Michael Pollan — Exploring the Frontiers of Psychedelics (#365)
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“An overactive ego is a tyrant.” – Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan) is the author of seven previous books, including Cooked, Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and The Botany of Desire, all of which were New York Times bestsellers. A longtime contributor to The New York Times Magazine, he also teaches writing at Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley where he is the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Science Journalism. In 2010, TIME magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
His newest book is How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, which will be available as a paperback in May.
And if you haven’t yet, check out “Trip of Compassion”, which is the most compelling movie I’ve seen in the last year. It documents one unusual approach to healing trauma that might astonish you, an innovative treatment involving the psychoactive drug MDMA (commonly known as “ecstasy”). As you will see firsthand, if the therapy is well designed, true rebirth and transformation can happen in a matter of weeks and not years. Find out more by clicking here.
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[image error] [image error] [image error] #365: Michael Pollan — Exploring the Frontiers of Psychedelics
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Want to hear another episode that explores science and psychedelics? — Listen to my conversation with Paul Stamets, an intellectual and industry leader in the habitat, medicinal use, and production of fungi. Stream below or right-click here to download.
#340: Paul Stamets — How Mushrooms Can Save You and (Perhaps) the Worldhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/a347d207-3697-4540-a7fd-5f5344067421.mp3Download
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
Connect with Michael Pollan:
How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan
Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan
Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education by Michael Pollan
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
Psychotomimetic Effects of PCP, LSD, and Ecstasy: Pharmacological Models of Schizophrenia? by Vibeke Sorensen Catts and Stanley V. Catts
Psycholytic and Psychedelic Therapy Research 1931-1995: A Complete International Bibliography compiled by Torsten Passie
Bogus Science: LSD and Chromosome Damage, The Vaults of Erowid
LSD Users Stare at Sun, Snopes
The Time and Life Acid Trip: How Henry R. Luce and Clare Boothe Luce Helped Turn America On to LSD by Jack Shafer, Slate
The Blood Feud That Launched the War on Drugs by Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis, Politico Magazine
How Ken Kesey’s LSD-Fuelled Bus Trip Created the Psychedelic ’60s by Edward Helmore, The Guardian
Thirty Years of Psychedelic Research:The Spring Grove Experiment and Its Sequels by Richard Yensen, Ph.D. and Donna Dryer, M.D., M.P.H.
Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Unit
Rapid and Sustained Symptom Reduction Following Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Life-Threatening Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial by Stephen Ross et al., Journal of Psychopharmacology
I Took a Psychedelic Drug for My Cancer Anxiety. It Changed My Life by Dinah Bazer, Time
Psilocybin Can Occasion Mystical-Type Experiences Having Substantial and Sustained Personal Meaning and Spiritual Significance by R.R. Griffiths et al., Psychopharmacology
Long-Term Follow-Up of Psilocybin-Facilitated Smoking Cessation by Matthew W. Johnson et al., The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
The New Science of Psychedelics by Michael Pollan, The Wall Street Journal
Psilocybin with Psychological Support for Treatment-Resistant Depression: Six-Month Follow-Up by R.L. Carhart-Harris et al., Psychopharmacology
A Double-Blind Trial of Psilocybin-Assisted Treatment of Alcohol Dependence, New York University School of Medicine
The FDA Approved a New Ketamine Depression Drug — Here’s What’s Next by Angela Chen, The Verge
A Dose of Anesthesia Could Blunt Traumatic Memories by Stephanie Pappas, Live Science
Ego-Dissolution and Psychedelics: Validation of the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI) by Matthew M. Nour, Lisa Evans, David Nutt, and Robin L. Carhart-Harris, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
What Is the Difference between 5-MeO DMT and DMT? Choosing a DMT Therapy by Roger R., Psychedelic Times
Ibogaine Therapy for Drug Addiction, MAPS
The Brutal Mirror: What the Psychedelic Drug Ayahuasca Showed Me about My Life by Sean Illing, Vox
Basic Cocktails: How To Make An Old Fashioned, Cocktail Chemistry
The Psychedelic Toad, Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia S2 EP1
The Rotating Mask Illusion, eChalk
Maria Sabina and the Psychedelic Revolution by Robert Bitto, Mexico Unexplained
Bach Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor by Yo-Yo Ma
Depression as a Disease of Modernity: Explanations for Increasing Prevalence by Brandon H. Hidaka, Journal of Affective Disorders
Psychedelics Panel Invited to Mainstream Healthcare Conference by Adam Snider, Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), The Mayo Clinic
Discovering a New Form of Communication in the Brain, Case Western Reserve University
Marcus Raichle on the Default Mode Network, VPRO Labyrint TV
fMRI Brain Imaging: Classic Hallucinogens vs. Mindfulness Meditation by Gary Weber, Science and Nonduality Conference 2012
The Science of Psilocybin and Its Use to Relieve Suffering by Roland Griffiths, TEDMED
The Entropic Brain: A Theory of Conscious States Informed by Neuroimaging Research with Psychedelic Drugs by Robin L. Carhart-Harris et al., Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD Set for FDA Approval by 2021 by Rich Haridy, New Atlas
FDA Approves Psychedelic Magic Mushrooms Ingredient Psilocybin for Depression Trial by Kashmira Gander, Newsweek
After Dropping Bannon, The Mercers Are Looking Into Dropping Ecstasy by Cale Guthrie Weissman, Fast Company
Molly at the Marriott: Inside America’s Premier Psychedelics Conference by Casey Schwartz, The New York Times
LD50: 50% Lethal Dose, The MSDS HyperGlossary
Tusko: The Elephant who Died on LSD, Audible484
The Grateful Dead Dosed Everyone with LSD, RockTalk TV
Could Psychedelics Become an Accepted Treatment for Mental Health Problems? by Guy Kelly, The Telegraph
Powerful Hallucinogen Eyed as Treatment for Alzheimer’s, Chronic Pain, MAPS
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5): The Latest Edition of the DSM Makes Some Controversial Changes by Marcia Purse, Verywell Mind
Stan Grof, Lessons from ~4,500 LSD Sessions and Beyond, The Tim Ferriss Show #347
Like Cannabis, Investors Are Shoving Millions into a Growing Psychedelic Industry by Reilly Capps, Rooster
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
What Do Babies Think? by Alison Gopnik, TEDGlobal 2011
Two Kinds of Consciousness by Alan Watts, AMP3083
Do Psychedelics Expand the Mind by Reducing Brain Activity? by Adam Halberstadt and Mark Geyer, Scientific American
Shortcuts to an Infant-Like View on the World by Shaoni Bhattacharya, New Scientist
Magic Mushrooms As Therapy for Long-Term HIV Survivors? by Emily Land, BETA
Have More Died from Opioids in Two Years than in Vietnam War? by Douglas Soule, Politifact
“Trip of Compassion” — The Most Compelling Movie I’ve Seen In The Last Year by Tim Ferriss
Fantastic Fungi
The Heffter Research Institute
Acid Test: LSD, Ecstasy, and the Power to Heal by Tom Shroder
The Secret Chief Revealed by Myron J. Stolaroff
The Healing Journey: Pioneering Approaches to Psychedelic Therapy by Claudio Naranjo
The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys by James Fadiman
American Society of Ketamine Physicians Directory
Michael Pollan’s Psychedelic Resources Page
SHOW NOTES
What are psychedelics? [08:05]
Why are so many declaring a renaissance in the field of psychedelic research, and what caused the dark age preceding it? [10:46]
Psychedelic applications Michael finds most promising. [16:30]
How do the effects of these substances linger long after their physical presence in the body? [22:33]
What compounds have most captured Michael’s curiosity, and why? [28:41]
Have any of Michael’s psychedelic excursions had a lasting effect? [33:37]
Michael describes his guided high-dose psilocybin experience and brush with ego death. [36:00]
What is the opposite of spiritual? [46:25]
What kind of pushback — and support — has Michael received since How to Change Your Mind was published? [47:34]
While some medical professionals decry psychedelic therapies as unquantifiable by science, Michael points out a lot of currently accepted treatments are equally mysterious. [52:25]
What is the default mode network (DMN), and what are the pros and cons of having an ego? [55:45]
A look at the path forward for therapeutic access to psychedelics: from federal approval to financing. [59:50]
While current press seems positive about the merits of psychedelic therapies, what can we do to avoid a ’60s-style public backlash and subsequent dark age? [1:05:28]
Are psychedelics physiologically safer than Tylenol? What are the psychological risks? [1:07:49]
What progress has been made in the acceptance of psychedelics as a topic of mainstream discussion since How to Change Your Mind was published? [1:11:32]
Psychedelics are not a panacea: a look at what they’re good — and probably not so good — at treating. [1:14:12]
In this field of study that’s so woefully underfunded, where might a potential investor best allocate their funds? [1:18:11]
Two recent documentaries anyone interested in this field should see. [1:25:27]
Worthwhile resources Michael recommends. [1:27:03]
How to find a guide for whatever journeys you may decide to take. [1:29:24]
Parting thoughts. [1:34:06]
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Humphry Osmond
Aldous Huxley
Timothy Leary
Henry Luce
Clare Boothe Luce
Richard Nixon
Galileo Galilei
Roland Griffiths
William James
Andrew Weil
Thierry David
Maria Sabina
Johann Sebastian Bach
Yo-Yo Ma
Marcus Raichle
Robin Carhart-Harris
Rebekah Mercer
Steve Ross
Tom Insel
Stanislav Grof
Joshua Woolley
Alison Gopnik
Brian Anderson
Rick Doblin
Tom Shroder
Leo Zeff
Claudio Naranjo
James Fadiman
