all the help my books like The Victorious Mind and SMARTER have helped create in this world, I’m fairly confident that those titles will be my final memory improvement textbooks. Instead, I am now focused on creating what you might call learning simulations. Enter Vitamin X, the Memory Detective Series & Teaching Through Immersion Because here's the thing: If I really want to teach you how to become a polymath, I can't just carry on producing yet another list of tips. I have to drop you into scenarios where you actually feel what it's like to use memory techniques. That's why I started the Memory Detective initiative. It began with a novel called Flyboy. It’s been well-received and now part two is out. And it’s as close to Eckhart Tolle meeting a Spy Thriller on LSD as I could possibly make it. Why? To teach through immersion. Except, it's not really about LSD. No, the second Memory Detective novel centers around a substance called Vitamin X. On the surface, it's a thriller about a detective named David Williams going deep undercover. In actuality, it's a cognitive training protocol disguised as a novel. But one built on a body of research that shows stories can change what people remember, believe, and do. And that's both the opportunity and the danger. To give you the memory science and learning research in one sentence: Stories are a delivery system. We see this delivery system at work in the massive success of Olly Richards’ StoryLearning books for language learners. Richards built his empire on the same mechanism Pimsleur utilized to great effect long before their famous audio recordings became the industry standard: using narrative to make raw data stick. However, a quick distinction is necessary. In the memory world, we often talk about the Story Method. This approach involves linking disparate pieces of information together in a chain using a simple narrative vignette (e.g., a giant cat eating a toaster to remember a grocery list). That is a powerful mnemonic tool, and you will see Detective Williams use short vignettes in the Memory Detective series. But Vitamin X is what I call ‘Magnetic Fiction.’ It's not a vignette. It's a macro-narrative designed to carry the weight of many memory techniques itself. It simulates the pressure required to forge the skill, showing you how and why to use the story method within a larger, immersive context. So with that in mind, let's unpack the topic of fiction and teaching a bit further. That way, you'll know more of what I have in mind for my readers. And perhaps you'll become interested in some memory science experiments I plan to run in the near future. Illustration of “Cafe Mnemonic,” a fun memory training location the Memory Detective David Williams wants to establish once he has enough funds. Fiction as a Teaching Technology: What the Research Says This intersection of story and memory isn't new territory for me. Long before I gave my popular TEDx Talk on memory or helped thousands of people through the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass, live workshops and my books, I served as a Mercator award-winning Film Studies professor. In this role, I often analyzed and published material regarding how narratives shape our cognition. Actually, my research into the persuasion of memory goes back to my scholarly contribution to the anthology The Theme of Cultural Adaptation in American History, Literature and Film. In my chapter, “Cryptomnesia or Cryptomancy? Subconscious Adaptations of 9/11,” I examined specifically how cultural narratives influence memory formation, forgetting, and the subconscious acceptance of information. That academic background drives the thinking and the learning protocols baked into Vitamin X. As does the work of researchers who have studied narrative influence for decades. Throughout their scientific findings, one idea keeps reappearing in different forms: When a story pulls you in, you experience some kind of “transportation.” It can be that you find yourself deeply immersed in the life of a character. Or you find your palms sweating as your brain tricks you into believing you're undergoing some kind of existential threat. When such experiences happen, you stop processing information like you would an argument through critical thinking. Instead, you start processing the information in the story almost as if they were really happening. As a result, these kinds of transportation can change beliefs and intentions, sometimes without the reader noticing the change happening. That's why fiction has been used for: teaching therapy religion civic formation advertising propaganda Even many national anthems contain stories that create change, something I experienced recently when I became an Australian citizen. As I was telling John Michael Greer during our latest podcast recording, I impulsively took both the atheist and the religious oath and sang the anthem at the ceremony. All of these pieces contain stories and those stories changed how I think, feel and process the world. Another way of looking at story is summed up in this simple statement: All stories have the same basic mechanism. But many stories have wildly different ethics. My ethics: Teach memory improvement methods robustly. Protect the tradition. And help people think for themselves using the best available critical thinking tools. And story is one of them. 6 Key Research Insights on Educational Fiction Now, when it comes to the research that shows just how powerful story is, we can break it down into buckets. Some of the main categories of research on fiction for pedagogy include: 1) Narrative transportation and persuasion As these researchers explain in The Role of Transportation in the Persuasiveness of Public Narratives, transportation describes how absorbed a reader becomes in a story. Psychologists use transportation models to show how story immersion drives belief change. It works because vivid imagery paired with emotion and focused attention make story-consistent ideas easier to accept. This study of how narratives were used in helping people improve their health support the basic point: Narratives produce average shifts in attitudes, beliefs, intentions, and sometimes behavior. Of course, the exact effects vary by topic and the design of the scientific study in question. But the point remains that fiction doesn't merely entertain. It can also train and persuade. 2) Entertainment-Education (EE) EE involves deliberately embedding education into popular media, often with pro-social aims. In another health-based study, researchers found that EE can influence knowledge, attitudes, intentions, behavior, and self-efficacy. Researchers in Brazil have also used large-scale observational work on soap operas and social outcomes (like fertility). As this study demonstrates, mass narrative exposure can shape real-world behavior at scale within a population. Stories can alter norms, not just transfer facts from one mind to another. You’ll encounter this theme throughout Vitamin X, especially when Detective Williams tangles with protestors who hold beliefs he does not share, but seem to be taking over the world. 3) Narrative vs expository learning (a key warning) Here's the part most “educational fiction” ignores: Informative narratives often increase interest, but they don't automatically improve comprehension. As this study found, entertainment can actually cause readers to overestimate how well they understood the material. This is why “edutainment” often produces big problems: You can wind up feeling smarter because you enjoyed an experience. But just because you feel that way doesn't mean you gain a skill you can reliably use. That’s why I have some suggestions for you below about how to make sure Vitamin X actually helps you learn to use memory techniques better. 4) Seductive details (another warning) There's also the problem of effects created by what scientists call seductive details. Unlike the “luminous details” I discussed with Brad Kelly on his Madness and Method podcast, seductive details are interesting but irrelevant material. They typically distract attention and reduce learning of what actually matters. As a result, these details divert attention through interference and by adding working memory demands. The research I’ve read suggests that when story authors don't engineer their work with learning targets in mind, their efforts backfire. What was intended to help learners actually becomes a sabotage device. I've done my best to avoid sabotaging my own pedagogical efforts in the Memory Detective stories so far. That's why they include study guides and simulations of using the Memory Palace technique, linking and number mnemonics like the Major System. In the series finale, which is just entering the third draft now, the 00-99 PAO and Giordano Bruno's Statue technique are the learning targets I’ve set up for you. They are much harder, and that’s why even though there are inevitable seductive details throughout the Memory Detective series, the focus on memory techniques gets increasingly more advanced. My hope is that your focus and attention will be sharpened as a result. 5) Learning misinformation from fiction (the dark side) People don't just learn from fiction. They learn false facts from fiction too. In this study, researchers found that participants often treated story-embedded misinformation as if it were true knowledge. This is one reason using narrative as a teaching tool is so ethically loaded. It can bypass the mental posture we use for skepticism. 6) Narrative “correctives” (using story against misinformation) The good news is that narratives can also reduce misbelief. This study on “narrative correctives” found that stories can sometimes decrease false beliefs and misinformed intentions, though results are mixed. The key point is that story itself is neither “good” or “bad.” It's a tool for leverage, and this is one of the major themes I built into Vitamin X. My key concern is that people would confuse me with any of my characters. Rather, I was trying to create a portrait of our perilous world where many conflicts unfold every day. Some people use tools for bad, others for good, and even that binary can be difficult for people to agree upon. Pros & Cons of Teaching with Fiction Let’s start with the pros. Attention and completion: A good story can keep people engaged, which is a prerequisite for any learning to occur. The transportation model I cited above helps explain why. The Positive Side of Escapism Entering a simulation also creates escapism that is actually valuable. This is because fiction gives you “experience” without real-world consequences when it comes to facing judgment, ethics, identity, and pressure-handling. This is one reason why story has always been used for moral education, not just entertainment. However, I’ve also used story in my Memory Detective games, such as “The Velo Gang Murders.” Just because story was involved did not mean people did not face judgement. But it was lower than my experiments with “Magnetic Variety,” a non-narrative game I’ll be releasing in the future. Lower Reactance Stories can reduce counterarguing compared with overt persuasion, which can be useful for resistant audiences. In other words, you’re on your own in the narrative world. Worst case scenario, you’ll have a bone to pick with the author. This happened to me the other day when someone emailed to “complain” about how I sometimes discuss Sherlock Holmes. Fortunately, the exchange turned into a good-hearted debate, something I attribute to having story as the core foundation of our exchange. Compare this to Reddit discussions like this one, where discussing aspects of the techniques in a mostly abstract way leads to ad hominem attacks. Now for the cons: Propaganda Risk The same reduction in counterarguing and squabbling with groups that you experience when reading stories is exactly what makes narratives useful for manipulation. When you’re not discussing what you’re reading with others, you can wind up ruminating on certain ideas. This can lead to negative outcomes where people not only believe incorrect things. They sometimes act out negatively in the world. The Illusion of Understanding Informative narratives can produce high interest but weaker comprehension and inflated metacomprehension. I’ve certainly had this myself, thinking I understand various points in logic after reading Alice in Wonderland. In reality, I still needed to do a lot more study. And still need more. In fact, “understanding” is not a destination so much as it is a process. Misinformation Uptake People sometimes acquire false beliefs from stories and struggle to discount fiction as a source. We see this often in religion due to implicit memory. Darrel Ray has shown how this happens extensively in his book, The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture. His book helped explain something that happened to me after I first started memorizing Sanskrit phrases and feeling the benefits of long-form meditation. For a brief period, implicit memory and the primacy effect made me start to consider that the religion I’d grown up with was in fact true and real. Luckily, I shook that temporary effect. But many others aren’t quite so lucky. And in case it isn’t obvious, I’ll point out that the Bible is not only packed with stories. Some of those stories contain mnemonic properties, something Eran Katz pointed out in his excellent book, Where Did Noah Park the Ark? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhQlcMHhF3w The “Reefer Madness” Problem While working on Vitamin X, I thought often about Reefer Madness. In case you haven’t seen it, Reefer Madness began as an “educational” morality tale about cannabis. It's now famous largely because it's an over-the-top artifact of moral panic, an example of how fear-based fiction can be used to shape public belief under the guise of protection. I don’t want to make that mistake in my Memory Detective series. But there is a relationship because Vitamin X does tackle nootropics, a realm of substances for memory I am asked to comment on frequently. In this case, I'm not trying to protect people from nootropics, per se. But as I have regularly talked about over the years, tackling issues like brain fog by taking memory supplements or vitamins for memory is fraught with danger. And since fiction is one of the most efficient way to smuggle ideas past the mind's filters, I am trying to raise some critical thinking around supplementation for memory. But to do it in a way that's educational without trying to exploit anyone. I did my best to create the story so that you wind up thinking for yourself. What I'm doing differently with Vitamin X & the Memory Detective Series I'm not pretending fiction automatically teaches. I'm treating fiction as a delivery system for how various mnemonic methods work and as a kind of cheerleading mechanism that encourages you to engage in proper, deliberate practice. Practice of what? 1) Concentration meditation. Throughout the story, Detective Williams struggles to learn and embrace the memory-based meditation methods of his mentor, Jerome. You get to learn more about these as you read the story. 2) Memory Palaces as anchors for sanity, not party tricks. In the library sequence, Williams tries to launch a mnemonic “boomerang” into a Memory Palace while hallucinatory imagery floods the environment. Taking influence from the ancient mnemonist, Hugh of St. Victor, Noah's Ark becomes a mnemonic structure. Mnemonic images surge and help Detective Williams combat his PTSD. To make this concrete, I've utilized the illustrations within the book itself. Just as the ancients used paintings and architectural drawings to encode knowledge, the artwork in Vitamin X isn’t just decoration. During the live bootcamp I’m running to celebrate the launch, I show you how to treat the illustrations as ‘Painting Memory Palaces.’ This effectively turns the book in your hands into a functioning mnemonic device, allowing you to practice the method of loci on the page before you even step out into the real world. Then there’s the self-help element, which takes the form of how memory work can help restore sanity. A PTSD theme runs throughout the Memory Detective series for two deliberate reasons. First, Detective Williams is partly based on Nic Castle. He's a former police officer who found symptom relief for his PTSD from using memory techniques. He shared his story on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast years ago. Second, Nic's anecdotal experience is backed up by research. And even if you don't have PTSD, the modern world is attacking many of us in ways that clearly create similar symptom-like issues far worse than the digital amnesia I've been warning about for years. We get mentally hijacked by feeds, anxiety loops, and synthetic urgency. We lose our grip on reality and wonder why we can't remember what we read five minutes ago. That's just one more reason I made memory techniques function as reality-tests inside Vitamin X. 3) The critical safeguard: I explicitly separate fiction from technique. In Flyboy's afterword, I put it plainly: The plot is fictional, but the memory techniques are real. And because they're real, they require study and practice. I believe this boundary matters because research shows how easily readers absorb false “facts” from fiction. 4) To help you practice, I included a study guide. At the end of both Flyboy and Vitamin X, there are study guides. In Vitamin X, you'll find a concrete method for creating a Mnemonic Calendar. This is not the world's most perfect memory technique. But it's helpful and a bit more advanced than a technique I learned from Jim Samuels many years ago. In his version, he had his clients divide the days of the week into a Memory Palace. For his senior citizens in particular, he had them divide the kitchen. So if they had to take a particular pill on Monday, they would imagine the pill as a giant moon in the sink. Using the method of loci, this location would always serve as their mnemonic station for Monday. In Vitamin X, the detective uses a number-shape system. Either way, these kinds of techniques for remembering schedules are the antidote to the “illusion of understanding” problem, provided that you put them to use. They can be very difficult to understand if you don't. Why My Magnetic Fiction Solves the “Hobbyist” Problem A lot of memory training fails for one reason: People treat it as a hobby. They “learn” techniques the way people “learn” guitar: By watching a few videos and buying a book. While the study material sits on a shelf or lost in a hard drive, the consumer winds up never rehearsing. Never putting any skill to the test. And as a result, never enjoying integration with the techniques. What fiction can do is create: emotional stakes situational context identity consistency (“this is what I do now”) and enough momentum to carry you into real practice That's the point of the simulation. You're not just reading about a detective and his mentor using Memory Palaces and other memory techniques. You're watching what happens when a mind uses a Memory Palace to stay oriented. And you can feel that urgency in your own nervous system while you read. That's the “cognitive gym” effect, I'm going for. It's also why I love this note from Andy, because it highlights the exact design target I'm going for: “I finished Flyboy last night. Great book! I thought it was eminently creative, working the memory lessons into a surprisingly intricate and entertaining crime mystery. Well done!” Or as the real-life Sherlock Holmes Ben Cardall put it the Memory Detective stories are: …rare pieces of fiction that encourages reflection in the reader. You don’t just get the drama, the tension and the excitement from the exploits of its characters. You also get a look at your own capabilities as though Anthony is able to make you hold a mirror up to yourself and think ‘what else am I capable of’? A Practical Way to Read These Novels for Memory Training If you want the benefits without the traps we've discussed today: Read Vitamin X for immersion first (let transportation do its job). Then read it again with a simple study goal. This re-reading strategy is important because study-goal framing will improve comprehension and reduce overconfidence. During this second read-through, actually use the Mnemonic Calendar. Then, test yourself by writing out what you remember from the story. If you make a mistake, don't judge yourself. Simply use analytical thinking to determine what went wrong and work out how you can improve. The Future: Learning Through Story is About to Intensify Here's the uncomfortable forecast: Even though I’m generally pro-AI for all kinds of outcomes and grateful for my discussions with Andrew Mayne about it (host of the OpenAI Podcast), AI could make the generation of personalized narratives that target your fears, identity, and desires trivial. That means there’s the risk that AI will also easily transform your beliefs. The same machinery that can create “education you can't stop reading” can also create persuasion you barely notice. Or, as Michael Connelly described in his novel, The Proving Ground, we might notice the effects of this persuasion far more than we’d like. My research on narrative persuasion and misinformation underscores why this potential outcome is not hypothetical. So the real question isn't “Should we teach with fiction?” The question is: Will we build fiction that creates personal agency… or engineer stories that steal it? My aim with Flyboy, Vitamin X and the series finale is simple and focused on optimizing your ability: to use story as a motivation engine to convert that motivation into deliberate practice to make a wide range of memory techniques feel as exciting for you as they are for me and to give your attention interesting tests in a world engineered to fragment it. If you want better memory, this is your challenge: Don't read Vitamin X for entertainment alone. Read it to see if you can hold on to reality while the world spins out of control. When you do, you'll be doing something far rarer than collecting tips. You'll be swinging the axe. A very sharp axe indeed. And best of all, your axe for learning and remembering more information at greater speed will be Magnetic.
Listen without ads at www.patreon.com/dopeypodcastIn this Dopey replay, We revisits rare and unfiltered moments with Nick Reiner and Chris O'Connor from early episodes of the show — recorded years before the tragic events surrounding the Reiner family.The episode reflects on a time when addiction and mental illness had not yet fully hardened into catastrophic consequences. Dave explains why he chose to release this material now, reading listener reactions and grappling with the complexity of showing who Nick was before everything went wrong.What follows is a raw, chaotic, often funny, and deeply human stretch of Dopey history: arguments, drug stories, recovery talk, basketball injuries, relapse temptations, seizures, rehab memories, and one particularly moving story of Nick tripping on LSD and being cared for by his father through the night.The episode closes with a reflection on recovery, connection, and the importance of reaching out — both to those struggling and to those we love — alongside a tribute to Chris O'Connor and the reminder that hindsight doesn't protect us, but connection sometimes can. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III substance. Trump's order continues an effort begun by former President Joe Biden to change how the federal government views marijuana. Previously, under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, marijuana had the same classification as LSD and peyote – drugs that the federal government argues have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. And because of its classification, scientists who wanted to investigate medical uses for marijuana had to jump through significant hoops – and couldn't get federal research dollars. Once marijuana is reclassified, that will change. However, if you're a recreational marijuana user, Trump did not, in fact, just legalize weed. So to learn more about what the executive order means, we spoke with Jeremy Berke, editor-in-chief of Cultivated Media, an outlet covering the business, policy, and culture of cannabis.And in headlines, the Labor Department releases inflation numbers likely skewed by the government shutdown, the deadline to release the Epstein files is here, and House Speaker Mike Johnson sends representatives home for the holidays, failing to address the upcoming expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. Show Notes: Check out Cultivated Media – www.cultivated.newsCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In the 1960s and '70s, yoga teacher–turned–self-proclaimed messiah Anne Hamilton-Byrne built one of Australia's most shocking cults—an LSD-fueled blend of New Age mysticism, stolen children, and her own delusions of divine destiny. With doctors, psychiatrists, and academics convinced she was the Second Coming of Christ, Anne created The Family, a secretive compound where kids endured years of isolation and abuse. Be VERY thankful you're not in this CULT! CULT! CULT!To help Cody, go to: https://halodentalnetwork.org/nominate/#nominateYou'll need to add the following info: Name: Cody Allen City: Bridgeport State: Pennsylvania DOB: 02/02/1989 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
for shows without inserted ads join:www.patreon.com/dopeypodcastThis two-hour emergency Dopey episode compiles all of Nick Reiner's appearances — spanning relapse, heart attack, family pressure, recovery attempts, weed/Adderall use, and wild stories. Dave and Chris walk through Nick's upbringing as the son of Rob Reiner and grandson of Carl Reiner, the contrast between privilege and addiction, and the comedy-tragedy tension that defines Dopey.Nick describes relapsing with an old dealer, falling back into heroin and cocaine, and ultimately having a cocaine-induced heart attack mid-flight. He wakes up in a Boston hospital with Chris at his bedside. Dave and Chris revisit Nick's movements through detoxes, sober living in Maine, and his premeditated plan to return home so he could smoke weed again without consequences.The episode also includes Nick's childhood sex-work story (“Cherry Red”), his guest-house meth/coke destruction spree, and his reflections on relapse, weed maintenance, and creative paralysis.Dave and Chris add personal context — the pain of losing friends, the shock of Chris's death, anger, humor, and the push-pull dynamic they shared trying to support Nick.The final third moves into classic Dopey: a listener email about sexual trauma and a predatory case manager; Dave and Chris reacting with equal parts disbelief and empathy; side rants on AA, weed, Adderall harm reduction, NBA players, LSD myths, and Nick's writing ambitions.This is a serious American tragedy - please send your thoughts to dopeypodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.