Podcasts about psychedelics

Episode Highlights: ▶Introduction to Nettle Dieta a 3-week plant spirit immersion ▶ Why late February and early March 2026 carry potent astrological significance  ▶ Key 2026 astrological transits ▶ What a traditional master plant dieta looks and feels like in the Peruvian jungle  ▶ The difference between a traditional dieta and a soft or social dieta  ▶ Why stinging nettle was chosen for this specific moment in astrology and world history  ▶ The concept of "bright boundaries" and how nettle teaches them  ▶ An introduction to co-facilitators Sam Perry (master herbalist and alchemist) and Susan De Rider (mystery school astrologer)  ▶ How working with plant spirits differs from consuming entheogenic medicines  ▶ The power of communal, intentional containers and why the number of participants matters    Nettle Dieta A Plant Spirit Immersion & Astrology-Guided Resilience for 2026: Join us for a 3-week plant spirit immersion held in community, moving into the Spring Equinox with Nettle as your ally for the astrology of 2026. Starts March 9th. https://go.bethaweinstein.com/nettle-dieta/ Previous Episodes Featuring Sam Perry:  https://bethaweinstein.com/podcast/energetics-of-psilocybin-bridging-tradition-ancient-wisdom-the-body-sam-perry-part-1/ https://bethaweinstein.com/podcast/energetics-of-psilocybin-bridging-tradition-ancient-wisdom-and-the-body-sam-perry-part-2/   Download Beth's free trainings here: Clarity to Clients: Start & Grow a Transformational Coaching, Healing, Spiritual, or Psychedelic Business: https://bethaweinstein.com/grow-your-spiritual-businessIntegrating Psychedelics & Sacred Medicines Into Business: https://bethaweinstein.com/psychedelics-in-business▶ Beth's Coaching & Guidance: https://bethaweinstein.com/coaching ▶ Beth's Offerings & Courses: https://bethaweinstein.com/services▶ Instagram: @bethaweinstein ▶ FB: / bethw.nyc + bethweinsteinbiz ▶ Join the free Psychedelics & Purpose Community: / psychedelicsandsacredmedicines

“I've never seen this type of healing in the conventional healthcare system. Never. It's so profound and so fast and long lasting, and it's just absolutely mind blowing every time. Not always, though, isn't this effective for everybody, right? It's not a magic pill or a cure all or anything like that. But for the people that it does work for, they say that everything they tried didn't work, but this was it.  It brings me to my soul work, which is being able to be a bridge or a facilitator, to help somebody heal, and that is what lights me up.” ~Anna Desmarais BSN, RN, HWNC-BCAh Ha MomentsIntegrative Nurse Coaching can reconnect you to your “why.”  It's OK to shift the way you show up and practice as a Nurse, connecting back to your purpose can help you discover new ways to find joy and a renewed passion for your work.Anna's biggest Integrative Nurse Coach Academy Nurse Coach Certificate Program takeaway: hold space, listen deeply, use silence well, and ease up on the “fix it” reflex.It's not all private practice. Her Integrative Nurse Coaching skills translate directly into nurse-led telehealth roles with ongoing client relationships, without constant hustle.Psilocybin highlights the evolving role of nursing. Integrative Nurse Coaching skills, like presence, safety, and deep listening, facilitate naturally into psilocybin-supported care, where Nurses can blend clinical expertise with holistic, relationship-centered healing.Your RN background becomes a superpower in all spaces. Nursing supports safety and clinical judgment, coaching supports preparation, regulation, and integration for real change.Links and ResourcesIntegrative Nurse Coaches in ACTION! podcastNursing Pathways in Psychedelic Care courseUpcoming (legal) psilocybin retreat in Boulder, CO in AprilThe Path Back: A Holistic Nurse's Guide to Healing from the Intersection of Science, Spirituality, and Ancient WisdomLink to a free consultation with AnnaINCs in ACTION! Podcast episodes related to psychedelics80: Psychedelics and Sacred Medicine in Nursing- Dr. Stephanie Van Hope DNP, RN, NC-BC69: Combining Psilocybin Education and Nurse Coaching- Chandra “CeeCee” Campanelli RN, HN-BC, HWNC-BC*****Thank you for listening. We LOVE Nurses!Please leave us a 5 Integrative Nurse Coach Academy I Integrative Nurse Coach FoundationWe provide nurses with a global community for learning, networking, and reconnecting. Thank you for listening. We LOVE Nurses! Please leave us a 5 star rating and a positive comment about an episode you love! Follow Integrative Nurse Coach Academy on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Learn more about our programs at the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy Schedule a free call with one of our awesome admissions specialists here>> and get your questions answered! Use the code 'ACTION' at checkout and get $100 off the Integrative Nurse Coach Certificate Program (Parts 1 & 2 Bundle).

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Hunt Priest, founder of Ligare, about Christianity, mysticism, and the ethical integration of psychedelic experience within spiritual life. Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-344/?ref=278  They discuss Hunt's participation in a 2016 Johns Hopkins psilocybin study for clergy, Christianity's long history of mystical experience, and how non-ordinary states can be held within ethical and communal containers. The conversation also explores legality versus ethics, justice and institutional risk, and how psychedelics relate to prayer, meditation, and service within a broader spiritual life. Hunt Priest is a Christian minister and founder of Ligare, a nonprofit exploring the relationship between Christianity and psychedelics. Formerly an Episcopal priest, he works at the intersection of spiritual formation, ethics, and community-based integration of mystical experience. Highlights: Johns Hopkins clergy study Christian mysticism and non-ordinary states Psychedelics as catalysts for spiritual practice Legal versus ethical tensions Institutional risk and grace Episode Links: Ligare Hunt on Substack Episode Sponsors: The Practitioner Certification Program by Third Wave's Psychedelic Coaching Institute. The Microdosing Practitioner Certification at Psychedelic Coaching Institute. Golden Rule - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout Disclaimer: This content is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. We do not promote or encourage the illegal use of any controlled substances. Nothing said here is medical or legal advice. Always consult a qualified medical or mental health professional before making decisions related to your health. The views expressed herein belong to the speaker alone, and do not reflect the views of any other person, company, or organization. Third Wave occasionally partners with or shares information about other people, companies, and/or providers. While we work hard to only share information about ethical and responsible third parties, we can't and don't control the behavior of, products and services offered by, or the statements made by people, companies, or providers other than Third Wave. Accordingly, we encourage you to research for yourself, and consult a medical, legal, or financial professional before making decisions in those areas. Third Wave isn't responsible for the statements, conduct, services, or products of third parties. If we share a coupon code, we may receive a commission from sales arising from customers who use our coupon code. No one is required to use our coupon codes.

Psychedelics are having a cultural moment. Research is promising. Stories of healing are everywhere. But here's the truth: these experiences aren't magic cures. And they aren't right for every nervous system at every time.   In this episode, Elisabeth Kristof and Jennifer Wallace slow the conversation down. Instead of asking, "Do psychedelics heal trauma?" They explore a more grounded question: What becomes possible when psychedelic or peak somatic experiences are approached through the lens of nervous system safety, preparation, and integration?   If you've been curious about psychedelics, already had experiences, or feel unsure whether they're right for you, this episode offers nuance, research, and deep nervous system perspective. Because post-traumatic growth isn't about becoming someone new. It's about becoming more available to the life that's already waiting for you.   Topic Covered Why psychedelics may reorganize meaning, not just reduce symptoms How trauma fragments narrative and how safety allows integration The science of psychological flexibility and why it predicts long-term outcomes What "somatic journeying" is and why it can feel disorienting The importance of preparation, titration, and facilitator trust Why intensity does not equal healing Psychedelics vs antidepressants in research on connectedness Default Mode Network (DMN), identity rigidity, and belief updating Why creativity often emerges when survival softens The risks of over-reliance and "chasing the medicine" Why discernment and self-trust matter more than hype   Chapters  00:00 – Psychedelics Aren't Magic Cures
 03:00 – Meaning-Making & Narrative Reorganization
 08:58 – Psychological Flexibility & Emotional Capacity
 17:00 – Preparation, Somatic Journeying & Integration
 23:29 – Connectedness & Relational Repair
 34:33 – Identity, Neuro Tags & the Default Mode Network
 41:03 – Creativity as a Byproduct of Safety
 48:14 – Discernment, Industry Hype & Self-Trust   Calls to Action: Neurosomatic Intelligence is now enrolling : https://neurosomaticintelligence.com/nsi-certification Sacred Synapse: an educational YouTube channel founded by Jennifer Wallace that explores nervous system regulation, applied neuroscience, consciousness, and psychedelic preparation and integration through Neurosomatic Intelligence.    Wayfinder Journal: Track nervous system patterns and support preparation and integration through Neurosomatic Intelligence.   FREE 1 Year Supply of Vitamin D + 5 Travel Packs from Athletic Greens when you use my exclusive offer: https://www.drinkag1.com/rewired  Learn to work with Boundaries at the level of the body and nervous system at https://www.boundaryrewire.com Get a two-week free trial of neurosomatic training at https://rewiretrial.com Sources:    Amada, N., et al. "The Transformative Potential of Psychedelic Experiences: A Qualitative Analysis of Meaning-Making and Narrative Reorganization." Journal of Consciousness Studies, vol. 27, no. 7–8, 2020, pp. 122–150.   Carhart-Harris, Robin L., et al. "Neural Correlates of the Psychedelic State as Determined by fMRI Studies with Psilocybin." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 109, no. 6, 2012, pp. 2138–2143.   Carhart-Harris, Robin L., et al. "The Entropic Brain: A Theory of Conscious States Informed by Neuroimaging Research with Psychedelic Drugs." Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 8, 2014, article 20.   Carhart-Harris, Robin L., et al. "Psilocybin with Psychological Support for Treatment-Resistant Depression: Six-Month Follow-Up." Psychopharmacology, vol. 235, no. 2, 2018, pp. 399–408.   Davis, Alan K., Roland R. Griffiths, and Frederick S. Barrett. "Psychological Flexibility Mediates the Relations between Acute Psychedelic Effects and Subjective Decreases in Depression and Anxiety." Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, vol. 15, 2020, pp. 39–45.   Davis, Alan K., et al. "Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial." JAMA Psychiatry, vol. 78, no. 5, 2021, pp. 481–489.   Erritzoe, David, et al. "Effects of Psilocybin Therapy versus Escitalopram on Depression and Emotional Connectedness in Major Depressive Disorder." The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 384, 2021, pp. 1402–1411.   Griffiths, Roland R., et al. "Psilocybin Produces Substantial and Sustained Decreases in Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Life-Threatening Cancer: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial." Journal of Psychopharmacology, vol. 30, no. 12, 2016, pp. 1181–1197.   MacLean, Katherine A., Matthew W. Johnson, and Roland R. Griffiths. "Mystical Experiences Occasioned by the Hallucinogen Psilocybin Lead to Increases in the Personality Domain of Openness." Journal of Psychopharmacology, vol. 25, no. 11, 2011, pp. 1453–1461.   Watts, Rosalind, et al. "Patients' Accounts of Increased 'Connectedness' and 'Acceptance' after Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression." Journal of Humanistic Psychology, vol. 57, no. 5, 2017, pp. 520–564.   Weiss, B., et al. "Associations between Naturalistic Psychedelic Use, Psychological Insight, and Changes in Social Connectedness and Personality." Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12, 2021, article 667987. Disclaimer: Trauma Rewired podcast is intended to educate and inform but does not constitute medical, psychological or other professional advice or services. Always consult a qualified medical professional about your specific circumstances before making any decisions based on what you hear. We share our experiences, explore trauma, physical reactions, mental health and disease. If you become distressed by our content, please stop listening and seek professional support when needed. Do not continue to listen if the conversations are having a negative impact on your health and well-being. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, or in mental health crisis and you are in the United States you can 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.   If someone's life is in danger, immediately call 911.   We do our best to stay current in research, but older episodes are always available. We don't warrant or guarantee that this podcast contains complete, accurate or up-to-date information. It's very important to talk to a medical professional about your individual needs, as we aren't responsible for any actions you take based on the information you hear in this podcast.   We invite guests onto the podcast. Please note that we don't verify the accuracy of their statements. Our organization does not endorse third-party content and the views of our guests do not necessarily represent the views of our organization. We talk about general neuro-science and nervous system health, but you are unique. These are conversations for a wide audience. They are general recommendations and you are always advised to seek personal care for your unique outputs, trauma and needs.   We are not doctors or licensed medical professionals. We are certified neuro-somatic practitioners and nervous system health/embodiment coaches. We are not your doctor or medical professional and do not know you and your unique nervous system. This podcast is not a replacement for working with a professional. The BrainBased.com site and RewireTrial.com is a membership site for general nervous system health, somatic processing and stress processing. It is not a substitute for medical care or the appropriate solution for anyone in a mental health crisis.   Any examples mentioned in this podcast are for illustration purposes only. If they are based on real events, names have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.   We've done our best to ensure our podcast respects the intellectual property rights of others, however if you have an issue with our content, please let us know by emailing us at traumarewired@gmail.com. All rights in our content are reserved.

Adam Orth chats with Eyes Out co-founders Cory Davis (Spec Ops: the Line) and Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails) about their studio's debut game, SLEEP AWAKE. Together they discuss their distinct paths from traditional games and music and how they found themselves collaborating together; the unique audio-first approach they took with SLEEP AWAKE; the psychedelic dreamlike horror themes present throughout the experience; and the contrasts and parallels they discovered with creating music and games. This episode is sponsored by: Xsolla Episode Host: Adam Orth Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review. Support the show and get all of our episodes early/ad-free: https://bit.ly/4kU34Lt Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Welcome back to another episode of Upside where Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed go behind the headlines shaping European tech, capital, and power.This week we're joined by Eyal Malinger, co-founder of Resurge Growth Partners, to unpack a genuinely strange week in global tech.China unveils humanoid robots that look disturbingly battlefield-ready. Anthropic tries to draw moral lines in defence AI. Peter Steinberger leaves Europe almost as fast as he went viral. Munich becomes less “security conference” and more “Europe, wake up.” And in the background, billion-dollar AI seed rounds and quantum mega-funds quietly signal that the frontier is accelerating again.This isn't just a tech cycle.It feels like a systems cycle.This is Upside, where optimism is earned, not assumed.What's covered:02:10 China's humanoid robot moment: hardware dominance meets AI brains06:20 Battlefield AI and the ethics problem Anthropic can't avoid14:00 Raspberry Pi, edge AI, and Europe's accidental meme stock20:30 Anthropic vs Palantir: moral lines vs deterrence logic25:10 Peter Steinberger leaves Europe — ecosystem gravity in action31:00 AI inside venture: workflow automation vs real alpha43:00 Munich Security Conference: defence budgets, sovereignty, and Stark vs Thiel52:10 Psychedelics and glucose monitors: Europe's quiet biotech strength55:30 Quantum funds and Europe's billion-dollar AI seed round

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

Hilaritas host Mike Gathers does all the talking this episode as he describes his illuminating experiences with iboga psychedelic therapy. • • • Host Mike Gathers: https://linktr.ee/mgathers23 Producer/Engineer Richard Rasa: http://www.pelorian.com/rasa.html

Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Travis Kitchens was a psychedelic research subject for Johns Hopkins University who eventually uncovered a secret plan to revive religion with drugs. Travis is currently a freelance journalist who writes extensively on the history and philosophy of psychedelic research. He lives in Kentucky. SPONSORS https://rag-bone.com - Use code DANNY & get 20% off sitewide. https://takeultra.com - Use code DANNY for 15% off. https://shopify.com/dannyjones - Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial & start selling today. https://amentara.com/go/dj - Use code DJ22 for 22% off. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off EPISODE LINKS https://vegetabletelevision.substack.com https://www.psymposia.com/magazine/a-channel-for-magic-ralph-hoods-mysticism-scale-and-the-occult-roots-of-the-johns-hopkins-psychedelic-research-program https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2019/0418/Why-Wendell-Berry-is-still-not-going-to-buy-a-computer FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - Psymposia is sabotaging MDMA research 05:41 - serpent handling cults 09:41 - FDA reason for rejecting MDMA therapy 16:28 - Psychedelics are being weaponized 21:16 - Andrew Callaghan & Nick Shirley 24:30 - The modern journalism landscape 27:50 - The ChatGPT information model 32:17 - Human lifespans are going DOWN 34:59 - Jordan Peterson & John Vervaeke 38:52 - Epstein's interest in the CIA Stargate program 41:22 - Epstein's interview with Steve Bannon 46:29 - The most likely Epstein theory 49:17 - Art forgery & weaponized art 56:37 - Epstein files are confirming the worst conspiracies 01:01:00 - Jeffrey Epstein's brother is worse than him 01:04:01 - Epstein's art exhibit for Roman Polanski 01:05:28 - Noam Chomsky's Epstein connection 01:12:20 - Dark details of Jolly West 01:15:21 - Charles Manson & MKUltra 01:21:42 - Reagan's war on drugs 01:23:03 - Most likely Manson murder theory 01:28:13 - Candace Owen's new Charlie Kirk theory 01:35:13 - Rise of Nick Feuntes 01:39:07 - Trump's plan to sabotage the mid-terms 01:42:33 - Scientology headquarters 01:49:15 - Why Scientologists don't speak out 01:56:53 - Where L. Ron Hubbard escaped to 01:58:03 - How remote viewing works 02:00:49 - Psychedelics & telepathy 02:03:54 - Coming down from DMT 02:07:02 - The need for psychedelic churches 02:09:40 - New plant stronger than DMT 02:10:31 - Changa plant 02:14:00 - Psychedelic drugs of the future 02:14:36 - Ammon Hillman's debate with Luke Gorton 02:18:28 - The apple of knowledge from Adam & Eve 02:21:16 - Why deadly shark attacks are on the rise 02:31:17 - John Lilly's psychedelic NASA research 02:37:55 - Harmony Korine & IDF fundraising 02:44:09 - Florida's donations to Israel 02:49:23 - Museum of Tarot's conspiracy theories 02:55:17 - Bob Lazar 02:57:40 - Danny's theory on UFOs & aliens 02:58:57 - Alex Jones' predictions 03:04:29 - Probability of life beyond earth 03:07:19 - Is there a "creator"? 03:13:11 - Technology vs. evolution 03:15:07 - Graham Hancock & Flint Dibble 03:17:28 - Ancient Egyptian Vases 03:19:13 - Who the ancient Egyptians were 03:20:26 - Tobacco is worse than LSD 03:25:58 - Paganism in Conan the Barbarian 03:27:45 - Oliver Stone's interview with Putin 03:31:57 - The dark tale of Gary Stewart 03:33:40 - The Immortality Con & the psychedelic renaissance 03:41:25 - Why people must be cautious 03:43:05 - The message of psychedelics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Check out Mirabai's archived podcast series on the Be Here Now Network.In this episode, Raghu and Mirabai chat about:Mirabai's leap of faith: leaving her PhD program, going to India, and becoming a devotee of Maharaj-jiThe mystery of timing and how a single moment can quietly change the course of a lifeA silent meditation retreat that unexpectedly prepared Mirabai to meet Maharaj-jiHow one moment with Maharaj-ji expanded Mirabai's sense of being alive and transformed her inner worldSurrendering control: how Maharaj-ji taught Ram Dass to release the need to manage realityThe sacred symbolism and devotional practice of touching a guru's feetThe miracle of childbirth and Mirabai's profound experiences with home birthAbout Mirabai Bush:In addition to being one of Love Serve Remember Foundation's respected board members, Mirabai Bush is a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba and spent time with him in India from 1971 to 1972. Along with Ram Dass, she is the co-author of Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service and Walking Each Other Home. Mirabai is Senior Fellow and founder of the Center on Contemplative Mind in Society, which encourages contemplative practice and perspective in American life in order to create a more just, compassionate and reflective society. Mirabai has also worked with Google on a workplace course called ‘Search Inside Yourself' and with the US Army on a program for chaplains and medics. She is editor of Contemplation Nation: How Ancient Practices are Changing the Way We Live, co-author of Contemplative Practices in Higher Education: Powerful Methods To Transform Teaching and Learning, and author of Working with Mindfulness. Keep up with Mirabai on her website and don't forget to grab her latest book, Almost Home. “I just fell down at his feet. I never thought I would bow to a guru, but it wasn't a decision; I was just there. In those first moments, he just expanded my sense of what it could mean to be human, to be on this planet. There is so much more to it than I had thought.” –Mirabai BushSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jewish Journeys, an unprecedented population study of Jewish Americans' perspectives on psychedelics, explores the attitudes, practices, and needs of the emerging Jewish psychedelic community in the United States. Zac Kamenetz and Josh Lipson join Dan and Lex for a conversation about this study, its implications for American Judaism, and how we might take lessons from the field of psychedelics and apply them to contemporary Jewish life. Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our up upcoming courses in the UnYeshiva! This time around we are offering courses on an Intro to Judaism (Judaism Inbound), the book of Genesis, the Magic & Medicine of Psalms, Jews and Revolution, and a Jewish embrace of Fatness! Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! Join the Judaism Unbound discord, where you can interact with Judaism Unbound's hosts, and with fellow listeners all around the world, by heading to discord.judaismunbound.com. 

Step into a powerful, soul-opening conversation with Paul Hutchison and Hada Vanessa on this heart centered episode of Intimate Conversations: Dark Night to Divine Light. Partners in life, love, and service, Paul and Vanessa share a devotion to healing humanity from the inside out through their work with the Child Liberation Foundation and Santuario retreats rooted in sacred medicine, embodiment, and truth. Paul opens up about his journey from extreme wealth and ego-driven success to a humbling reckoning through years of undercover work rescuing trafficked children. Witnessing the darkest expressions of unhealed humanity forced him to confront his own shadows and led him into deep psychedelic somatic healing that transformed how he lives, loves, and leads. Vanessa shares her path as an empath and mother, navigating disconnection, numbing, and the search for safety before sacred medicine brought her home to her body, presence, and love without armor. Together, they tell the extraordinary story of finding each other through inner alignment rather than fantasy, a reminder that love responds to frequency, not force. We explore what conscious partnership truly requires. Presence. Playfulness. The willingness to sit still together without distraction. Paul and Vanessa reveal how slowing down, feeling fully, and choosing devotion over performance creates intimacy that can withstand the darkest nights. We also talk about: -Transforming trauma without bypassing it -"Hell" as lack of awareness vs radical self responsibility -Psychedelic somatic healing and nervous system safety -Conscious partnership rooted in presence and devotion -Love as frequency rather than pursuit -Humor, joy, and play as spiritual practices -Healing the heart as a path to healing the world We had a good laugh that one of my 6 books is called Finding The One is BS, Becoming the One is Brilliant and Beautiful… they are walking emanations of this teaching! AND ironically, it's the key to finding the depth of love they share.  This episode is an invitation to stop outsourcing love, worth, and salvation to the outside world, and to go all the way in. It reminds us that intimacy begins within, that presence is the doorway to everything, and that healed hearts truly do heal the world. ➡️ Go check out patreon.com/allanapratt for Exclusive content! About Paul and Hada Vanessa:   Paul Hutchinson and Hada Vanessa Hutchinson are partners in life and purpose, united by a deep commitment to service, conscious partnership, and human healing. Together, they lead the Child Liberation Foundation, supporting work that has contributed to more than 70 undercover rescue missions across 15 countries in the fight against human trafficking. Paul is an executive producer of the film Sound of Freedom,  which helped bring global awareness to the realities of child exploitation. They are also founders of Santuario, a sanctuary dedicated to deep personal transformation through sacred plant medicines, experiential training, and holistic healing. Through Santuario, they host monthly relationship retreats and rebirth retreats that integrate somatic healing, biohacking therapies, and trauma-informed workshops to support emotional release, embodied healing, and deeper connection, both individually and as partners.   Website https://liberating-humanity.com/ https://santuarioretreats.org/ https://childliberation.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/liberating.humanity Instagram https://www.instagram.com/liberating.humanity YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@Liberatinghumanity Free Course https://liberating-humanity.com/prefense-online-course/   We are proud of our February sponsor, Jenette Skin Care. Explore and experience her high-vibrational, plant-based formulations at www.jenetteskincare.com. Use the code INTIMATE15 for special February savings. Scholarship Code: READYNOW Finding the One is Bullsh*t. Becoming the One is brilliant and beautiful, and ironically the key to attracting your ideal partner. Move beyond the fear of getting hurt again. Register for Become the One Introductory Program. http://allanapratt.com/becomeintro Use Code: BTO22 to get over 40% off. Let's stay connected: Exclusive Video Newsletter: http://allanapratt.com/newsletter Instagram - @allanapratt [ / allanapratt ] Facebook - @coachallanapratt [ / coachallanapratt ]

Sex, pleasure, and intimacy are often framed as indulgences. But what if they're essential to healing, longevity, and accessing non-ordinary states of consciousness? In this episode of The Psychedelic Report, host Dr. Dave Rabin sits down with sex therapist, educator, and author Juliana Hauser for a powerful conversation about the intersection of sexuality, pleasure, trauma healing, and psychedelic states. Together, they explore how intimacy and orgasm can act as gateways to altered states of consciousness without the use of substances, and why pleasure is not a luxury but a core component of human health. Drawing from neuroscience, clinical work, and ancient wisdom, the conversation reframes sex as a teacher, a regulator of the nervous system, and a path to deeper self-connection. Juliana shares insights from her work with clients healing from sexual trauma, including how breathwork, somatic awareness, and micro-pleasure practices can rebuild safety in the body and restore agency. Dr. Rabin connects these experiences to psychedelic science, time dilation, and the brain's capacity to heal through presence and connection. This episode challenges cultural shame around sexuality and invites listeners to see pleasure and intimacy as vital tools for resilience, authenticity, and well-being.Web: https://dr-juliana.com/Book: A New Position on SexWeb: https://thepsychedelic.reportInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdavidrabinX: https://twitter.com/DrDavidRabinMore from Dr. Dave: https://www.drdave.io/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_USOne on One Video Call W/George https://tidycal.com/georgepmonty/60-minute-meetingThe metal detector isn't checking whether the building is dangerous for you…it's checking if you are dangerous for those inside! Episode Five of Psychedelic Compounds That No One Has Made But I Think I Would Love. DIGNIN: a peptide-tryptamine hybrid that temporarily takes the cortisol offline and asks it, at the molecular level, whether the threat is real or just a habit. Spoiler: it's a habit. You built it. You've been maintaining it for years. You're very good at it. This is the compound that shows you the blueprints. One on One Video call W/George https://tidycal.com/georgepmonty/60-minute-meetingSupport the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_US

Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman join our podcast to discuss how psychedelic policy is actually moving in Washington, DC. Lavasani leads Psychedelic Medicine Coalition, a DC-based advocacy organization focused on educating federal officials and advancing legislation around psychedelic medicine. Kopelman is CEO of Mission Within Foundation, which provides scholarships for veterans and first responders seeking psychedelic-assisted therapy retreats, often outside the United States. The conversation centers on veterans, the VA, and why that system may be the first realistic federal pathway for psychedelic care. Early Themes Lavasani describes PMC's work on Capitol Hill, including hosting events that bring lawmakers, staffers, and advocates into the same room. Her focus is steady engagement. In DC, progress often happens through repeated conversations, not headlines. Kopelman shares his background as a Marine and how his own psychedelic-assisted therapy experience led him to Mission Within. The foundation has funded more than 250 scholarships for veterans and first responders seeking treatment for PTSD, mild traumatic brain injury, depression, and addiction. They connect this work to pending veteran-focused legislation and explain why the VA matters. As a closed health system, the VA can pilot programs, gather data, and refine protocols without the pressures of private healthcare markets. Core Insights A recent Capitol Hill gathering, For Veteran Society, brought together members of Congress and leaders from the psychedelic caucus. Lavasani describes candid feedback from lawmakers. The message was clear: coordinate messaging, avoid fragmentation, and move while bipartisan interest remains. Veteran healthcare is not framed as the final goal. It is a starting point. If psychedelic therapies can demonstrate safety and effectiveness within the VA, broader adoption becomes more plausible. Kopelman raises operational realities that must be addressed: Standardized safety protocols across providers Integration support, not medication alone Clear training pathways for clinicians Real-world data beyond tightly screened clinical trials They also address recent negative headlines involving ibogaine treatment abroad. Kopelman emphasizes the need for shared learning across providers, especially when adverse events occur. Lavasani argues that inconsistency within the ecosystem can slow federal confidence. Later Discussion and Takeaways The discussion widens to federal momentum around addiction and mental health. Lavasani notes that new funding initiatives signal growing openness to innovative treatment models, even if psychedelics are not named explicitly in every announcement. Both guests stress that policy moves slowly by design. Meetings, follow-ups, and relationship building often matter more than public statements. For clinicians, researchers, operators, and advocates, the takeaways are direct: Veterans are likely the first federal pathway Public education remains essential Safety standards must be shared and transparent Integration and workforce development need attention now If psychedelic medicine enters federal systems, infrastructure will determine success. Frequently Asked Questions What do Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman say about VA psychedelic policy? They argue that veteran-focused legislation offers a realistic first federal pathway for psychedelic-assisted care. Is ibogaine currently available through the VA? No. They discuss ibogaine in the context of private retreats and future possibilities, not an existing VA program. Why do Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman emphasize coordination? Lawmakers respond more positively when advocates present aligned messaging and clear priorities. What safety issues are discussed by Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman? They highlight the need for standardized screening, monitoring, integration support, and transparent review of adverse events. Closing Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman provide a grounded look at how psychedelic policy develops inside federal systems. Their message is practical: veterans may be the first lane, but long-term success depends on coordination, safety standards, and sustained engagement. Closing This episode captures a real-time view of how federal policy could shape the next phase of the psychedelic resurgence, especially through veteran-facing legislation and VA infrastructure. Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman argue that coordination, public education, and shared safety standards will shape whether access expands with credibility and care. Transcript Joe Moore: [00:00:00] Hello everybody. Welcome back to Psychedelics Today. Today we have two guests, um, got Melissa Sani from Psychedelic Medicine Coalition. We got Jake Pelman from Mission Within Foundation. We're gonna talk about I bga I became policy on a recent, uh, set of meetings in Washington, DC and, uh, all sorts of other things I'm sure. Joe Moore: But thank you both for joining me. Melissa Lavasani: Thanks for having us. Jay Kopelman: Yeah, it's a pleasure. Thanks. Joe Moore: Yeah. Um, Melissa, I wanna have you, uh, jump in. First. Can you tell us a little bit about, uh, your work and what you do at PMC? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah, so Psychedelic Medicine Coalition is, um, the only DC based Washington DC based advocacy organization dedicated to the advancing the issue of psychedelics, um, and making sure the federal government has the education they need, um, and understands the issue inside out so that they can generate good policy around, around psychedelic medicines. Melissa Lavasani: [00:01:00] Uh, we. Host Hill events. We host other convenings. Our big event every year is the Federal Summit on psychedelic medicine. Um, that's going to be May 14th this year. Um, where we talk about kinda the pressing issues that need to be talked about, uh, with government officials in the room, um, so that we can incrementally move this forward. Melissa Lavasani: Um, our presence here in Washington DC is, is really critical for this issue's success because, um, when we're talking about psychedelic medicines, um, from the federal government pers perspective, you know, they are, they are the ones that are going to initiate the policies that create a healthcare system that can properly facilitate these medicines and make sure, um, patient safety is a priority. Melissa Lavasani: And there's guardrails on this. And, um, you know, there, it's, it's really important that we have. A home base for this issue in Washington DC just [00:02:00] because, uh, this is very complicated as a lot of your viewers probably understand, and, you know, this can get lost in the mix of all the other issues that, um, lawmakers in DC are focused on right now. Melissa Lavasani: And we need to keep that consistent presence here so that this continues to be a priority for members of Congress. Joe Moore: Mm. I love this. And Jay, can you tell us a bit about yourself and mission within Foundation? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, sure. Joe, thanks. Uh, I, I am the CEO of Mission within Foundation. Prior to this, most of my adult life was spent in the military as a Marine. Jay Kopelman: And I came to this. Role after having, uh, a psychedelic assisted therapy experience myself at the mission within down in Mexico, which is where pretty much we all go. Um, we are here to help [00:03:00] provide, uh, access for veterans and first responders to be able to attend psychedelic assisted therapy retreats to treat issues like mild TBI, post-traumatic stress disorder, uh, depression, sometimes addiction at, at a very low level. Jay Kopelman: Um, and, and so we've, we've been doing this for a little more than a year now and have provided 250 plus scholarships to veterans and first responders to be able to access. These retreats and these, these lifesaving medicines. Um, we're also partnered, uh, you may or may not know with Melissa at Psychedelic Medicine Coalition to help advance education and policy, specifically the innovative, uh, therapy Centers of Excellence Act [00:04:00] that Melissa has worked for a number of years on now to bring to both Houses of Congress. Joe Moore: Thank you for that. Um, so let's chat a little bit about what this event was that just, uh, went down, uh, what, what was it two weeks ago at this point? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah. Yeah. It's called For Veteran Society and it's all, um, there's a lot of dialogue on Capitol Hill about veterans healthcare and psychedelics, but where I've been frustrated is that, you know, it was just a lot of. Melissa Lavasani: Talk about what the problems are and not a lot of talk about like how we actually propel things forward. Um, so it, at that event, I thought it was really important and we had three members of Congress there, um, Morgan Latrell, who has been a champion from day one and his time in Congress, um, having gone through the experience himself, um, [00:05:00] at Mission within, um, and then the two chairs of the psychedelic caucus, uh, Lou Correa and Jack Bergman. Melissa Lavasani: And we really got down to the nitty gritty of like w like why this has taken so long and you know, what is actually happening right now? What are the possibilities and what the roadblocks are. And it was, I thought it was a great conversation. Um, we had an interesting kind of dynamic with Latres is like a very passionate about this issue in particular. Melissa Lavasani: Um, I think it was, I think it was really. A great event. And, you know, two days later, Jack Bergman introduced his new bill for the va. Um, so it was kind of like the precursor to that bill getting introduced. And we're just excited for more and more conversations about how the government can gently guide this issue to success. Joe Moore: Hmm. Yeah. [00:06:00] That's fantastic. Um, yeah, I was a little bummed I couldn't make it, but next time, I hope. But I've heard a lot of good things and, um, it's, it sounded like there was some really important messages in, in terms of like feedback from legislators. Yeah. Yeah. Could you speak to that? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah, I mean, I think when, uh, representative Latrell was speaking, he really impressed on us a couple things. Melissa Lavasani: Um, first is that, you know, they really kind of need the advocates to. Coordinate, collaborate and come up with like a, a strategic plan, you know, without public education. Um, talking to members of Congress about this issue is, is really difficult. You know, like PMC is just one organization. We're very little mission within, very little, um, you know, we're all like, kind of new in navigating, um, this not so new issue, but new to Washington DC [00:07:00] issue. Melissa Lavasani: Um, without that public education as a baseline, uh, it's, it's, you have to spend a lot of time educating members of Congress. You know, that's like one of our things is, you know, we have to, we don't wanna tell Congress what direction to go to. We wanna provide them the information so they understand it very intimately and know how to navigate through things. Melissa Lavasani: Um, and secondly. Um, he got pretty frank with us and said, you know, we've got one cha one chance at this issue. And it's like, that's, that's kind of been like my talking point since I started. PMC is like, you have a very limited window, um, when these kind of issues pop up and they're new and they're fresh and you have a lot of the veteran community coming out and talking about it. Melissa Lavasani: And there's a lot of energy there. But now is the time to really move forward, um, with some real legislation that can be impactful. Um, but, you know, we've gotta [00:08:00] be careful. We, we forget, I think sometimes those of us who are in the ecosystem forget that our level of knowledge about these medicines and a lot of us have firsthand experience, um, with these drugs and, and our own healing journeys is, um, we forget that there is a public out there that doesn't have the level of knowledge that we all have. Melissa Lavasani: And, um. We gotta make sure that we're sticking to the right elements of, of, of what needs to happen. We need to be sure that our talking points are on track and we're not getting sideways about anything and going down roads that we don't need to talk about. It's why, um, you know, PMC is very focused on, um, moving forward veteran legislation right now. Melissa Lavasani: Not because we're a veteran organization, but because we're, we see this long-term policy track here. Um, we know where we want to get [00:09:00] to, um. Um, and watching other healthcare issues kind of come up and then go through the VA healthcare system, I think it's a really unique opportunity, um, to utilize the VA as this closed system, the biggest healthcare system in the country to evaluate, uh, how psychedelics operate within systems like that. Melissa Lavasani: And, you know, before they get into, um, other healthcare systems. What do we need to fix? What do we need to pay attention to? What's something that we're paying too much attention to that doesn't necessarily need that much attention? So it's, um, it's a real opportunity to look at psychedelic medicines within a healthcare system and obviously continue to gather the data. Melissa Lavasani: Um, Bergman's Bill emerging, uh, expanding veteran access to emerging treatments. Um, not only mandates the research, it gives the VA authority for this, uh, for running trials and, and creating programs around psychedelic medicines. But also, [00:10:00] one of the great things about it, I think, is it provides an on-ramp for veterans that don't necessarily qualify for clinical trials. Melissa Lavasani: You know, I think that's one of the biggest criticisms of clinical trials is like you're cre you're creating a vacuum for people and people don't live in a vacuum. So we don't necessarily know what psychedelics are gonna look like in real life. Um, but with this expanding veteran access bill that Bergman introduced, it provides the VA an opportunity to provide this access under. Melissa Lavasani: Um, in a, in a safe container with medical supervision while collecting data, um, while ensuring that the veteran that is going through this process has the support systems that it needs. So, um, you know, I think that there's a really unique opportunity here, and like Latrell said, like, we've got one shot at this. Melissa Lavasani: We have people's attention in Congress. Um, now's the time to start acting, and let's be really considerate and thoughtful about what we're doing with it. Joe Moore: Thanks for that, Melissa and Jay, how, [00:11:00] anything to add there on kind of your takeaways from the this, uh, last visit in dc? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, I, I think that Melissa highlighted it really well and there, there were a couple other things that I, I think, you know, you could kind of tie it all together with some other issues that we face in this country, uh, and that. Jay Kopelman: Uh, representative Correa brought up as well, but one of the things I wanted to go back and say is that veterans have kind of led this movement already, right? So, so it's a, it's a good jumping off point, right? That it's something people from both sides of the aisle, from any community in America can get behind. Jay Kopelman: You know, if you think about it, uh, in World War ii, you know, we had a million people serving our population was like, not even 200 million, but now [00:12:00] we have a population of 330 million, and at any given time there might be a million people in uniform, including the Reserve and the National Guard. So it's, it, it's an easy thing to get behind this small part of the population that is willing to sign that contract. Jay Kopelman: Where you are saying, yeah, I'm going to defend my country, possibly at the risk of my l my own life. So that's the first thing. The other thing is that the VA being a closed health system, and they don't have shareholders to answer to, they can take some risks, they can be innovative and be forward thinking in the ways that some other healthcare systems can't. Jay Kopelman: And so they have a perfect opportunity to show that they truly care for their veterans, which don't, I'm not saying they don't, but this would be an [00:13:00] opportunity to show that carrot at a whole different level. Uh, it would allow them to innovate and be a leader in something as, uh, as our friend Jim Hancock will say, you know. Jay Kopelman: When he went to the Naval Academy, they had the world's best shipbuilding program. Why doesn't the VA have the world's best care program for things like TBI and PTSD, which affects, you know, 40 something percent of all veterans, right? So, so there's, there's an opportunity here for the VA to lead from the front. Jay Kopelman: Um, the, these medicines provide, you know, reasonably lasting care where it's kind of a one and done. Whereas with the current systems, the, you know, and, and [00:14:00] again, not to denigrate the VA in any way, they're doing the best job they can with the tools in their toolbox, right? But maybe it's time for a trip to Home Depot. Jay Kopelman: Let's get some new tools. And have some new ways of fixing what's broken, which is really the way of doing things. It's not, veterans aren't broken, we are who we are. Um, but it's a, it's a way to fix what isn't working. So I, I think that, you know, given there's tremendous veteran homelessness still, you know, addiction issues, all these things that do translate to the population at large are things that can be worked on in this one system, the va that can then be shown to have efficacy, have good data, have [00:15:00] good outcomes, and, and take it to the population at large. Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. Brilliant. Thanks for that. And so there was another thing I wanted to pivot to, which is some of the recent press. So we've, um, seen a little bit of press around some, um, in one instance, some bad behavior in Mexico that a FI put out Americans thrive again, put out. And then another case there was a, a recent fatality. Joe Moore: And I think, um, both are tragic. Like we shouldn't be having to deal with this at this point. Um, but there's a lot of things that got us here. Um, it's not necessarily the operator's fault entirely, um, or even at all, honestly, like some medical interventions just carry a lot of risk. Like think, think about like, uh, how risky bypass surgery was in the nineties, right? Joe Moore: Like people were dying a lot from medical interventions and um, you know, this is a major intervention, uh, ibogaine [00:16:00] and also a lot of promise. To help people quite a bit. Um, but as of right now, there's, there's risk. And part of that risk, in my opinion, comes from the inability of organizations to necessarily collaborate. Joe Moore: Like there's no kind of convening body, sitting in the middle, allowing, um, for, and facilitating really good data sharing and learnings. Um, and I don't, I don't necessarily see an organization stepping up and being the, um, the convener for that kind of work. I've heard rumors that something's gonna happen there, and I'm, I'm hopeful I'll always wanna share my opinion on that. Joe Moore: But yeah. I don't know. Jay, from your perspective, is there anything you want to kind of speak to about, uh, these two recent incidents that Americans for Iboga kind of publicized recently? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, so I, I'll echo your sentiment, of course, that these are tragic incidents. Um, and I, [00:17:00] I think that at least in the case of the death at Ambio, AMBIO has done a very good job of talking about it, right? Jay Kopelman: They've been very honest with the information that they have. And like you said, there are risks inherent to these medicines, and it's like anything else in medicine, there are going to be risks. You know, when I went through, uh, when I, when I went through chemo, you know, there were, there are risks. You know, you don't feel well, you get sick. Jay Kopelman: Um, and, and it. There are processes in place to counter that when it happens. And there are processes and, and procedures and safety protocols in place when caring for somebody going through an ibogaine [00:18:00] journey. Uh, when I did it, we had EKG echocardiogram. You're on a heart monitor the entire time they push magnesium via iv. Jay Kopelman: You have to provide a urinalysis sample to make sure that there is nothing in your system that is going to potentially harm you. During the ibogaine, they have, uh, a cardiologist who is monitoring the heart monitors throughout the ibogaine experience. So the, the safety protocols are there. I think it's, I think it's just a matter of. Jay Kopelman: Standardizing them across all, all providers, right? Like, that would be a good thing if people would talk to one another. Um, as, as in any system, right? You've gotta have [00:19:00] some collaboration. You've gotta have standardization, you know, so, you know, they're not called standard operating procedures for nothing. Jay Kopelman: That means that in a, you know, in a given environment, everybody does things the same way. It's true in Navy and Marine Corps, air Force, army Aviation, they have standard operating procedures for every single aircraft. So if you fly, let's say the F 35 now, right? Because it's flown by the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force. Jay Kopelman: The, the emergency procedures in that airplane are standardized across all three services, so you should have the same, or, you know, with within a couple of different words, the same procedures and processes [00:20:00] across all the providers, right? Like maybe in one document you're gonna change, happy to glad and small dog to puppy, but it's still pretty much the, the same thing. Jay Kopelman: And as a service that provides scholarships to people to go access these medicines and go to these retreats, you know, my criteria is that the, this provider has to be safe. Number one, safety's paramount. It's always gotta be very safe. It should, it has to be effective. And you know, once you have those two things in place, then I have a comfort level saying, okay, yeah, we'll work with this provider. Jay Kopelman: But until those standardized processes are in place, you'll probably see these one-off things. I mean, some providers have been doing this longer than others and have [00:21:00] really figured out, you know, they've, they've cracked the code and, you know, sharing that across the spectrum would be good. Um, but just when these things happen, having a clearing house, right, where everybody can come together and talk about it, you know, like once the facts are known because. Jay Kopelman: To my knowledge, we still don't know all the facts. Like as, you know, as horrible as this is, you still have to talk about like an, has an autopsy been performed? What was found in the patient's system? You know, there, there are things there that we don't know. So we need to, we need to know that before we can start saying, okay, well this is how we can fix that, because we just don't know. Jay Kopelman: And, you know, to their credit, you know, Amio has always been safe to, to the, to the best of my knowledge. You know, I, [00:22:00] I haven't been to Ambio myself, but people that I have worked with have been there. They have observed, they have seen the process. They believe it's safe, and I trust their opinion because they've seen it elsewhere as well. Jay Kopelman: So yeah, having, having that one place where we can all come together when this happens, it, it's almost like it should be mandatory. In the military when there's a training accident, we, you know, we would have to have what's called a safety standout. And you don't do that again for a little while until you figure out, okay, how are we going to mitigate that happening again? Jay Kopelman: Believe me, you can go overboard and we don't want to do that. Like, we don't wanna just stop all care, but maybe stop detox for a week and then come back to it. [00:23:00] Joe Moore: Yeah. A dream would be, let's get like the, I don't know, 10, 20 most popular, uh, or well-known operators together somewhere and just do like a three day debrief. Joe Moore: Hey, everybody, like, here's what we see. Let's work on this together. You know how normal medicine works. And this is, it's hard because this is not necessarily, um, something people feel safe about in America talking about 'cause it's illicit here. Um, I don't understand necessarily how the operations, uh, relate to each other in Mexico, but I think that's something to like the public should dig into. Joe Moore: Like, what, what is this? And I, I'll start digging into that. Um, I, I asked a question recently of somebody like, is there some sort of like back channel signal everybody's using and there's no clear Yes. You know? Um, I think it would be good. That's just a [00:24:00] start, you know, that's like, okay, we can actually kind of say hi and watch out for this to each other. Jay Kopelman: It's not like we don't all know one another, right? Joe Moore: Yes. Jay Kopelman: Like at least three operators we're represented. At the Aspen Ibogaine meeting. So like that could be, and I think there was a panel kind of loosely related to this during Aspen Ibogaine meeting, but Joe Moore: mm-hmm. Jay Kopelman: It, you know, have a breakout where the operators can go sit down and kind of compare notes. Joe Moore: Right. Yeah. Melissa, do you have any, uh, comments on this thread here? And I, I put you on mute if you didn't see that. Um, Melissa Lavasani: all right, I'm off mute. Um, yeah, I think that Jay's hits the nail on the head with the collaboration thing. Um, I think that it's just a [00:25:00] problem across the entire ecosystem, and I think that's just a product of us being relatively new and upcoming field. Melissa Lavasani: Um, uh, it's a product of, you know. Our fundraising community is really small, so organizations feel like they are competing for the same dollars, even though their, their goals are all the same, they have different functions. Um, I think with time, I mean, let's be honest, like if we don't start collaborating and, and the federal government's moving forward, the federal government's gonna coordinate for us. Melissa Lavasani: And not, that might not necessarily be a bad thing, but, you know, we understand this issue to a whole other level that the federal government doesn't, and they're not required to understand it deeply. They just need to know how to really move forward with it the proper way. Um, but I think that it. It's really essential [00:26:00] that we all have this come together moment here so we can avoid things. Melissa Lavasani: Uh, I mean, no one's gonna die from bad advocacy. So like I've, I have a bit of an easier job. Um, but it can a, a absolutely stall efforts, um, to move things forward in Washington DC when, um, one group is saying one thing, another group is saying another thing, like, we're not quite at a point yet where we can have multiple lines of conversation and multiple things moving forward. Melissa Lavasani: Um, you know, for PMC, it's like, just let's get the first thing across the finish line. And we think that is, um, veteran healthcare. And, um, I know there's plenty of other groups out there that, that want the same thing. So, you know, I always, the reason why I put on the Federal Summit last year was I kind of hit my breaking point with a lack of collaboration and I wanted to just bring everyone in the same room and say like, all right, here are the things that we need to talk about. Melissa Lavasani: And I think the goal for this year is, um. To bring people in the same room and say, we talked about [00:27:00] we scratched the surface last year and this is where we need to really put our efforts into. And this is where the opportunities are. Um, I think that is going to, that's going to show the federal government if we can organize ourselves, that they need to take this issue really seriously. Melissa Lavasani: Um, I don't think we've done a great job at that thus far, but I think there's still plenty of time for us to get it together. Um, and I'm hoping with these two, uh, VA bills that are in the house right now and Senate is, is putting together their version of these two bills, um, so that they can move in tandem with each other. Melissa Lavasani: I think that, you know, there's an opportunity here for. Us to show the federal government as an ecosystem, Hey, we, we are so much further ahead and you know, this is what we've organized and here's how we can help you, um, that would make them buy into this issue a bit more and potentially move things forward faster. Melissa Lavasani: Uh, at this point in time, it's, I think that, [00:28:00] you know, psychedelics aren't necessarily the taboo thing that they, they used to be, but there's certainly places that need attention. Um, there's certainly conversations that need to be had, and like I said, like PMC is just one organization that can do this. Um, we can certainly organize and drive forward collaboration, but I, like we alone, cannot cover all this ground and we need the subject matter experts to collaborate with us so we can, you know, once we get in the door, we wanna bring the experts in to talk to these officials about it. Melissa Lavasani: So I. I, I really want listeners to really think about us as a convener of sorts when it comes to federal policy. Um, and you know, I think when, like for example, in the early eighties, a lot of people have made comparisons to the issue of psychedelics to the issue of AIDS research and how you have in a subject matter that's like extremely taboo and a patient population that the government [00:29:00] quite honestly didn't really care about in the early eighties. Melissa Lavasani: But what they did as an ecosystem is really organized themselves, get very clear on what they wanted the federal government to do. And within a matter of a couple years, uh, AIDS research funding was a thing that was happening. And what that, what that did was that ripple effect turned that into basically finding new therapies for something that we thought was a death, death sentence before. Melissa Lavasani: So I think. We just need to look at things in the past that have been really successful, um, and, and try to take the lessons from all of these issues and, and move forward with psychedelics. Joe Moore: Love that. And yes, we always need to be figuring out efficient approaches and where it has been successful in the past is often, um, an opportunity to mimic and, and potentially improve on that. Melissa Lavasani: Yeah. Jay Kopelman: One, one thing I think it's important to add to this part of the conversation is that, [00:30:00] you know, Melissa pointed out there are a number of organizations that are essentially doing the same thing. Jay Kopelman: Um, you know, I like to think we do things a little bit differently at Mission within Foundation in that we don't target any one specific type of service member. We, we work with all veterans. We work with first responders, but. What that leads to is that there are, as far as I've seen, nothing but good intentioned people in this space. Jay Kopelman: You know, people who really care about their patient population, they care about healing, they are trying to do a good job, and more importantly, they're trying to do good. Right? It, it, I think they all see the benefit down the road that this has, [00:31:00] pardon me, not just for veterans, but for society as a whole. Jay Kopelman: And, and ultimately that's where I would like to see this go. You know, I, I would love to see the VA take this. Take up this mantle and, and run with it and provide great data, great outcomes. You know, we are doing some data collection ourselves at Mission within foundation, albeit anecdotal based on surveys given before and after retreats. Jay Kopelman: But we're also working with, uh, Greg Fonzo down at UT Austin on a brain study he's doing that will have 40 patients in it when it's all said and done. And I think we have two more guys to put through that. Uh, and then we'll hit the 40. So there, there's a lot of good here that's being done by some really, really good people who've been doing this for a long time [00:32:00] and want to want nothing more than to, to see this. Jay Kopelman: Come to, come full circle so that we can take care of many, many, many people. Um, you know, like I say, I, I wanna work myself out of a job here. I, I just, I would love to see this happen and then I, you know, I don't have to send guys to Mexico to do this. They can go to their local VA and get the care that they need. Jay Kopelman: Um, but one thing that I don't think we've touched on yet, or regarding that is that the VA isn't designed for that. So it's gonna be a pretty big lift to get the right types of providers into the va with the knowledge, right, with the institutional knowledge of how this should be done, what is safe, what is effective, um, and then it, it's not just providing these medicines to [00:33:00] people and sending them home. Jay Kopelman: You don't just do that, you've gotta have the right therapists on the backend who can provide the integration coaching to the folks who are receiving these medicines. And I'm not just talking, I bga, even with MDMA and psilocybin, you should have a proper period of integration. It helps you to understand how this is going to affect you, what it, what the experience really meant, you know, because it's very difficult sometimes to just interpret it on your own. Jay Kopelman: And so what the experience was and what it meant to you. And, and so it will take some time to spin all that up. But once it's, once it's in place, you know, the sky's the limit. I think. Joe Moore: Kinda curious Jay, about what's, what's going on with Ibogaine at the federal level. Is there anything at VA right now? [00:34:00] Jay Kopelman: At the va? No, not with ibogaine. And, you know, uh, we, we send people specifically for IBOGAINE and five MEO, right? And, and so that, that doesn't preclude my interest in seeing this legislation passed, right? Jay Kopelman: Because it, it will start with something like MDMA or psilocybin, but ultimately it could grow to iboga, right? It the think about the cost savings at, at the va, even with psilocybin, right? Where you could potentially treat somebody with a very inexpensive dose of psilocybin or, or iboga one time, and then you, you don't have to treat them again. Jay Kopelman: Now, if I were, uh, you know, a VA therapist who's not trained in psychedelic trauma therapy. I might be worried [00:35:00] about job security, but it's like with anything, right? Like ultimately it will open pathways for new people to get that training or the existing people to get that training and, and stay on and do that work. Jay Kopelman: Um, which only adds another arrow to their quiver as far as I'm concerned, because this is coming and we're gonna need the people. It's just like ai, right? Like ai, yeah. Some people are gonna lose some jobs initially, and that's unfortunate. But productivity ultimately across all industries will increase and new jobs will be created as a result of that. Jay Kopelman: I mean, I was watching Squawk Box one morning. They were talking about the AI revolution and how there's gonna be a need for 500,000 electricians to. Build these systems that are going to work with the AI [00:36:00] supercomputers and, and so, Joe Moore: mm-hmm. Jay Kopelman: Where, where an opportunity may be lost. I think several more can be gained going forward. Melissa Lavasani: And just to add on what Jay just said there, there's nothing specific going on with Ibogaine at, at the va, but I think this administration is, is taking a real look at addiction in particular. Uh, they just launched, uh, a new initiative, uh, that's really centered on addiction treatments called the Great American Recovery. Melissa Lavasani: And, um, they're dedicating a hundred million dollars towards treating addiction as like a chronic treatable disease and not necessarily a law enforcement issue. So, um, in that initiative there will be federal grant programs for prevention and treatment and recovery. And, um, while this isn't just for psychedelic medicines, uh, I think it's a really great opportunity for the discussion of psychedelics to get elevated to the White House. Melissa Lavasani: Um, [00:37:00] there's also, previous to this announcement last week from the White House, there's been a hundred million dollars that was dedicated at, um, at ARPA h, which is. The advanced research projects, uh, agency for healthcare, um, and that is kind of an agency that's really focused on forward looking, um, treatments and technologies, uh, for, um, a, a whole slew of. Melissa Lavasani: Of issues, but this a hundred million dollars is dedicated to mental health and addiction. So there's a lot of opportunity there as well. So we, while I think, you know, some people are talking about, oh, we need a executive order on Iboga, it's like, well, you know, the, the president is thinking, um, about, you know, what issues can land with his, uh, voting block. Melissa Lavasani: And I think it's, I don't think we necessarily need a specific executive order on Iboga to call this a success. It's like, let's look at what, [00:38:00] um, what's just been announced from the White House. They're, they're all in on. Thinking creatively and finding, uh, new solutions for this. And this is kind of, this aligns with, um, HHS secretaries, uh, Robert F. Melissa Lavasani: Kennedy Junior's goals when he took on this, this role of Health Secretary. Um, addiction has been a discussion that, you know, he has personal, um, a personal tie to from his own experience. And, um, I think when this administration started, there was so much like fervor around the, the dialogue of like, everyone's talking about psychedelics. Melissa Lavasani: It was Secretary Kennedy, it was, uh, secretary Collins at the va. It was FDA Commissioner Marty Macari. And I think that there's like a lot of undue frustration within folks 'cause um, you don't necessarily snap your fingers and change happens in Washington dc This is not the city for that. And it's intentionally designed to move slow so that we can avoid really big mistakes. Melissa Lavasani: Um. [00:39:00] I think we're a year into this administration and these two announcements are, are pretty huge considering, um, you know, the, we, there are known people within domestic policy council that don't, aren't necessarily supportive of psychedelic medicine. So there's a really amazing progress here, and frustrating as it might be to, um, just be waiting for this administration to make some major move. Melissa Lavasani: I think they are making major moves like for Washington, DC These, these are major moves and we just gotta figure out how we can, um, take these initiatives and apply them to the issue of psychedelic medicines. Joe Moore: Thanks, Melissa. Um, yeah, it is, it is interesting like the amount of fervor there was at the beginning. You know, we had, uh. Kind of one of my old lawyers, Matt Zorn, jumped in with the administration. Right. And, um, you know, it was, uh, really cool to [00:40:00] see and hopeful how much energy was going on. It's been a little quiet, kind of feels like a black box a little bit, but I, you know, there was, Melissa Lavasani: that's on me. Melissa Lavasani: Maybe I, we need to be more out in public about like, what's actually happening, because I feel like, like day in and day out, it's just been, you gotta just mm-hmm. Like have that constant beat with the government. Mm-hmm. And, um, it's, it's, it's not the photo ops on the hill, it's the conversations that you have. Melissa Lavasani: It's the dinner parties you go to, it's the fundraisers you attend, you know? Mm-hmm. That's why I, I kind of have to like toot my own horn with PCs. Like, we need to be present here at, at not only on the Hill, not only at the White House, but kind of in the ecosystem of Washington DC itself. There's, it's, there are like power players here. Melissa Lavasani: There are people that are connected that can get things done, like. I mean, the other last week we had a big snow storm. I walked over to my friend's house, um, to have like a little fire sesh with them and our kids, and his next door neighbor came over. He was a member of Congress. I talked about the VA bills, like [00:41:00] we're reaching out to his office now, um, to get them, um, up to speed and hopefully get their co-sponsorship for, uh, the two VA bills. Melissa Lavasani: So, I mean, it, the little conversations you have here are just as important as the big ones with the photo ops. So, um, it, it's, it's really like, you know, building up that momentum and, and finding that time where you can really strike and make something happen. Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Jay, anything to add there? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, I was just gonna say that, you know, I, I, I think the fervor is still there, right? Jay Kopelman: But real life happens. Melissa Lavasani: Yes, Jay Kopelman: yes. And gets in the way, right? So, Melissa Lavasani: yeah, Jay Kopelman: I, I can't imagine how many issues. Secretary Kennedy has every day much less the president. Like there's so many things that they are dealing with on a daily basis, right? It, we, we just have to work to be the squeaky wheel in, in the right way, right. Jay Kopelman: [00:42:00] With the, with the right information at the right time. Like just inundating one of these organizations with noise, it's then it be with Informa, it just becomes noise, right? It it, it doesn't help. So when we have things to say that are meaningful and impactful, we do, and Melissa does an amazing job of that. Jay Kopelman: But, you know, it, it takes time. You know, it's, you know, we're not, this is, this is like turning an aircraft carrier, not a ski boat. Melissa Lavasani: Yeah, Joe Moore: yeah, absolutely. Um, and. It's, it's understandably frustrating, I think for the public and the psychedelic public in particular because we see all this hope, you know, we continue to get frustrated at politics. It's nothing new, right? Um, and we, we wanna see more people get well immediately. [00:43:00] And I, I kind of, Jay from the veteran perspective, I do love the kind of loud voices like, you're making me go to Mexico for this. Joe Moore: I did that and you're making me leave the country for the thing that's gonna fix me. Like, no way. And barely a recognition that this is a valid treatment. You know, like, you know, that is complicated given how medicine is structured here domestically. But it's also, let's face the facts, like the drug war kind of prevented us from being able to do this research in the first place. Joe Moore: You know? Thanks Nixon. And like, how do we actually kind of correct course and say like, we need to spend appropriately on science here so we can heal our own people, including veterans and everybody really. It's a, it's a dire situation out there. Jay Kopelman: Yeah. It, it really is. Um, you know, we were talking briefly about addicts, right? Jay Kopelman: And you know, it's not sexy. People think of addicts as people who are weak-minded, [00:44:00] right? They don't have any self-control. Um, but, but look at, look at the opioid crisis, right? That Brian Hubbard was fighting against in Kentucky for all those years. That that was something that was given to the patient by a doctor that they then became dependent on, and a lot of people died from that. Jay Kopelman: And, and so you, you know, it's, I I don't think it's fair to just put all addicts in a box. Just like it's not fair to put all veterans in a box. Just like it's not fair for doctors, put all their patients in a box. We're individuals. We, we have individual needs. Our, our health is very individual. Like, I, I don't think I should be put in the same box as every other 66-year-old that my doctor sees. Jay Kopelman: It's not fair. [00:45:00] You know, if you, if you took my high school classmates and put us all in a photo, we're all gonna have different needs, right? Like, some look like they're 76, not 66. Some look like they're 56. Not like they're, we, we do things differently. We live our lives differently. And the same is true of addicts. Jay Kopelman: They come to addiction from different places. Not everybody decides they want to just try heroin at a party, and all of a sudden they're addicted. It happens in, in different ways, you know, and the whole fentanyl thing has been so daggum nefarious, right? You know, pushing fentanyl into marijuana. Jay Kopelman: Somebody's smoking a joint and all of a sudden they're addicted to fentanyl or they die. Melissa Lavasani: I think we're having a, Jay Kopelman: it's, it's just not fair to, to say everybody in this pot is the same, or everybody in this one is the same. We have [00:46:00] to look at it differently. Joe Moore: Yeah. I like to zoom one level out and kind of talk about, um, just how hurt we are as a country, as a world really, but as a country specifically, and how many people are out of work for so many. Joe Moore: Difficult reasons and away from their families for so many kind of tragic reasons. And if we can get people back to their families and back to work, a lot of these things start to self-correct, but we have to like have those interventions where we can heal folks and, and get them back. Um, yeah. And you know, everything from trauma, uh, in childhood, you know, adulthood, combat, whatever it is. Joe Moore: Like these things can put people on the sidelines. And Jay, to your point, like you get knee surgery and all of a sudden you're, you know, two years later you're on the hunt for Fentanyl daily. You know, that's tough. It's really tough. Carl Hart does a good job talking about this kind of addiction pipeline and [00:47:00] a few others do as well. Joe Moore: But it's just, you know, kind of putting it in a moral failure bucket. It's not great. I was chatting with somebody about, um, veterans, it's like you come back and you're like, what's gonna make me feel okay right now? And it's not always alcohol. Um, like this is the first thing that made me feel okay, because there's not great treatments and there's, there's a lot of improvements in this kind of like bringing people back from the field that needs to happen. Joe Moore: In my opinion. I, it seems to be shared by a lot of people, but yeah, there's, it's, it's, IGA is gonna be great. It's gonna be really important. I really can't wait for it to be at scale appropriately, but there's a lot of other things we need to fix too, um, so that we can just, you know, not have so many people we need to, you know, spend so much money healing. Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. Jay Kopelman: Yeah. You ahead with that. We don't need the president to sign an executive order to automatically legalize Ibogaine. Right. But it would be nice if he would reschedule it so that [00:48:00] then then researchers could do this research on a larger scale. You know, we could, we could now get some real data that would show the efficacy. Jay Kopelman: And it could be done in a safe environment, you know? And, and so that would be, do Joe Moore: you have any kind of figures, like, like, I've been talking about this for a while, Jay. Like, does it drop the cost a lot of doing research when we deschedule things? Jay Kopelman: I, I would imagine so, because it'll drop the cost of accessing the medicines that are being researched. Jay Kopelman: Right? You, you would have buy-in from more organizations. You know, you might even have a pharma company that comes into this, you know, look at j and j with the ketamine, right? They have, they have a nasal spray version of ketamine that's doing very well. I mean, it's probably their, their biggest revenue [00:49:00] provider for them right now. Jay Kopelman: And, and so. You know, you, it would certainly help and I think, I think it would lower costs of research to have something rescheduled rather than being schedule one. You know it, people are afraid to take chances when you're talking about Schedule one Melissa Lavasani: labs or they just don't have the money to research things that are on Schedule one. Melissa Lavasani: 'cause there's so much in an incredible amount of red tape that you have to go through and, and your facility has to be a certain way and how you contain those, uh, medicines. Oh, researching has to be in a specific container and it's just very cumbersome to research schedule one drugs. So absolutely the cost would go down. Melissa Lavasani: Um, but Joe Moore: yeah, absolutely. Less safes. Melissa Lavasani: Yeah. Joe Moore: Yes. Less uh, Melissa Lavasani: right. Joe Moore: Locked. Yeah. Um, it'll be really interesting when that happens. I'm gonna hold out faith. That we can see some [00:50:00] movement here. Um, because yeah, like why make healing more expensive than it needs to be? I think like that's potentially a protectionist move. Joe Moore: Like, I'm not, I'm not here yet, but, um, look at AbbVie's, uh, acquisition of the Gilgamesh ip. Mm-hmm. Like that's a really interesting move. I think it was $1.2 billion. Mm-hmm. So they're gonna wanna protect that investment. Um, and it's likely going to be an approved medication. Like, I don't, I don't see a world in which it's not an approved medication. Joe Moore: Um, you know, I don't know a timeline, I would say Jay Kopelman: yeah. Joe Moore: Less than six years, just given how much cash they've got. But who knows, like, I haven't followed it too closely. So, and that's an I bga derivative to be clear, everybody, um mm-hmm. If you're not, um, in, in the loop on that, which is hopeful, you know? Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. But I don't know what the efficacy is gonna be with that compared to Ibogaine and then we have to talk about the kind of proprietary molecule stuff. Um, there's like a whole bunch of things that are gonna go on here, and this is one of the reasons why I'm excited about. Federal involvement [00:51:00] because we might actually be able to have some sort of centralized manufacturer, um, or at least the VA could license three or four generic manufacturers per for instance, and that way prices aren't gonna be, you know, eight grand a dose or whatever. Joe Moore: You know, it's, Jay Kopelman: well, I think it's a very exciting time in the space. You know, I, I think that there's the opportunity for innovation. There is the opportunity for collaboration. There's the opportunity for, you know, long-term healing at a very low cost. You know, that we, we have the highest healthcare cost per capita in the world right here in the us. Jay Kopelman: And, and yet we are not the number one health system in the world. So to me, that doesn't add up. So we need to figure out a way to start. Bringing costs down for a lot of people and [00:52:00] at the same time increasing, increasing outcomes. Joe Moore: Absolutely. Yeah. There's a lot of possible outcome improvements here and, and you know, everything from relapse rates, like we hear often about people leaving a clinic and they go and overdose when they get home. Tragically, too common. I think there's everything from, you know, I'm Jay, I'm involved in an organization called the Psychedelics and Pain Association. Joe Moore: We look at chronic pain very seriously, and IGA is something we are really interested in. And if. We could have better, you know, research, there better outcome measures there. Um, you know, perhaps we can have less people on opioids to begin with from chronic pain conditions. Um, Jay Kopelman: yeah, I, I might be due for another Ibogaine journey then, because I deal with chronic pain from Jiujitsu, but, Joe Moore: oh gosh, let's Jay Kopelman: talk Joe Moore: later. Jay Kopelman: That's self inflicted. Some people would say take a month off, but Melissa Lavasani: yeah, Jay Kopelman: I'm [00:53:00] not, I'm not that smart. Joe Moore: Yeah. Um, but you know, this, uh, yeah, this whole thing is gonna be really interesting to see how it plays out. I'm endlessly hopeful pull because I'm still here. Right. I, I've been at this for almost 10 years now, very publicly, and I think we are seeing a lot of movement. Joe Moore: It's not always what we actually wanna see, but it is movement nonetheless. You know, how many people are writing on this now than there were before? Right. You know, we, we have people in New York Times writing somewhat regularly about psychedelics and. Even international media is covering it. What do we have legalization in Australia somewhat recently for psilocybin and MDMA, Czech Republic. Joe Moore: I think Germany made some moves recently. Mm-hmm. Um, really interesting to see how this is gonna just keep shifting. Um Jay Kopelman: mm-hmm. Joe Moore: And I think there's no way that we're not gonna have prescription psychedelics in three years in the United States. It pro probably more like a [00:54:00] year and a half. I don't know. Do you, are you all taking odds? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah. I mean, I think Jay Kopelman: I, I gotta check Cal sheet, see what they're saying. Melissa Lavasani: I think it's safe to say, I mean, this could even come potentially the end of this year, I think, but definitely by the end of 2027, there's gonna be at least one psychedelic that's FDA approved. Joe Moore: Yeah. Yeah. Melissa Lavasani: If you're not counting Ketamine. Joe Moore: Right. Jay Kopelman: I, I mean, I mean it mm-hmm. It, it doesn't make sense that it. Shouldn't be or wouldn't be. Right. The, we've seen the benefits. Mm-hmm. We know what they are. It's at a very low cost, but you have to keep in mind that these things, they need to be done with the right set setting and container. Right. And, and gotta be able to provide that environment. Jay Kopelman: So, but I would, I would love, like I said, I'd love to work myself out of a job here and see this happen, not just for our veterans, [00:55:00] but for everybody. Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. Um, so Melissa, is there a way people can get involved or follow PMC or how can they support your work at PMC? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah, I mean, follow us in social media. Melissa Lavasani: Um, our two biggest platforms are LinkedIn and Instagram. Um, I'm bringing my newsletter back because I'm realizing, um, you know, there is a big gap in, in kind of like the knowledge of Washington DC just in general. What's happening here, and I think, you know, part of PC's value is that we're, we are plugged into conversations that are being had, um, here in the city. Melissa Lavasani: And, you know, we do get a little insight. Um, and I think that that would really quiet a lot of, you know, the, a lot of noise that, um, exists in the, our ecosystem. If, if people just had some clarity on like, what's actually happening or happening here and what are the opportunities and, [00:56:00] um, where do we need more reinforcement? Melissa Lavasani: Um, and, and also, you know, as we're putting together public education campaign, you know. My, like, if I could get everything I wanted like that, that campaign would be this like multi-stakeholder collaborative effort, right? Where we're covering all the ground that we need to cover. We're talking to the patient groups, we're talking to traditional mental health organizations, we're talking to the medical community, we're talking to the general population. Melissa Lavasani: I think that's like another area that we, we just seem to be, um, lacking some effort in. And, you know, ultimately the veteran story's always super compelling. It pulls on your heartstrings. These are our heroes, um, of our country. Like that, that is, that is meaningful. But a lot of the veteran population is small and we need the, like a, the just.[00:57:00] Melissa Lavasani: Basic American living in middle America, um, understanding what psychedelics are so that in, in, in presenting to them the stories that they can relate to, um, because that's how you activate the public and you activate the public and you get them to see what's happening in these clinical trials, what the data's been saying, what the opportunities are with psychedelics, and then they start calling their members of Congress and saying, Hey, there is this. Melissa Lavasani: Bill sitting in Congress and why haven't you signed onto it? And that political pressure, uh, when used the right way can be really powerful. So, um, I think, you know, now we're at this really amazing moment where we have a good amount of congressional offices that are familiar enough with psychedelics that they're willing to move on it. Melissa Lavasani: Um, there's another larger group, uh, that is familiar with psychedelics and will assist and co-sponsor legislation, but there's still so many offices that we haven't been able to get to just 'cause like we don't have all the time in the world and all the manpower in the world to [00:58:00] do it. But, you know, that is one avenue is like the advocates can speak to the, the lawmakers, the experts speak to the lawmakers, and we not, we want the public engaged in this, you know, ultimately, like that's. Melissa Lavasani: Like the best form of harm reduction is having an informed public. So we are not, they're not seeing these media headlines of like, oh, this miracle cure that, um, saved my family. It's like, yes, that can happen psychedelics. I mean, person speaking personally, psychedelics did save my family. But what you miss out of that story is the incredible amount of work I put into myself and put into my mental health to this day to maintain, um, like myself, my, my own agency and like be the parent that I wanna be and be the spouse that I wanna be. Melissa Lavasani: So, um, we, we need to continue to share these stories and we need to continue to collaborate to get this message out because we're all, we're all in the same boat right now. We all want the same things. We want patients to have safe and [00:59:00] affordable access to psychedelic assisted care. Um, and, uh. We're just in the beginning here, so, um, sign up for our newsletter and we can sign up on our website and then follow us on social media. Melissa Lavasani: And, um, I anticipate more and more events, um, happening with PMC and hopefully we can scale up some of these events to be much more public facing, um, as this issue grows. So, um, I'm really excited about the future and I'm, I've been enjoying this partnership with Mission Within. Jay is such a professional and, and it really shows up when he needs to show up and, um, I look forward to more of that in the future. Joe Moore: Fantastic. And Jay, how can people follow along and support mission within Foundation? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, again, social media is gonna be a good way to do that. So we, we are also pretty heavily engaged on LinkedIn and on Instagram. Um, I do [01:00:00] share, uh, a bit of my own stuff as well. On social media. So we have social media pages for Mission within Foundation, and we have a LinkedIn page for mission within foundation. Jay Kopelman: I have my own profiles on both of those as well where people can follow along. Um, one of the other things you know that would probably help get more attention for this is if the general public was more aware of the numbers of professional athletes who are also now pursuing. I began specifically to help treat their traumatic brain injuries and the chronic traumatic encephalopathy that they've, uh, suffered as a result of their time in professional sports or even college sports. Jay Kopelman: And, you know. I people worship these athletes, and I [01:01:00] think that if more of them, like Robert Gall, were more outspoken about these treatments and the healing properties that they've provided them, that it would get even more attention. Um, I think though what Melissa said, you know, I don't wanna parrot anything she just said because she said it perfectly Right. Jay Kopelman: And I'd just be speaking to hear myself talk. Um, but being collaborative the way that we are with PMC and with Melissa is I think, the way to move the needle on this overall. And like she said, if she could get more groups involved in, in these discussions, it would, it would do wonders for us. Joe Moore: Well, thank you both so much for your hard work out there. I always appreciate it when people are showing up and doing this important, [01:02:00] sometimes boring and tedious, but nevertheless sometimes, sometimes exciting work. And um, so yeah, just thank you both and thank you both for showing up here to psychedelics today to join us and I hope we can continue to support you all in the future. Jay Kopelman: Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. It's a pleasure being with you today and with Melissa, of course, always Melissa Lavasani: appreciate the time and space. Joe Moore: Thanks.  

In this episode, Dr. Sean M. Viña joins to discuss the ways that social inequality can impact psychedelic healing. Dr. Viña is a sociologist with a PhD from Indiana University whose research focuses on psychedelics and mental health, and social inequality. In this conversation, Dr. Viña explains that while psychedelics are often framed as transformative treatments, their benefits appear unevenly distributed and frequently constrained by structural factors such as income inequality, education, stigma, caregiving burden, segregation, and social isolation. The discussion highlights how women—particularly single mothers—may experience diminished gains due to caregiving demands and stigmatization of mental illness, while Black and Latino populations show little measurable benefit once socioeconomic inequality is accounted for. Throughout, Dr. Viña emphasizes that outcomes are shaped less by the substances themselves than by the sociocultural environments people return to after treatment, underscoring the importance of community integration and structural supports alongside clinical care.   In this episode, you'll hear: What inspired Dr. Viña to research social inequality and psychedelics How caregiving burden, education, and stigma modulate women's mental health outcomes following psychedelic use Why socioeconomic inequality appears to eliminate measurable benefits for many Black and Latino participants The role of segregation, policing environments, and chronic stress in shaping treatment outcomes Why American Indian populations respond better to psychedelic treatments in rural areas with greater access to nature and their culture How having access to private versus public health insurance can impact psychedelic healing Why focusing only on therapist–patient interactions may miss key determinants of success Implications for designing more equitable psychedelic treatments and research   Quotes: "Women who are highly educated actually seem to be getting about as much benefit [from psychedelic treatments] as men who are highly educated, but [lack of] education doesn't seem to negatively affect men the same way it affects women. Again, that's the pattern we see in all kinds of other health resources." [9:36] "One of the studies that we did showed that if it wasn't for education and income differences, there would be a slight benefit [from psychedelics] for black participants in these surveys. But as soon as you accounted for education inequality and income inequality, it was wiped out." [21:40] "I love the concept of the psychedelic renaissance, but when we start thinking about the statistics of who this is helping, this is a renaissance of less than 1% of people, right? This is a very small group of people who are getting benefits, just like many of the other resources that have come out in the past. … all these resources are probably valuable. They're all helpful. But there needs to be more than just the drug. There needs to be a bigger conversation about this society and the community that people are living in." [36:31]   Dr. Viña's academic articles: "Medical Sociological and Epidemiological Psychedelics Paradigm", Drug Science Policy and Law, 2025 "A Community Centered Approach to Psychedelics", Discover Mental Health, 2025 "Unequal Healing: Gender, Psychedelics, and the Burden of Care", Women and Therapy, 2026 "Psychedelics and Mental Health Treatment Seeking Among Asians and Hawaiians", Psychoactives, 2025 "American Indian areas and psychedelics: A test of the minorities' diminished psychedelic returns", Journal of Rural Mental Health, 2025 "Religious Social Integration, Psychedelics, and Psychological Distress", Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2024 "Stigma, Psychedelic Use, and the Risk of Reduced Formal Mental Health Care", Stigma and Health, 2024 With Amanda L. Stephens: "Minorities' Diminished Psychedelic Returns." Drug Science, Policy and Law, 2023 Links: Dr. Viña on LinkedIn Dr. Viña on Researchgate Previous episode: Psychedelics and Religion with Hunt Priest, MDiv Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui

Madeleine Finlay sits down with science editor Ian Sample and science correspondent Nicola Davis to discuss three eye-catching stories, including the impact of a powerful psychedelic on depression, answers on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and an explanation to the mystery of why humans have chins. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Send a textGene regulation through RNAs, the neurobiology of opioid addiction, and how psychedelics affect drug-seeking by modulating inflammation and plasticity. Not medical advice.TOPICS DISCUSSED:Gene regulation basics: DNA transcribes to RNAs, including non-coding types like microRNAs that inhibit mRNA translation into proteins, influencing up to 60% of the proteome.Non-coding RNAs in neuroplasticity: MicroRNAs and circular RNAs regulate synaptic changes, with activity-induced ones like miR-485-5p linked to rapid responses in drug cue memory and addiction reinforcement.Opioid addiction models: Rats self-administer heroin or fentanyl via levers, showing compulsive seeking; fentanyl's higher potency drives faster learning but similar long-term effects to heroin when doses are equated.Differences between opioids: Heroin and fentanyl both activate mu-opioid receptors for euphoria and dopamine release, but fentanyl lingers longer; no major behavioral differences in seeking once potency is matched.Psilocybin's effects on addiction: A single psilocybin dose post-abstinence reduces heroin-seeking in rats by dampening neuroinflammation in brain regions like the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex.Brain Inflammation: Opioids induce pro-inflammatory changes via cytokines like IL-17A and pathways like TNF-alpha, leading to glial activation and blood-brain barrier leaks; psilocybin counters this.MicroRNA biomarkers: Blood microRNAs reflect gene expression patterns tied to disease states, with potential to predict opioid relapse risk, treatment response, or neonatal withdrawal severity non-invasively.Future research: Ongoing work links psilocybin's serotonin 2A activation to anti-inflammatory gene changes, plus human studies on microRNAs for personalized addiction treatments.ABOUT THE GUEST: Stephanie Daws, PhD is an associate professor at Temple University in the Center for Substance Abuse Research and Department of Neurosciences, where she researches mechanisms of drug-seeking behavior with a focus on opioids and psychedelics.RELATED EPISODE:M&M 2 | Psilocybin, LSD, Ketamine, InflamSupport the showHealth Products by M&M Partners: SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off. Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off. AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models. Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they're hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app. KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime) For all the ways you can support my efforts

Few issues have tested public trust in medicine as deeply as vaccines, and few individuals have influenced that dialogue more than Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a longtime member of the FDA's Vaccine Advisory Committee. In this timely and candid interview with Raise the Line host Lindsey Smith, Dr. Offit points to this year's severe flu season and a resurgence of measles as alarming proof points of how a changing federal perspective on vaccine policy is having a real impact on public health. “You'd like to think you can educate about the importance of vaccines, but I fear at this point the viruses themselves are doing the educating.” In this wide ranging discussion, Dr. Offit also addresses: The rigorous and painstaking process of developing vaccines, based on his experience co-inventing the rotavirus vaccine. Shifting levels of public trust in scientific organizations. Promising innovations in vaccine development. Don't miss this deeply-informed perspective on the interplay of science, policy, and public education, and his encouraging message to young clinicians about managing the current challenges in public health.  Mentioned in this episode: Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaPerelman School of Medicine 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

The news to know for Wednesday, February 18, 2026! We'll tell you about a whirlwind of diplomacy as the U.S. works to strike a peace deal for Ukraine and a nuclear deal for Iran all at once. Also: how Americans, including presidents, are paying tribute to a civil rights icon. Plus, why a historic sewage spill has leaders pointing fingers, what a new clinical trial found out about a psychedelic drug's impact on severe depression, and how Taylor Swift made a cameo at the Winter Olympics. Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes!    Join us every Mon-Fri for more daily news roundups!  See sources: https://www.theNewsWorthy.com/shownotes Become an INSIDER to get AD-FREE episodes here: https://www.theNewsWorthy.com/insider Get The NewsWorthy MERCH here: https://thenewsworthy.dashery.com/ Sponsors: For a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% OFF and free shipping for your first box PLUS free dessert for life! Go to HomeChef.com/NEWSWORTHY Get 15% off OneSkin with the code NEWSWORTHY at https://www.oneskin.co/NEWSWORTHY #oneskinpod To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to ad-sales@libsyn.com

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Louise Hecker, Associate Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Together, they dive into Louise's recent research exploring how psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, may influence aging biology at the cellular and organismal level.Louise shares the story behind her curiosity about psilocybin, sparked by conversations with a friend and fueled by a lack of scientific answers. She explains how her team overcame regulatory hurdles to study the effects of psilocybin on human cells and aging mice. Their findings showed that psilocybin extended cellular lifespan and reduced hallmarks of aging, such as oxidative stress and DNA damage. In mice, regular dosing improved survival, reversed visible signs of aging, and affected organs beyond the brain.The conversation also covers the challenges of translating these findings into humans, the need for more research on dosing and safety, and the importance of funding in moving this field forward. Louise encourages listeners to stay curious, think beyond established paths, and keep an open mind as new questions and discoveries emerge in the science of aging.Guest-at-a-Glance

This archival episode (2015) is dedicated to Bobby Hart, one of the most iconic songwriters and record producers of our time who passed away this week. Along with his partner Tommy Boyce, their music has sold over 40 million records. Best known for writing and producing the many number one hits of the legendary Monkees, our conversation about his book, “Psychedelic Bubble Gum,” gives us more to chew on than you could ever imagine. The heavens are rocking now and you will be forever missed on this planet. mosaic: Exploring Jewish Issuesmosaic is Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County's news magazine show, exploring Jewish...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

Utah Lawmakers want to know more about how this psychedelic therapy may help treat veterans battling post-traumatic stress disorder. We speak to Jason Swenson, Deseret News reporter, about a proposal that would expand research for this and what we know about the potential benefits of these drugs.

Community Mourns After Utah Mother and Daughter Found Dead in Vegas Hotel Room Proposal would allow student-athletes to transfer to new sports teams during the season National Random Acts of Kindness Day Proposals Aim to Increase Safety and Transportation for Utah Homeless Campus Ring Ditches Controversial Surveillance Tech Partner Number of Americans who Expect 'High Quality Lives' Drops PTSD Treatment and Psychedelics in Focus on Utah's Capitol Hill Live in Cortina! 2026 Winter Games Check in The Legacy of Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Former Death Penalty Prosecutor Speaks to Proposed Changes to Streamline Utah's Death Penalty

Chronic pain is often treated as a problem to suppress with medication or surgery, but what if it's actually a signal from a complex system that needs to be addressed holistically?In this episode of The Mind–Gut Conversation, Dr. Mayer is joined by Jared E. Katz, author of Retrain the Brain: Self-Help for Traumatic Brain Injury and creator of the pain management app Painless. Jared's story begins more than twenty years ago, when a traumatic brain injury left him with cognitive impairment and two rare, painful conditions: Chiari malformation and syringomyelia.Rather than accepting a life defined by pain, Jared spent years quietly experimenting with how he eats,sleeps, moves, and thinks. He developed what he calls a “brain health algorithm” — a set of daily practices spanning nutrition, cognitive activity, movement, sleep, and social engagement. The result is not just a book, but a blueprint for anyone living with chronic pain or seeking to understand whatbrain health truly looks like in practice.This episode is slightly different from our usual focus on the gut microbiome, but the principles align closely with the holistic, systems-based thinking Dr. Mayer teaches. Jared's experience demonstrates that the brain is not a machine with one broken part — it's a dynamic, interconnected system capable of adaptation and healing when given the right conditions.Topics discussed include:• What a “brain health lifestyle” actually involves• How anti-inflammatory nutrition and eating patterns affectpain and cognition• Why chronic pain requires addressing multiple systems, notjust one symptom• How cognitive exercises like writing can help rewire thebrain• The future of personalized pain managementThis is a practical, deeply human conversation for anyoneinterested in chronic pain, brain health, and the power of self-directed healing.Chapters:0:00 - Introduction6:04 - Jared's Story: The Injury & Living With Chronic Pain11:30 - Nutrition, Diet & the WAH Principle16:57 - The Painless App & the Future of Pain Management22:30 - The Five Pillars of a Brain Health Lifestyle27:48 - Resilience, Recovery & the Gut-Brain Connection35:11 - Psychedelics, Neuroplasticity & Closing Thoughts

Leonora, or “Leo” Russell, is a Marriage and Family therapist and Substance Abuse Counselor who left a twenty-year career in government and social services, and providing direct services to the most disenfranchised, to direct her attention to the burgeoning psychedelic renaissance. In 2019, she began leading the Decriminalize Nature effort in Seattle and moved on to form the Political Action Group ADAPT-WA, a voter-based initiative focused on legalizing psilocybin and decriminalizing small amounts of entheogens for personal use. She also runs a 501c3 called Entheo Society, focused on creating community in the psychedelic space.Leo is currently writing, directing, and filming in Idaho for The Psychedelic Road Trip movie (a comedy/documentary about Dana Beal (who has been on this show) and Idaho and the Plant Medicine Movement) and is organizing (with others) the largest plant-medicine educational event in Idaho's history on Feb. 22nd at the Boise Depot. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Imperial researchers report early-but-serious results for a psychedelic-assisted depression treatment, while UK scientists kick off about research funding uncertainty. After the break, it's the “update your browser right now” Chrome zero-day, a fresh Artemis II countdown rehearsal date from NASA, and in gaming, John Wick steps out in a suit and into an untitled new action game. Plus: Apple tees up a 4 March event, so your next phone upgrade might want to calm down for a minute. More on all of it at standard.co.uk — and follow for your weekday briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thomas Hatsis joins us for episode 205 to discuss his new book Psychedelic Injustice: How Identity Politics Poisons the Psychedelic Renaissance. Together we discuss some pretty divisive topics: the distinction between social justice and critical social justice, how certain narratives are being imposed on the psychedelic movement, implicit bias research, decolonization rhetoric, the drug war's actual causes, and contested claims about psychedelic history. This one might get spicy for you. Enjoy responsibly. This episode was nearly taken down Find out why here RELEVANT LINKS

E441 – Inner Voice | A Heartfelt Chat with Dr. Foojan & Dr. Mohammad Nami In this powerful neuroscience and mental health discussion, Dr. Mohammad Nami, Associate Professor at Canadian University Dubai and Clinical Neuroscience Director at BrainHub UAE, joins Dr. Foojan for a heartfelt and in-depth conversation about memory formation, trauma healing, PTSD treatment, EMDR therapy, neuromodulation, psychedelics in psychiatry, and dementia prevention.

On today's episode: A new milestone for the Perseverance rover! There's some promising research into how psychedelics could help treat PTSD All that and more today on All Around Science...RESOURCESNASA's Perseverance Rover Completes First AI-Planned Drive on Mars | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Psychedelics may rewire the brain to treat PTSD. Scientists are finally beginning to understand how. | Live SciencePsychedelic drug ayahuasca could treat PTSD, early studies hint. But exactly how it works isn't clear. | Live ScienceMDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study | Nature MedicineInvestigating the safety and tolerability of single-dose psilocybin for post-traumatic stress disorder: A nonrandomized open-label clinical trial | Journal of PsychopharmacologyCREDITS:Writing - Bobby Frankenberger & Maura ArmstrongBooking - September McCrady THEME MUSIC by Andrew Allenhttps://twitter.com/KEYSwithSOULhttp://andrewallenmusic.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Punk Therapy, Dr. T and Truth Fairy open the year by exploring the concept of body set and its relevance to psychedelic therapy and medicine-assisted healing. Drawing on recent research and clinical observations, they expand the framework of set and setting to include the physiological state of the body as a critical part of how psychedelic medicine is received and processed. The conversation examines biomarkers such as autonomic nervous system tone and overall physiological resilience, while placing these factors within a broader trauma-informed context. The episode emphasizes that psychedelic experiences do not occur in isolation from the body, but interact with existing patterns of stress, survival, and adaptation.Truth Fairy brings a deeply somatic and relational perspective to the discussion, challenging purely biomedical interpretations of body set by highlighting interoception, attachment history, and developmental trauma. She explains how early disruptions in care shape a person's capacity for self-regulation and self-care, and how these patterns show up in preparation for and during psychedelic work. Through clinical examples, she illustrates how subtle somatic practices, movement, touch, and nervous system-oriented interventions can help clients come out of chronic contraction, freeze, or hypervigilance before a medicine session. Dr. T and Truth Fairy situate body set within an ethical and relational model of psychedelic therapy that prioritizes co-regulation and humility. They question outcome-driven approaches that seek peak experiences, instead focusing on an orientation toward optimal arousal, embodied presence, and collective nervous system regulation, particularly in group settings. They offer clinicians, facilitators, and researchers a nuanced framework for understanding how trauma, physiology, and relational safety intersect in psychedelic healing. The evolving science of psychedelic medicines necessarily includes trauma-informed psychedelic therapy, somatic healing, nervous system regulation, and ethical facilitation. “We can't just prepare the mind, and we can't just prepare the setting. You actually have to prepare the physiology of the body to receive medicine. Psychedelics affect our physiology. They can throw us into sympathetic arousal, so the question becomes how do we get the body ready to receive something that is already going to amplify what's there.”  - Truth Fairy__Contact Punk Therapy:Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapyWebsite: PunkTherapy.comEmail: info@punktherapy.com Contact Truth Fairy: Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

Psychedelic medicine is moving from the margins to mainstream neuroscience.

In this first installment of our conversation with Greg Taylor, Ian Priston explores what it means to remember a cultural moment from the inside, not as nostalgia, but as lived perception. Greg reconstructs his introduction to Pink Floyd through a series of encounters: a poster on King's Road, the underground press, the first shock of a single, and the genuinely unfamiliar experience of the Floyd's early vision performed amid kinetic sculpture and liquid light. Rather than treating Syd Barrett era Floyd as a set of canonical artefacts, Greg's incredible recollections move between the tangible (equipment, ticketing, sight-lines and the physical layout of venues) as well as the interpretative (Barrett's “painterly” logic in sound, the band's rejection of conventional stage charisma and the early tension between pop, mainstream visibility and avant-garde intent). Part 1 ends with the story still in motion, moving towards Greg's attendance of a five-man Floyd Concert in January 1968 and the next phase of the group's evolution. Part 2 arrives next month, so stay tuned!Subscribe for more, and share your own recollections or questions in the comments.

Raghu Markus is joined by Michael Leach, the first-ever Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of the White House, for a conversation on how to have faith over fear in the face of uncertainty.Grab a copy of Michael's book, Faith Over Fear, to learn more about harnessing your own resilience.In this episode, Raghu and Michael take a journey through:Closing the gap between faith and fearSeeing faith as an action rather than a feeling How freedom comes when we loosen our grip on ego, fear, and identitySurrender and choosing presence even when outcomes are unclearThe book The First 90 Days and what culture truly meansMichael's time working in the White House with the Biden-Harris administrationThe meaningful pivot from our preference to our purposeEnduring and adapting through the many changes we face socially, politically, and personally Breaking down the wall between ‘us' and ‘them', taking inspiration from Ram Dass's There Is No OtherGiving ourselves ‘the fear test' and looking inward before we judge another personConsidering the cost of unity and choosing listening over labelingForming ourselves so that we are not driven by fear “Whatever you're not changing you're choosing, but here's the truth about change: it's not secured in a single election or moment of triumph. Democracy is an ongoing experiment, constantly tested by shifts in power, societal challenges, and the choices we make to protect (or erode) progress. It's not about ensuring nothing changes when you leave, it's about ensuring that what truly matters can endure when everything does. The key is not permanence, it's resilience” –Michael LeachAbout Michael Leach:Michael is a nationally respected strategic advisor, public sector leader, and culture builder whose career spans the NFL, national politics, and the White House. He currently serves as CEO & Co-Founder of BridgeTrust Partners, an advisory firm specializing in leadership development, inclusive strategy, and transformative partnerships across industries—from sports and healthcare to tech, media, and government.Michael began his professional journey in the National Football League, serving as Assistant to the Head Coach of the Chicago Bears and later managing Labor Relations at NFL Headquarters, where he played a key role in administering and enforcing the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement. In 2019, he was appointed Chief People Officer and Head of Diversity and Inclusion for the Biden-Harris campaign, helping build the most diverse general election team in U.S. history. He later became the first-ever Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for the White House, serving as Special Assistant to the President. Michael is also now an author! Faith Over Fear, a book on resilience and faith in uncertain times, was released in February 2026. Reach out to Michael via his website, where you can find his social media and contact information as well as learn more about his speaking engagements, career coaching, and more. “It's really through our surrendering that God does his establishing. God is unable to establish if we don't surrender. If your hands are closed and someone is trying to give you a gift, it's going to be really hard to receive that gift if you don't first open your hands. That's literally the nature of faith. I first have to release what's in my hand in order for God to release what's in his hand.” –Michael LeachSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joe Dolce is a writer and journalist whose work has long traced the shifting frontier of our relationship with altered states. He's the author of "Brave New Weed: Adventures into the Uncharted World of Cannabis: and his newest book, "Modern Psychedelics: a Handbook for Mindful Exploration" Is nothing short of a contemporary compendium on the subject. It's a lucid, deeply informed guide to the medicines, the science, the histories, and the human stories that shape this always evolving field. Follow Joe's Awesome Substack on Psychedelics: https://joedolce.substack.com/

Join us as we talk with Queer Singh (TJ), a queer Punjab Sikh psychiatrist and yogi, joins the Queer LBC Podcast to discuss healing with psychedelics, gender and spirituality. They share personal stories about coming out, yoga and tantra as tools for embodiment, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. We also discuss practical breathwork tips, psychedelic integration, and building queer community in Long Beach. This is one episode you don't wanna miss!

Since the last time he was on, a lot has changed. Dagan launched the Nomadic Research podcast out of Dixon, Illinois and went all in on building something of his own. Rural northwest Illinois, limestone bluffs, the Rock River, big whitetails, and just enough distance from Chicago to keep your sanity intact. Not a bad place to build a studio and start the next chapter. Evan and Dagan get into the why behind it. Why Illinois. Why leave a long career. Why step out and start talking publicly after years of working inside one of the largest and most misunderstood organizations in the country. Dagan walks through his background growing up in a Marine family, doing 12 years in the Corps across infantry and reconnaissance billets, then making the jump to the Agency where he and Evan worked together for years. They talk candidly about the difference between the tactical side of the house and where the real strategic decisions get made, the infamous seventh floor, and what it is like to be a small cog inside a 23,000 person machine. There is humor, a few shots at California, some perspective on career pivots, and a real look at professional evolution from Marine to operator to podcaster and business owner. This one is about reinvention, loyalty to where you came from, and figuring out what comes next when you have already done a few lifetimes worth of work. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in.

There are conversations that stretch you a little. And then there are conversations that gently but firmly rearrange the furniture in your mind. This week, I sat down with Keith Kurlander and Will Van Derveer—co-founders of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute—to talk about something that's generating a lot of curiosity and, let's be honest, some anxiety: psychedelic-assisted therapy. Before you brace yourself, this isn't a hype session. It's a thoughtful, grounded conversation about trauma, the nervous system, and what happens when traditional therapy isn't enough to reach the deepest layers of pain we carry. We explored how trauma shapes our personalities, how it imprints on the body, and why insight alone often doesn't create lasting change. As someone who cares deeply about the Enneagram and recovery, I found this especially compelling. So much of our personality structure is built around adaptation—strategies that once kept us safe but now quietly run the show. Keith and Will explain how psychedelic-assisted therapy, when done legally and in carefully structured clinical settings, may help people access and heal places that feel otherwise unreachable. We also talk about the risks, the ethics, and the importance of discernment. This isn't about chasing peak experiences. It's about healing what's unfinished. If you've ever felt stuck in patterns that insight alone couldn't untangle… if you've wondered whether deeper healing is possible… this conversation might open a door.           LEARN MORE ABOUT WILL AND KEITH WILL VAN DERVEER, MD, is a leader in the adoption of integrative psychiatry practices to treat mental health issues. He is cofounder of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute and Integrative Psychiatry Centers and cohost of The Higher Practice Podcast for Optimal Mental Health. He has published research on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Dr. Van Derveer has published research on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD [1] and written book chapters in the fields of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and other clinical applications of psychedelic compounds. His passion is finding effective relief from psychological suffering using a vast array of the most natural approaches possible. In addition to traditional medical training, He is a meditation instructor and has trained in shamanism, EMDR, somatic experiencing, internal family systems, cognitive behavioral therapy, and hypnosis. KEITH KURLANDER, MA, LPC, is cofounder of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute and Integrative Psychiatry Centers and cohost of The Higher Practice Podcast for Optimal Mental Health. He graduated Naropa University in 2005 with a master's degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, and he has practiced integrative psychotherapy and coaching with individuals, couples and groups for over 15 years. Keith's work as a coach focuses on celebrities, influencers, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to make huge changes in their lives, overcome long-standing patterns, and achieve greater levels of fulfillment. Keith specializes in helping individuals achieve optimal mental health and peak potential.   Social Links & Website (for promotional use) Website - Keith Kurlander, MA, LPC Instagram (Keith) | Instagram (Will)LinkedIn (Keith) | LinkedIn (Will) Psychedelic Therapy: A Revolutionary Approach to Restoring Your Mental Health and Reclaiming Your Life (Shambhala; March 31, 2026),   

There is an enduring association with creative experiment and psychedelic experiences. Recently, psychedelics have become more mainstream, explored not just for their far-out spiritual associations but as medicine, as therapy, and even just to make you more productive. How should we think about psychedelics and how they relate to art and art-making now? Ryan McGinness has had a long and well-known career as an artist. His densely layered, colorful abstract paintings have been shown at museums and galleries around the world. He's also long explored world-building through his art, expanding his designs to maze-like environments and staging sprawling events and parties. Recently, however, McGinness has showed a new side of his creative journey. He has just published an art book, Trip Advisor: Notes From over 25 Years of Psychedelic Voyages, from Blurring Books. The colorful tome collages together images of McGinness's paintings and photos of his studio and life with the raw diaries he kept beginning in 1999, as he chronicled his own mind's voyages on psilocybin mushrooms, alongside essays reflecting on what they have meant and continue to mean to him. So, what insight do these trips offer about art and life? What might you gain creatively and what are the pitfalls? Ryan McGinness is our guide into the world of psychedelics and art today.

“I do not believe we should be testing to test. We have to know, is this test going to change management and is it going to make a difference,” says pediatric allergist-immunologist Dr. Zachary Rubin. His knack for providing that sort of straightforward guidance explains why Dr. Rubin has become a trusted voice on allergies, asthma, and vaccines for his millions of followers on social media platforms. It's also why we couldn't ask for a better guide for our discussion on the rise in allergies, asthma, and immune-related conditions in children, and how families can navigate the quickly evolving science and rampant misinformation in the space. On this episode of Raise the Line, we also preview Dr. Rubin's new book, All About Allergies, in which he breaks down dozens of conditions and diseases, offering clear explanations and practical treatment options for families. Join host Lindsey Smith for this super informative conversation in which Dr. Rubin shares his thoughts on a wide range of topics including: What's behind the rise in allergic and immune-related conditions.Tips for managing misinformation, myths and misunderstandings. How digital platforms can be leveraged to strengthen public health.How to build back public trust in medicine.Mentioned in this episode:All About Allergies bookBench to Bedside PodcastInstagramTikTokYouTube Channel 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

In this bonus episode, Kim Kaplan, Dr. Jenni Skyler, and Natalie discuss the therapeutic use of psychedelics, particularly MDMA, for healing sexual trauma. They emphasize that different psychedelics are suited to different traumas and that set and setting are crucial. Natalie highlights the importance of a knowledgeable guide and the process of preparation, including obtaining informed consent. They role-play a preparation session, illustrating the need to address ambivalence and fear. Dr. Skyler experiences anxiety and fear, which Natalie validates and respects. The conversation underscores the necessity of creating a safe therapeutic environment where clients can express their true feelings and needs, empowering them in their healing journey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 31 explores the sacred role of nursing in psychedelic-assisted therapy with Wendy Marussich, co-founder of the Organization of Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses (OPENurses). Wendy shares her unique journey from evolutionary ecologist to oncology nurse to psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and discusses why nurses are uniquely suited for psychedelic work. In this episode, we discuss: Wendy's unconventional path from PhD biologist to oncology nurse, driven by a desire for more meaningful, heart-centered work that could make a tangible difference in people's lives How nurses' training in grounded presence, "non-awkward touch," and crisis management translates perfectly to psychedelic support work—from holding space during difficult journeys to recognizing when someone needs medical intervention The critical importance of discussing consent and boundaries around touch before a session, including practical techniques like testing different types of touch beforehand and using "imaginal touch" when physical contact isn't desired The mission of OPENurses: Creating professional support, education, and ethical standards for nurses working in psychedelic therapy, while advocating for full inclusion of nurses in this emerging field Why having a nurse in the room automatically increases safety as they can authoritatively reassure patients about medical status in a way that truly lands, especially in altered states when perception is heightened Pathways for nurses interested in psychedelic work, including ketamine training programs, experiential learning, and the importance of doing your own inner work before supporting others Resources Mentioned: Open Nurses (Organization of Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses): https://www.opennurses.org Open Nurses YouTube Channel: Monthly interview series with nurses working in psychedelic spaces: https://www.youtube.com/@OPENurses Open Nurses Facebook Group: Community support and networking: https://www.facebook.com/OPENurses The Microdose Newsletter: Free newsletter from UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics - https://psychedelics.berkeley.edu/about-the-microdose/ PRATI (Psychedelic Research and Training Institute): Ketamine training program in Colorado - https://pratigroup.org Polaris Insight Center: Psychedelic therapy training - https://www.polarisinsight.com Zendo Project: Peer support for people having difficult psychedelic experiences at festivals - https://zendoproject.org Kay Parley's Article: "Supporting the Patient on LSD Day" - American Journal of Nursing, 1964 Connect with Carla If you're inspired by this episode and want to stay connected, follow Carla and Psychedelic Divas on social media or visit the website to get your Psychedelic Safety Guide Including What to Do When Things Go Wrong: Website: PsychedelicDivas.com Carla's Coaching: CarlaDetchon.com Instagram: @psychedelicdivas YouTube: @carladetchon Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review Psychedelic Divas. Your support helps amplify these important conversations and grow our community.

The mics are hot and the takes are hotter. This week, the Dicks tackle Trump calling an Olympian a "loser," the ethics of $9,000 medical trials (Jesse volunteers his body for science… and cash), and a deep dive into cognitive decline that actually ends on a hopeful note. Plus: Uber's broken business model, the Mandela Effect vs. government gaslighting, and why Bondi is a real American c*nt. It's loud, it's loose, and it's exactly what you need.

"The Rockin 1000 is a project that started in Italy as gag to create a video of 1000 musicians playing Learn to Fly in order to get the Foo Fighters to come and put on a concert. It has since grown into full scale concerts across Europe. On January 31 the Rockin 1000 played their first concert in America, in New Orleans, and I was part of the band. Let me tell you the story."

What happens when a 20 year mental health veteran has her own existential crisis then undergoes her own psychedelic therapy? In Inna Zelikman's case, it completely transformed how she practices medicine.Inna Zelikman, RN, MS, ANP, PMH-NP, is the Director of Integrative Mental Health at Recovery Without Walls and a MAPS certified MDMA practitioner. Five years ago, her own psychedelic healing journey changed everything about how she sees and treats patients. Now she's challenging the cookie cutter protocols that dominate our field in favor of what she calls an "organic" approach to treatment.In this conversation, Inna shares her comprehensive patient assessment strategies, the medication categories that secretly block healing (even though they're not contraindications), and why some patients have profound psychedelic experiences but can still struggle.From consulting with psilocybin centers in Oregon to treating ketamine addiction, Inna offers a nuanced perspective on the complexities of psychedelic medicine and why proper preparation, support, and integration actually matter for lasting results.What You'll Learn:

We talk with Dr. Scott Sherr rto talk health optimization from the practical to the “hold up… what?” level.We get into light and red light therapy, mitochondria and metabolism, nitric oxide (and why mouthwash can wreck it), the “toxic bucket” concept for modern exposures, EMF/5G concerns and mitigation, and why environment matters more than most people think.Then we go deeper: psychedelics, default mode network, ketamine and integration, marijuana risks for younger users, and how perspective and nervous system regulation can change the game for recovery, sleep, and performance.Special perks for our listeners below!

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Dr. Paul Ryder, founding minister of the Congregation for Sacred Practices, about an alternative framework for psychedelic work rooted in spirituality, ritual, and community rather than medicine alone. Paul Ryder shares how his own experiences led him to treat psychedelics as sacraments, and why he believes the medical model, while valuable, represents only an early phase of the psychedelic renaissance. Together, they explore how CSP operates as both a church and a seminary, training licensed ministers to hold ceremonies ethically, safely, and within a religious legal framework. The conversation also examines the role of community in long-term transformation, the distinction between therapists and ministers, and why practices like breathwork, meditation, and integration circles are central to spiritual development. Throughout, Ryder offers a grounded perspective on how psychedelics can support not just healing, but maturation, responsibility, and a deeper sense of purpose. You can find the full episode summary and related resources here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-342/?ref=278 Episode Links The Congregation for Sacred Practices Episode Sponsors: The Practitioner Certification Program by Third Wave's Psychedelic Coaching Institute. The Microdosing Practitioner Certification at Psychedelic Coaching Institute. Golden Rule - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout Disclaimer: This content is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. We do not promote or encourage the illegal use of any controlled substances. Nothing said here is medical or legal advice. Always consult a qualified medical or mental health professional before making decisions related to your health. The views expressed herein belong to the speaker alone, and do not reflect the views of any other person, company, or organization. Third Wave occasionally partners with or shares information about other people, companies, and/or providers. While we work hard to only share information about ethical and responsible third parties, we can't and don't control the behavior of, products and services offered by, or the statements made by people, companies, or providers other than Third Wave. Accordingly, we encourage you to research for yourself, and consult a medical, legal, or financial professional before making decisions in those areas. Third Wave isn't responsible for the statements, conduct, services, or products of third parties. If we share a coupon code, we may receive a commission from sales arising from customers who use our coupon code. No one is required to use our coupon codes.

In this conversation, Paul Hutchinson, the executive producer of 'Sound of Freedom', shares insights into the making of the film, the challenges faced in bringing awareness to child trafficking, and the deep connections between pornography and trafficking. He discusses his personal journey, motivations for his work, and the importance of healing and integrity in combating these issues. The conversation emphasizes the need for personal transformation and the ripple effect of individual actions on society.  

Send us a textThe brain's mysterious claustrum region, its role in cognitive flexibility, and how substances like alcohol and psychedelics affect neural circuits and behavior. Not medical advice.TOPICS DISCUSSED:Cerebral cortex structure: Described as a six-layered structure with pyramidal neurons and inhibitory interneurons; information flows between layers and regions to process sensory input and enable complex behaviors.Claustrum anatomy & connectivity: A sheet-like subcortical structure embedded in white matter, bidirectionally connected to cortical areas, especially prefrontal regions in rodents, with broader connections in primates and humans suggesting an integrative role.Claustrum function in cognition: Experiments show claustrum activation during task switches from easy to demanding modes, synchronizing cortical networks via inhibition and rebound excitation, potentially enabling flexible behavior.Mouse models in neuroscience: Mice are used for genetic tractability to manipulate and monitor specific circuits, revealing claustrum's role in vigilance tasks but not simple ones.Alcohol's effects on brain circuits: Chronic alcohol promotes inflexible behaviors by altering striatal interneurons and inhibitory inputs, leading to compulsive drinking despite aversive consequences.Psychedelics & brain networks: Psilocybin disrupts default mode and other networks, inhibits claustrum via serotonin 1B receptors, with effects persisting 24 hours, possibly contributing to therapeutic benefits.Evolution of claustrum: Connectivity expands from rodents to humans, shifting from cognitive-specific to broader network control, including anti-correlated states like default mode versus task-engaged.Integration of claustrum & basal ganglia: Claustrum funnels prefrontal signals to basal ganglia for action selection; alcohol may impair this, exacerbating inflexibility in addiction.ABOUT THE GUEST: Brian, PhD is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he leads a neuroscience lab studying brain circuits underlying flexible and inflexible behaviors using mouse models, with a focus on alcohol use disorder.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners: SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off. Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off. AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models. Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they're hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app. KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime) For all the ways you can support my efforts