Podcasts

In this episode, Monnica T. Williams, PhD, ABPP joins to discuss how psychedelics may help alleviate mental health impacts of racial trauma. Dr. Williams is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Ottawa in the School of Psychology, where she is the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities.

In this conversation, Dr. Williams begins by highlighting the daily stress and trauma experienced by people of color, likening it to PTSD. She discusses a survey her team conducted which revealed that many people of color use psychedelics to manage racial trauma, showing significant reductions in stress, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, Dr. Williams emphasizes the importance of a safe environment and culturally competent therapists. In closing, she discusses ongoing research at this intersection and the need for more funding and awareness in this field.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How racial trauma manifests as conditions like PTSD, depression, and anxiety

• The importance of an intersectional perspective

• Current treatments for mental health struggles stemming from racial trauma

• Results from Dr. Williams’ research into psychedelic use amongst people of color

• The importance of safe and supportive settings for psychedelic experiences

• How shared life experiences between a therapist and client can strength the therapeutic alliance and improve outcomes

• Why bias training is particularly important in the context of psychedelic therapy

Quotes:

“People of color who live in these white dominated Western contexts are continually bombarded by subtle —and not so subtle—messages about their worth, about their standing in society, about their intelligence, their character, on and on and on and on. And so really the daily onslaught just wears and wears away at people, and the stress of that can actually become traumatizing.” [1:49]

“People heal from trauma when someone witnesses their pain, right? When people can compassionately witness your pain and join in it with you—this is the basis behind all therapeutic approaches for trauma treatment.” [10:13]

“We saw [from our survey study] that many, many people of color are using psychedelics to manage racism, often very quietly. But it seems for many people to be quite effective and quite helpful.” [11:53]

“We looked at some separate psychedelics where we had enough people who described a specific one like psilocybin or LSD or peyote in some cases. And so we were able to look at those psychedelics separately and we didn't actually find a difference. It didn't seem to matter which psychedelic it was. It seemed that they were all, more or less equally effective.” [15:20]

Links:

Dr. Williams’ website

Dr. Williams on X

Dr. Williams on Instagram

Dr. Williams on LinkedIn

Dr. Williams’ study “Investigating the associations of acute psychedelic experiences and changes in racial trauma symptoms, psychological flexibility, and substance use among People with Racial and Ethnic Minoritized Identities in the United States and Canada”

Behavioral Wellness Clinic - Connecticut

Behavioural Wellness Clinic - Ottawa 

Masters Program in Psychedelics and Consciousness Studies at University of Ottawa

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Porangui

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin sits down with Rachel Pastor and Tiffany Hurd, leaders behind Golden Rule Mushrooms, a woman-led microdosing company pushing the boundaries of accessibility, education, and intention in the psychedelic space.

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-309/?ref=278

From overcoming heroin addiction and corporate burnout to leading a values-driven microdosing brand, Rachel and Tiffany share their powerful personal journeys and the mission that fuels their work today. They dive into the evolving landscape of legal psychedelics, the challenges of running a public-facing microdosing company, and the line between recreational use and intentional wellness.

This candid conversation explores how Golden Rule is reframing the perception of psychedelics by offering trustworthy, well-branded psilocybin and LSD microdoses paired with community support and education.

Rachel Pastor is the co-founder of Golden Rule Mushrooms and a passionate advocate for healing through psychedelics. After overcoming heroin addiction and years of trauma, she became a leader in the wellness space, working in fitness and personal development before discovering the transformative power of microdosing. Today, she channels her lived experience into helping others access safe, supportive, and empowering psychedelic tools.

Tiffany Hurd is the co-founder of Golden Rule Mushrooms, a microdosing advisor, leadership mentor, and speaker with over seven years of experience in the psychedelic space. She has guided hundreds of individuals and teams through intentional microdosing journeys using neuroscience-backed protocols. Tiffany’s work bridges personal transformation and professional growth, helping people build emotional resilience, unlock creativity, and heal with integrity.

Ready to try Golden Rule? Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout. Click Here.

Highlights:

• From heroin addiction to fitness leader to microdosing advocate
• Creating accessible, trusted microdosing products
• Navigating legality and risk in a gray-market space
• Building a woman-run company rooted in lived experience
• The role of education in safe microdosing use
• Wellness vs. recreational use
• Can microdosing be overused or misused?
• Microdosing as a catalyst—not a cure-all

Episode Sponsor:

• The Practitioner Certification Program by Third Wave’s Psychedelic Coaching Institute.

***Get 60% off the best energy potion on the market, Magic Mind!  code: THIRDEYE60 *** 

Physicist, engineer, author and philosopher of consciousness, Federico Faggin, returns.

Video Version 👈

Early in his career, Federico designed the world’s first commercial microprocessor at Intel—a breakthrough that helped ignite the digital age. Throughout his legendary Silicon Valley career, he developed core technologies behind modern computing, earning the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. But in 1990, a spontaneous mystical experience shattered his materialist worldview and set him on a radical new path. Since then, Faggin has turned his attention to the mystery of consciousness, proposing a groundbreaking model in which subjective experience is not a byproduct of the brain, but foundational to reality; a reality that is quantum, holographic, and creative. 

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Mollie Adler of the Back from the Borderline Podcast returns to the mind meld!

Video Version 👈

On her show, Mollie explores the esoteric, psychology, the UFO phenomenon, initiation, and the liminal edges of consciousness. She’s also a seeker and experiencer in her own right. In this one, we dive back into the kaleidoscopic hall of mirrors that is the intersection of the UFO phenomenon and human consciousness. How do the two interact? What is their true relationship? What, if anything, do the powers that be really know?

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Joe Moore and Anne Philippi are hosts of the PS25 Morning Show! This one features Dee Dee Goldpaugh, LCSW and Tomasso Barba, PhDC!

We talk about all things Sex and Psychedelics!

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Victoria Lynn Carroll, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who made an unconventional journey from actor to documentary filmmaker.

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-308/?ref=278

Victoria shares how a vision during an ayahuasca ceremony inspired her to create her directorial debut, She Is a Shaman, which provides an intimate look into the personal life of a female ayahuasca shaman in the Peruvian Amazon. She discusses the challenges of filming in the jungle without electricity, the personal transformations that coincided with her creative process, and her decision to release the film for free on YouTube, where it has garnered over 350,000 views. Victoria explores the intersection of sacred storytelling, the role of women in shamanic traditions, and how creating art became a form of surrender for her.

Episode Highlights:

• Receiving the documentary vision during ayahuasca ceremony
• Filming challenges without electricity in Peru's jungle
• The paradoxical everyday life of female shamans
• Navigating ethics while filming sacred ceremonies
• Personal divorce synchronizing with creative breakthrough
• Mystery guest's stormy behavior at the center
• Choosing free YouTube distribution over streaming deals
• Surrender as the filmmaker's creative process
• Unknown Canadian refugee drama at the center
• The translator who fled with bug-bitten lover

Selected Links:

• 'She Is a Shaman on YouTube
• Victoria's Website

Episode Sponsors:

• Golden Rule Mushrooms - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout

n this episode of Psychedelics Today, kicking of Psychedelic Science 2025 week in Denver, we sit down with Jonathan Dicksinson, Chief Executive Officer, and Trevor Millar, Chief Operations Officer of Ambio Life Sciences – one of the world’s leading ibogaine clinics – to explore the potential of ibogaine for addiction, neuroregeneration, and how ethics, honoring experience, and sustainability will be key to delivering ibogaine at scale. 

Trevor shares his early work supporting marginalized populations in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, which led to the founding of Liberty Root, one of Canada’s first ibogaine clinics. Jonathan reflects on his apprenticeship in Mexican clinics, years of international advocacy with the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance, and drafting the first set of clinical guidelines for ibogaine detoxification. Together with paramedic and ibogaine safety protocols expert Jose Inzunza, they co-founded Ambio in Tijuana in 2021.

They discuss:

• The unique safety standards Ambio has pioneered – including industry-wide clinical protocols and magnesium therapy to mitigate cardiac risk.

• Their scale: over 3,000 patients treated, with 100+ clients per month across five dedicated houses in Baja California.

• Ambio’s groundbreaking neuroregenerative program for Parkinson’s, MS, and traumatic brain injury – which has already drawn patients like Brett Favre and Clay Walker.

• How ibogaine appears to drive profound physiological change – including evidence of TBI reversal as shown in Stanford’s 2024 study on Special Forces veterans.

• Why ibogaine isn’t just a molecule – it opens a long-lasting “critical period” of neuroplasticity that must be supported with preparation, integration, and holistic care.

• The deeper story of sourcing: through his company Terragnosis, Jonathan is the only person with a legal export license for Tabernanthe iboga from Gabon, and Ambio is setting a precedent for reciprocal and ethical global supply chains.

• Their cautionary perspective on Texas’ $50M push toward ibogaine clinical trials – and why the traditional “one drug, one indication” model misses the complexity and promise of psychedelic healing.

They also make a compelling case that Ambio is already modeling what the future of psychedelic care should look like – not a single drug in a sterile clinical setting, but a comprehensive, integrated protocol combining preparation, medical oversight, and deep integration. “Start with the end in mind,” Trevor urges – Ambio isn’t just part of the movement; it’s the blueprint for how ibogaine could be delivered worldwide.

Links:

• Ambio Website: https://ambio.life/

• Significant lesion reduction and neural structural changes following ibogaine treatments for multiple sclerosis (Frontiers in Immunology, Feb 2025)

• Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries (Nature Medicine, Jan 2024)

• Ibogaine reduced severe neuropathic pain associated with a case of brachial plexus nerve root avulsion (Frontiers in Pain Research, Aug 2023)

• Novel treatment of opioid use disorder using ibogaine and iboga in two adults (Journal of Psychedelic Studies, Jan 2020)

• Clinical Guidelines for Ibogaine-Assisted Detoxification

• Ambio Life Sciences Launches World's First Clinical Ibogaine Program for Patients With Neurodegenerative Conditions

Bios: 

Jonathan Dickinson is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences. One of the world’s leading experts on ibogaine, Jonathan brings over 15 years of experience in clinical care, traditional practice, and psychedelic research to his leadership at Ambio. A Mexico-licensed psychologist and former Executive Director of the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance, he authored the field’s foundational safety guidelines and has published widely on ibogaine’s therapeutic, cultural, and ecological significance. He holds the only active export license for Tabernanthe iboga root, led the first Nagoya-compliant export from Gabon, and was initiated into the Dissoumba/Fang tradition of Bwiti in 2014 and the Missoko tradition in 2022. He has co-authored peer-reviewed research on ibogaine’s potential for trauma, TBI, pain, MS, and Parkinson’s. At Ambio, he leads strategy, research, and innovation – advancing a globally scalable model of care that bridges tradition, science, and integrity.

Trevor Millar is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences. A social entrepreneur and pioneer in ibogaine advocacy and treatment, Trevor brings over a decade of experience supporting individuals through addiction recovery, trauma healing, and post-treatment integration. His background includes co-founding the Canadian Psychedelic Association and serving as Chair of the Board for MAPS Canada. He has co-authored peer-reviewed research on ibogaine’s applications for trauma, TBI, and opioid use disorder, and has been featured in award-winning documentaries including DOSED and In Waves and War. Grounded in personal experience and guided by a philosophical approach to healing, Trevor is helping shape a new model for ethical, integrative psychedelic care on a global scale. At Ambio, Trevor leads operations, strategic partnerships, and client experience – bridging clinical care with systems design, education, and public advocacy.

In this episode, Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD joins to elucidate the intersection of psychedelics and neuroplasticity. Dr. Carhart-Harris is the Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor in Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. Robin founded the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London in April 2019, was ranked among the top 31 medical scientists in 2020, and in 2021, was named in TIME magazine’s ‘100 Next’ – a list of 100 rising stars shaping the future.

Dr. Carhart-Harris begins by discussing the impact of psychedelics on neuroplasticity and mental health. He explains neuroplasticity as the brain's ability to change, emphasizing its role in mood disorders and substance use and describes how stress atrophies the brain, leading to mental illness. Dr. Carhart-Harris differentiates between neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, noting that while neurogenesis is limited in adults, neuroplasticity can be influenced by psychedelics like ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA. In closing, he also discusses the entropic brain hypothesis, suggesting that increased brain entropy leads to richer subjective experiences. 

In this episode, you'll hear:

• The relationship between neuroplasticity and “canalization” 

• Why homeostatic neuroplasticity may promote mental wellbeing

• Differences between ketamine, MDMA, and serotonergic psychedelics in terms of neuroplasticity

• The details of the entropic brain hypothesis

• Psychedelics’ effect on the default mode network

• The frontiers of research into psychedelics and neuroplasticity 

Quotes:

“So changeability is what plasticity is. And neuroplasticity—that's the ability of the brain to change. Okay, and how is neuroplasticity related to mood disorders like depression and anxiety or substance use disorder or something like that? Well, that's a great question cause we don't have it entirely nailed down. But one of the most reliable findings in biological psychiatry is that stress atrophies the brain.” [2:47]

“The main thing with ketamine is that the window of increased plasticity is brief… That makes sense because that reflects how ketamine seems to work therapeutically—that it provides relief somewhat short-term, unless it is twinned with, say, psychotherapy or you do repeat administration and get someone out of the rut they were in.” [22:15]

“We’ve seen in people with depression, brain networks can become quite segregated from each other—they are ordinarily, they’re quite functionally separate and distinct—but that modularity might be a bit elevated in depression. But what we’ve seen with psilocybin therapy is that separateness between systems, that segregated quality of organization of brain networks, brain systems actually decreases after psilocybin therapy for depression. I’ll put it another way: the brain looks more globally interconnected after psilocybin therapy for depression and the magnitude of that… correlates with improvements.” [39:19]

Links:

Carhart-Harris Lab website

Dr. Carhart-Harris on X

Dr. Carhart-Harris’ 2025 article: “Neuroplasticity and psychedelics: A comprehensive examination of classic and non-classic compounds in pre and clinical models”

Dr. Carhart-Harris’ 2012 article: “Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin”

Dr. Carhart-Harris’ 2010 article with Karl Friston: “The default-mode, ego-functions and free-energy: a neurobiological account of Freudian ideas”

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Porangui

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Dr. Richard Blake, a pioneering psychologist and breathwork researcher, to discuss the science and clinical application of Conscious Connected Breathwork (CCB).

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-307/?ref=278

Dr. Blake shares key insights from his groundbreaking randomized controlled trial—the largest to date—on the effectiveness of CCB for reducing anxiety. The conversation explores the distinctions between breathwork modalities, how altered states are reached without substances, and why trauma-informed facilitation is essential for safe practice.

Paul and Dr. Blake also dive into the pitfalls of mainstream psychotherapy, the overlooked power of lifestyle interventions, and how breathwork compares to both SSRIs and psychedelics in measurable outcomes.

Dr. Richard Blake holds a PhD in Transpersonal Psychology and is a pioneering researcher in the field of breathwork, psychedelics, and holistic mental health. He conducted the largest-ever randomized controlled trial on Conscious Connected Breathwork (CCB), providing groundbreaking scientific evidence on its effects on anxiety and well-being. Dr. Blake works with RUNGA, where he is dedicated to advancing the evolution of mental health treatments—moving beyond head-centered approaches to include breathwork, psychedelics, nutrition, exercise, and other integrative healing practices. His mission is to help people unlock deeper levels of psychological resilience, nervous system regulation, and self-awareness through embodied and experiential methods.

Highlights:

• Why breathwork is a potent tool for trauma and anxiety
• Comparing Holotropic Breathwork to newer trauma-informed approaches
• Facilitator-to-client ratio standards for safety
• The ethics and economics of group breathwork sessions
• Inside the largest randomized trial on CCB for anxiety
• Why 5% adverse effects matters—and how it compares to SSRIs
• The “pivotal mental states” hypothesis explained
• Integration of talk therapy and altered states
• The power of community and connection in healing
• From peak performance to depth psychology: Dr. Blake’s story

Episode Links:

• Website
• RUNGA
• Breathguru
• Richard on Instagram
• RUNGA 90-DAY INTENSIVE, START NOW FOR FREE.

Episode Sponsons:

• Golden Rule Mushrooms - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout

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Video version here (highly recommended)

Picture this, you’re leading a normal life. You’ve got a good career, a family, and then, without warning, you start having spontaneous out-of-body experiences. You start traveling to strange realms, encountering other intelligences, experiencing worlds you swear are just as real as this one. This is exactly what happened to broadcasting executive Robert Monroe in the late 1950s. Before Bob knew it, he found himself in the midst of a truly life-altering multidimensional journey that would change the course of everything for him and thousands of others. In his book, Journeys Out of the Body, Monroe documents dozens of these out-of-body experiences, but there’s one chapter that's always stood out to me. In it, the narrative takes a dark turn. In this chapter, after years of explorations beyond the body, Monroe establishes surprising connections between out-of-body experiences, consciousness and the UFO phenomenon. He also reflects-- What does it all mean? Why are we here? Who—or what—is running the show? And what are they after? His answer to these questions is not pleasant. It involves something far wiser than we are. Something cold and something ancient. Something that wants to harvest us as resources.

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Neuropharmacologist and author, Dr. Andrew Gallimore, returns to the mind meld! Andrew is a neurobiologist, pharmacologist, and author exploring the outer edges of consciousness, psychedelics, and the nature of reality. Known for his groundbreaking work on DMT and its potential to open channels to non-human intelligence, Gallimore weaves together neuroscience, technology, and esoteric philosophy to expand our views of the mind and the universe. In his latest book, Death by Astonishment, Gallimore dives into the startling overlap between DMT entity encounters and UFO abduction experiences, raising profound questions about the nature of intelligence, technology, and the limits of perception. Whether he’s discussing machine elves, multidimensional control systems, or consciousness as a cosmic interface, Gallimore remains one of the most compelling voices at the intersection of science and mystery.

• Andrew's Website
• Andrew's X/Twitter

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In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes back Rick Doblin, Ph.D., Founder and President of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), for a deeply personal and visionary conversation on the recent FDA rejection of MDMA-assisted therapy.

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-306/?ref=278

Rick opens up about the painful setbacks, internal missteps, and his own process of recovery and renewed hope. He explains why this isn’t the end—but a critical turning point for psychedelic medicine.

Rick and Paul unpack the nuances of drug plus therapy, exploring why context, integration, and culture matter as much as pharmacology. They reflect on the future of MAPS, the psychedelic renaissance beyond FDA approval, and how business, politics, and spirituality intersect with healing. The episode also explores Rick’s enduring belief in public benefit models, global collaboration, and the potential of a spiritualized humanity.

Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the Founder and President of MAPS. He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and has spent nearly four decades advancing the safe and legal use of psychedelics and marijuana through science, education, and advocacy.

Highlights:

• The cost of MAPS' quiet period
• Why MDMA therapy was rejected by FDA
• Pharma vs. therapy: What’s best for patients?
• Drug-only treatments vs. integrated therapy
• Ibogaine’s role in brain healing and PTSD
• MAPS’ path forward: Phase 4 vs. Phase 3
• What the Dutch got right about MDMA
• Spiritualized humanity and self-transcendence
• The global impact of MAPS’ work
• Business, love, and psychedelic ethics

Want to attend this year’s Psychedelic Science 2025 Conference? For our community: Use code THIRDWAVE15 for 15% off registration. Learn more and register at psychedelicscience.org — See you there!

Episode Links

• Psychedelic Science 2025 Conference
• MAPS Website
• Psychedelic Science on Instagram
• MAPS on Instagram
• Psychedelic Science on LinkedIn
• MAPS on LinkedIn
• Psychedelic Science on X

Episode Sponsors:

• Golden Rule Mushrooms - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout
• Psychedelic Coacing Isntitute's Intensive for Psychedelic Professionals in Costa Rica - a transformative retreat for personal and professional growth.

In this episode, Dori Lewis, MA, MEd, LPC-S discusses the common myths and misconceptions surrounding psilocybin for healing. Dori is a psychotherapist, co-founder of Elemental Psychedelics, and owner of Reflective Healing in Fort Collins, CO, who specializes in psychedelic-assisted therapy, blending transpersonal psychology with spiritual practices. With experience facilitating ketamine sessions and training clinicians, she advocates for ethical standards in psychedelic medicine while championing a feminine-centered approach to facilitator training.

The first myth that Dori addresses in this conversation is the idea that it is the psilocybin mushroom itself that does all the healing work. Contrary to this common misconception, Dori suggests that it is the client’s own initiative working in tandem with the mushroom that really spurs healing. She also emphasizes that there are not any set protocols for how often psilocybin should be taken for healing, instead suggesting that clients should be guided to attune to their own internal intuition to determine when a psilocybin journey may be particularly helpful. 

Another misconception Dori addresses is that healing with psilocybin can occur without causing deep transformations in one’s identity or shifts in one’s worldview. She suggests facilitators must be very transparent about these possible impacts to best prepare clients for these kinds of major changes that psilocybin can catalyze. In closing, Dori reiterates that clients should be supported and prepared to encounter intense emotional experiences with psilocybin, as some of the most difficult psychedelic journeys can actually be the most healing.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• The biggest myths and misconceptions Dori encounters working with clients in her practice

• The importance of a relational understanding of psychedelic healing

• The specific types of trauma where psilocybin may be a particularly effective healing modality 

• The training for psilocybin facilitators in Colorado under the Natural Medicines Program and the importance of scope of practice

• Why some people’s mental health gets worse before it gets better following a psilocybin experience

• What can cause lack of response to psilocybin therapy and how better preparation can often mitigate this

Quotes:

“Mushrooms are amazing and they can help us in our healing journey. But they are one tool in a mosaic of other tools that we can use to help ourselves heal and grow and change.” [6:54]

“I don’t really know where this message came from—that mushrooms cure PTSD—but that is a huge myth. They can help—with certain types of trauma within the context of a healthy therapeutic relationship with a skilled provider, yes, at times when it is right. But ultimately the best medicine for trauma is going to be MDMA—and ketamine.” [18:18]

“It is the responsibility of providers and facilitators to inform clients of the realistic expectations they should have for their [psychedelic] journeys—and that is also an ethical need and something that facilitators need to consider through an ethical lens.” [25:20]

“There’s a lot to be said about the unique ways that mushrooms express through our bodies and through our minds and through our hearts that give us information about where we are at and where we need to work or continue to work in order to access the healing we so desire.” [37:34]

Links:

Dori on LinkedIn

Elemental Psychedelics on LinkedIn

Elemental Psychedelics website  

Previous episode: Integrating Challenging Psychedelic Experiences with Keith Kurlander, MA

Previous episode: The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project with Jules Evans

Previous episode: The Dangers of "Ayahuasca Told Me…" with Jerónimo Mazarrasa

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Porangui

In this episode of Psychedelics Today, hosts sit down with Jeff Breau from Harvard Divinity School's Center for the Study of World Religions. Key themes include the intersection of psychedelics and religion, harm reduction practices, and the burgeoning psychedelic church movement. Jeff brings insights from his ethnographic research on psychedelic churches and discusses the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration for advancing understanding in this field. He also delves into the role of music in psychedelic therapy, critiques of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), and the potential for psychedelic chaplaincy. Tune in for an enlightening conversation on the evolving landscape of psychedelics in society and spirituality.

 

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:18 Music in Psychedelic Therapy

02:13 Cultural Context of Music in Therapy

06:08 Personal Journey into Psychedelics and Religion

08:40 Living at an Ashram and Spiritual Practices

15:52 Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ)

33:01 Psychedelic Churches and Legal Challenges

46:11 The Intersection of Law and Religion

46:34 Emergence of Psychedelic Churches

48:41 The Democratization of Mystical Experiences

49:49 Technologies of Revelation

51:10 Novel Rituals and Spiritual Practices

53:49 Humor and Irreverence in Religion

56:44 Reevaluating the Term 'Cult'

01:10:11 Psychedelic Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care

01:18:44 Burning Man as a Model for Religiosity

01:22:43 The Rise of Iboga in American Christianity

01:25:56 Conclusion and Future Directions

Links

https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/people/jeffrey-breau

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Bryan Hubbard, a prominent advocate for psychedelic-assisted therapies, particularly ibogaine in the treatment of opioid addiction and mental health disorders. 

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-305/?ref=278

Update (May 2025): Days before this episode's release, the Texas House approved a Senate-backed bill to fund ibogaine research through a public-private partnership aimed at securing FDA approval. This vote marks a major milestone in the movement Bryan describes throughout this conversation.

Bryan shares his journey from leading Kentucky's Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission to spearheading breakthrough ibogaine research initiatives in Texas. He articulates ibogaine's unique neurological properties, discussing how it can reset brain neurochemistry in 36 hours and potentially treat conditions from traumatic brain injury to Parkinson's disease. The conversation explores the spiritual dimensions of ibogaine experiences, the political landscape surrounding psychedelic medicine, and Bryan's ongoing efforts to medicalize ibogaine through FDA drug development trials, highlighting Texas as the next frontier for this life-saving research.

W. Bryan Hubbard is the Executive Director of the American Ibogaine Initiative. He is the first and former Chairman and Executive Director of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. He concurrently served as Special Counsel to the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control and was its prior Executive Director. He served on the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health, the Kentucky Child Support Guidelines Commission, Mine Safety Review Board, and the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy’s Recovery Ready Communities Advisory Council. He previously served as Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Income Support wherein he led the Commonwealth’s Social Security Disability and Child Support Enforcement systems. He practiced workers’ compensation law representing Walmart, Tyson Foods, and Tennessee Valley Authority for sixteen years. During his practice years, he observed the predacious onset of Kentucky’s Opioid Epidemic amid generational joblessness, poverty, disability, and substance use. He was raised in Virginia’s coalfields and is the proud grandson of two grade-school educated coal miners on whose shoulders he stands.

Highlights:

• Why ibogaine interrupts addiction instantly
• The Stanford study that changed everything
• Resetting brain neurochemistry in 36 hours
• From Parkinson's to PTSD: Ibogaine's broad applications
• The spiritual awakening dimension of treatment
• How pharmaceutical interests block breakthrough medicine
• Kentucky's lost opportunity: $42 million for research
• Texas as the new frontier for ibogaine medicalization
• Matrix pharmacology: Ibogaine's intelligent mechanism
• The political war over life-saving psychedelic medicine

Episode Links

• Website
• American Ibogaine Initiative
• Instagram: @w_bryan_hubbard
• X (Formerly Twitter): @w_bryan_hubbard
• Linkedin

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Major Paul Smith, Ph.D enters the mind meld!

Want to join us at Contact in the Desert? Use code THIRDEYE10 for 10% off of your tickets

Video Version Here

Dr. Paul H. Smith is a retired U.S. Army intelligence officer, philosopher of consciousness, and one of the military’s original remote viewers trained under the classified Stargate Program. Paul holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the UT Austin, where his research focused on the nature of consciousness and the implications of psi phenomena. He is the author of Reading the Enemy's Mind and The Essential Guide to Remote Viewing. He's also a leading voice at the intersection of military intelligence and psi phenomena.

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In this episode, Joe Moore sits down with Paul Gillis-Smith from The Center for the Study of World Religions to discuss a range of fascinating topics. They begin by discussing the Harvard Divinity School and the CSWR’s mission and history. The conversation delves into the work and legacy of Lisa Bieberman, a pivotal figure in the 1960s psychedelic harm reduction movement. It explores her contributions to the field through her Psychedelic Information Center. They also touch on the Quaker traditions and their intersection with LSD use, showing how spirituality and psychedelics can coalesce. Paul also talks about upcoming psychedelic and chaplaincy workshops, emphasizing the importance of spiritual care in psychedelic experiences. This episode is rich with historical insights and contemporary applications, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in psychedelics and spirituality.

Paul Gillis-Smith @ CSWR

Center for the Study of World Religions

Psychometric brahman, psychedelic science: Walter Stace, transnational Vedanta, and the Mystical Experience Questionnaire

00:00 Introduction and Initial Setup

00:34 Meeting at Penn's Psychedelic Conference

01:14 Postdoctoral Presentations and Indigenous Plant Medicine

03:27 Understanding CSWR and Its Evolution

07:21 Harvard's Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture

09:11 Personal Academic Journey and Interest in Psychedelics

11:58 Role at CSWR and Ongoing Projects

18:59 Lisa Bieberman: A Pioneer in Psychedelic Education

40:53 Quaker Theology of LSD

41:58 Meeting Structure and Frequency

42:46 Profound Simple Truths

45:41 Transition to Quakerism

48:45 The New Jerusalem Prophecy

53:02 Quakerism and Its Influence

01:11:25 Clinical Chaplaincy and Psychedelics

01:18:39 Conclusion and Future Projects

Join us in the latest episode of the Drug Science Podcast, where we talk with Dr. Grace Blest-Hopley, Director of Research for Heroic Hearts Project UK, Chief Scientific Officer of NW PharmaTech, and founder and CEO of Hystelica. In the episode, she explore where psychedelic studies have largely ignored women’s physiology, particularly in failing to acknowledge and control for hormonal fluctuations. Grace particularly emphasises the necessity for greater investigations and understandings around the intersection of psychedelics and the menstrual cycle, explaining how Hystelica attempts to bridge this gap with naturalistic and observational studies. Throughout, the discussion examines how, by researching these unknowns, we can discover new treatment opportunities that better serve women’s health.

Heroic Hearts Project UK

Hystelica

NWPharmaTech

MDMA

Psilocybin Retreats Study

Mothers of the mushroom

Microdosing Study

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In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Dr. Pedram Shojai, known as The Urban Monk, a former Taoist monk and doctor of Oriental medicine.  Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-304/?ref=278

Pedram shares his journey from intensive martial arts training under one of the last living descendants of a Daoist monastery to bringing ancient wisdom into modern life. He discusses the challenges of integrating monastic practices into householder living, the relationship between physical vitality and spiritual growth, and offers a balanced perspective on psychedelics. Dr. Shojai explores the importance of strengthening one's vessel before seeking peak experiences, the risks of "shortcut spirituality," and how ancient contemplative practices can help us live with greater presence in today's fast-paced world.

Dr. Pedram Shojai is the founder and director of The Urban Monk Academy and the New York Times bestselling author of Rise and Shine, The Urban Monk, The Art of Stopping Time, Inner Alchemy, Exhausted, Trauma, Focus, and Conscious Parenting.

He's the producer of the movies Vitality, Origins, Prosperity, and The Great Heist, as well as the docuseries Interconnected, Gateway to Health, Exhausted, Trauma, Conscious Parenting, Hormones Health & Harmony, and Gut Check.

He hosts "The Urban Monk" podcast and is a key influencer in the health and personal development space. As a prominent physician in the functional medicine space, he's known for his ability to bring people together around ideas that matter.

In his spare time, he's a kung fu–practicing world traveler, a fierce global green warrior, an avid backpacker, a devout alchemist, and an old-school Jedi biohacker working to preserve our natural world and wake us up to our full potential.

Episode Highlights: 

• From Kung Fu to contemplative practice
• The path of the "fire monk"
• Strengthening the vessel before spiritual work
• The life garden: mindful householder practice
• Vitality as prerequisite for spiritual growth
• Integrating ancient wisdom into modern life
• Jing, Qi, and Shen: energy management principles
• Nervous system preparation for psychedelics
• Awareness as background process, not app
• Atlantis origins of contemplative practices

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• Golden Rule Mushrooms - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout

In this episode, Jodie NewDelman, PsyD joins to discuss the benefits and risks of leveraging psychedelics for professional growth. For over three decades, Dr. NewDelman has been an executive consultant, health system advisor, licensed psychologist, and clinical supervisor. She is also trained and certificated in psychedelic medicine and has been working with growth-oriented professionals developing greater alignment between their leadership roles at work and their personal lives.

In this conversation, Dr. NewDelman discusses the typical struggles people experience in their professional lives and where psychedelic experiences may provide insight and empowerment to become more aligned with one’s work. She unpacks the psychological experience of being “stuck,” something that psychedelics may specifically help overcome. 

Beyond individualistic approaches to professional growth, Dr. NewDelman also discusses the importance of humanizing the workforce and how conscious leadership is crucial to achieve this goal. In closing, Dr. NewDelman warns against the danger of trying to implement radical changes after a psychedelic experience without sufficient integration, emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to this work. 

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Navigating feelings of imposter syndrome and experiences of marginalization

• The importance of work life balance and how to psychedelic experiences can empower reflection on this topic

• Why clear intention is crucial for leveraging psychedelic experiences for professional growth

• The danger of spiritual bypassing after profound psychedelic experiences

Quotes:

“No matter who you are, you're going to have your own set of intentions. The intentions will be bespoke. And maybe you don't know the first or second time what you want to work on when you go into it—an experiential medicine session. But eventually we can narrow those themes down to what it is that we really need insight on.” [22:01]

“if you need to focus on some nitty gritty, annoying detail [at work], no matter how transcendent your perspective is in your psychedelic medicine session, you still have to do the thing at work. You still have to make the practical changes. So we need to kind of stay tethered to reality in that way.” [38:58]

“Our tendency is to avoid pain, right? We want to go away from the obstacles. And if psychedelics teach us nothing else, it's that we need to go through the storm. We need to turn toward the issue.” [40:25]

Links:

Essensuate website

Essensuate on Instagram

Essensuate on LinkedIn  

Essensuate on Facebook 

What Are The Habits of Mind? - The Institute for the Habits of Mind

Previous episode: Psilocybin for Addressing Burnout with Tracy Kim Townsend, MD

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Porangui

Email: jodie@essensuate.com

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Dr. Richard Schwartz, creator of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of psychotherapy. Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-303/?ref=278 Dick shares how he discovered that psychedelics naturally facilitate access to what IFS calls "Self energy" - the compassionate core within everyone that can heal wounded parts. He explains how medicines like ketamine and MDMA help relax protective parts of our psyche, revealing both Self energy and exiled parts that need healing. Dick reveals his personal journey with psychedelics, including his work with ketamine-assisted IFS therapy, and discusses the relationship between psychedelic experiences and spiritual guides. He emphasizes how reframing "bad trips" as opportunities for exiled parts to be witnessed can transform challenging experiences into profound healing moments. Dick Schwartz began his career as a family therapist and academic at the University of Illinois at Chicago. There he discovered that family therapy alone did not achieve full symptom relief. His patients became his teachers as they described their inner "parts," which formed networks resembling the families he had been working with. He found that when patients separated from these parts, they shifted into a state of curiosity, calm, confidence, and compassion—what he called the Self. From these explorations, the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model was born in the early 1980s. Now evidence-based, IFS has become widely used, particularly for trauma work, offering non-pathologizing techniques for individuals, couples, families, corporations, and classrooms. Dick lives with his wife Jeanne near Chicago. Highlights: 

• The natural synergy between psychedelics and IFS therapy
• How psychedelics temporarily quiet protective "manager" parts
• Understanding how there are “no bad parts” of the psyche
• The difference between Self and parts in IFS
• Reconceptualizing "bad trips" as healing opportunities
• IFS and shadow work
• How psychedelics accelerate access to exiled parts
• Moving IFS beyond therapy into leadership and systemic change
• Legacy burdens: healing inherited trauma collectively
•  

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In this episode of Psychedelics Today, Joe Moore speaks with Dr. Simon Ruffell, a London-based psychiatrist, researcher, and curandero-in-training in the López Maler lineage of the Shipibo tradition. Dr. Ruffell shares how his early fascination with psychiatry eventually led to a deep disillusionment with the limitations of conventional treatments—and a surprising pivot toward the Amazon.

Now working at the intersection of Indigenous healing and clinical research, Ruffell describes his journey from medical school to shamanic apprenticeship. He offers insight into the Shipibo understanding of illness across three planes—spiritual, psychological, and physical—and how these ideas challenge Western frameworks.

The conversation explores critical questions about the psychedelic renaissance: Are current clinical models missing the energetic and spiritual dimensions of healing? What are the risks of poorly held psychedelic sessions, and how can Indigenous knowledge guide safer practices? Dr. Ruffell advocates for deep training, cross-cultural respect, and collaborative models—such as pairing Indigenous healers with psychiatrists in clinical settings.

He also discusses his work with Onaya Science and Onaya.io, organizations that partner with Indigenous communities to study the effects of ayahuasca, particularly in treating PTSD among military veterans. Early findings from their five-year study show that 84% of participants no longer meet PTSD criteria six months after retreat—a promising signal for integrative approaches.

This episode offers a rare look at how science and spirituality can coexist. Whether you're a clinician, researcher, or someone seeking deeper healing, Dr. Ruffell’s story invites us to question our assumptions and expand our understanding of what true medicine can be.

Episode 06: Luke Storey - The Life Stylist   This episode of the podast features an all new interview with Luke Storey; podcaster, human optimization expert and wellness coach. We dive into many layers of mutual intersections around addiction, recovery, psychedelics and reinvention. Luke's story and approach to using psychedelics as a wisdom tool and growth agent is one worth paying attention too.    Also, Zach Leary's new book 'Your Extraordinary Mind: Psychedelics in the 21st Century and How to Use Them' is out now and available whereever books are sold!   NOTE - The Psychedelics Then and Now Podcast is also available on YouTube @zachleary108   About Luke Storey   Luke experienced significant neglect and abuse as a young child. In his pre-teen years, he turned to drugs and crime to escape his emotional turmoil. After a burglary arrest at 14, he was sentenced to a two-year wilderness reform school for troubled teens. Unaided by this intervention, Luke soon returned to addiction, having failed to heal his underlying issues.   At age 19, Luke moved to Hollywood, CA, to pursue his dreams as a musician. But carrying forward unresolved childhood trauma, he soon found himself lost in the city's shadows, addicted to alcohol, heroin, and crack. Mental, emotional, and physical illness were familiar companions as his life spiraled toward oblivion. Thankfully, his desperation inspired an interest in Eastern mysticism and alternative medicine, which later became integral to his redemption.   One evening, during a harrowing psilocybin mushroom trip, Luke was confronted by this hopelessness of his situation. Unable to avoid the harsh reality of his predicament, he subsequently entered a drug treatment center at the age of 26. Humbled by 15 years in the bondage of addiction, Luke willingly embraced the 12-Step approach to recovery. There he discovered the transformative power of spiritual principles and prayer. This process of surrender facilitated a spiritual awakening that forever changed the course of his life.   Inspired by this newfound freedom, Luke began channeling his passion for escapism into pursuing spiritual wisdom and higher states of consciousness. Through his reawakening, he became deeply committed to understanding the healing process and helping others overcome their limitations.

Longtime UFO researcher, author, and historian Richard Dolan enters the mind meld.

**Want to join us at Contact in the Desert? use code THIRDEYE10 for 10% off of your tickets**

In this one, renowned researcher Richard Dolan joins me to peel back the layers of the enigma that is the UFO phenomenon. Using his book Alien Agendas as a springboard, we dive into the speculative and the startling: The possibility of an ongoing alien hybridization program, genetic manipulation, consciousness, the various flavors of non-human intelligence, and whether these entities—whatever they are—should be seen as allies, adversaries, or something far stranger.

This conversation isn't just about what's out there, it's about how deeply it might already be entangled with us. 

 

In this latest episode of the Drug Science Podcast, we talk with Natalia Rebollo and Jesús Alonso Olamendi of the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service (ICEERS). They discuss the lasting legacy of colonialism in the psychedelic culture of indigenous communities, stressing the need for the sacredness of these substances to be uplifted and not commodified. Throughout, they explore their work with ICEER’s Ayahuasca Defense Fund and how it has begun to change the narrative surrounding psychedelics in prohibitionist countries. Operating between indigenous communities and the Western world, they provide a unique perspective that shows how both communities can learn from each other.

 

ICEERS

Ayahuasca Defense Fund

Ayahuasca

DMT

Ayahuasca Legal Battle in France

Technical Report on Ayahuasca

Colombia's CND68 Resolution

Ibogaine

Spanish Ibogaine Trial

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Aspen Psychedelic Symposium 2024 – Hosted by Kevin Franciotti

This powerful panel explores the healing potential and complex responsibilities that come with working with Ibogaine, a potent plant-based psychedelic. Moderator Kevin Franciotti guides a heartfelt and informative conversation with Talia Eisenberg, Tom Feegel, and Dr. Lola "Dr. O" Hoba, highlighting personal transformation, medical protocols, and the importance of honoring traditional knowledge.

Personal Journeys with Ibogaine

Talia Eisenberg shares her recovery from opioid addiction and the founding of BEOND Ibogaine, a medical treatment center in Cancun, Mexico. Her story illustrates the plant’s unique power to interrupt addiction and awaken purpose. Tom Feegel, co-founder and CEO of BEOND, shares how his own trauma and long-term sobriety inspired a vision for a safe, respectful, and medically supervised environment for deep healing.

Clinical and Cultural Wisdom

Dr. Lola Hoba offers insights as a pharmacist and Yoruba herbalist, bridging traditional plant medicine knowledge with modern pharmacology. She describes how iboga works on multiple brain receptors and why it holds so much promise for treating addiction, depression, and trauma. She also cautions about its cardiac risks and calls for respectful, trained facilitation.

Safety, Access, and Sustainability

Panelists discuss the rigorous safety protocols at BEOND, including ICU-level care, psychiatric screening, and pre-treatment evaluations. They also explore broader questions: How can this medicine be offered responsibly? What does reciprocity mean in practice? BEOND supports Blessings of the Forest, a nonprofit in Gabon that works to stop poaching and protect Indigenous access to the sacred root.

A Call for Balance and Respect

This conversation highlights the importance of blending science, spirit, and social justice. From trauma healing to sustainable sourcing, each panelist emphasizes the need for compassion, caution, and connection. As laws change and access grows, the panel urges all involved to move forward with care—for the medicine, the people it serves, and the cultures that have stewarded it for generations.

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Marlena Robbins, a proud member of the Diné (Navajo) nation and doctoral student at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Marlena shares her personal journey with psilocybin mushrooms and how they helped reconnect her with her heritage and family. Her research examines the cultural, social, and policy aspects of psilocybin use within Native communities, highlighting differences between urban and rural perspectives to inform educational frameworks, culturally-informed psychedelic assisted therapy models, and public health policy.

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-302/?ref=278

Marlena Robbins is pursuing a Doctor of Public Health degree at UC Berkeley. Her research examines the cultural, social, and policy aspects of psilocybin use within Native communities, highlighting differences between urban and rural perspectives to inform educational frameworks, culturally-informed psychedelic assisted therapy models and public health policy.

Robbins is a graduate student researcher at the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, focusing on program evaluation. Her residency with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration led to the development of a tribal engagement toolkit, showcasing the significance of psychedelics in spiritual, recreational and conservative contexts among Tribal communities.

Recently, Robbins was invited to join the Federally Recognized American Tribes and Indigenous Community Working Group for the Natural Medicine Health Act with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. This role enables her to advocate for the protection of sacred plants against commercialization and cultural misappropriation.

Highlights:

• Finding sobriety and healthy motherhood through mushrooms
• First experience of Hozhó: beauty, harmony, and balance Reconnecting with mother through shared psychedelic healing
• Advocating for indigenous representation in psychedelic research
• Applying indigenous critical lens to psychedelic policy
• Personifying medicines as relatives with their own spirits
• Evaluating psychedelic integration in Native mental health systems
• Moving beyond capitalism toward reciprocal relationships with medicines
• Meeting ancestral trauma with courage instead of avoidance
• Building bridges between indigenous knowledge and Western healthcare

Episode Sponsors:

• Psychedelic Coacing Isntitute's Intensive for Psychedelic Professionals in Costa Rica - a transformative retreat for personal and professional growth.
• Golden Rule Mushrooms - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout

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Psychologist and longtime initiate of Tibetan Buddhism, Dr. Miles Neale enters the mind meld!

Video Version Here

Miles' new book, Return with Elixir, is available now. Miles argues that we’re amid a global initiation. This rite of passage is constellating in countless forms: Strange visitations from other intelligences, ecological collapse, the emergence of AI, a transformation in our personal and collective identities, geopolitical insanity, the list goes on. But beneath it all, there’s a pattern. A new myth, a new age emerging.  

🥰 Support TED and join the community on Patreon

🎧 Sub and Review on Apple Podcasts 

🎧 Sub and Review on Spotify

 👁Watch and Subscribe on Youtube

🌀 Website 

🥰 Support TED and join the community on Patreon

Psychologist and longtime initiate of Tibetan Buddhism, Dr. Miles Neale enters the mind meld!

Video Version Here

Miles' new book, Return with Elixir, is available now. Miles argues that we’re amid a global initiation. This rite of passage is constellating in countless forms: Strange visitations from other intelligences, ecological collapse, the emergence of AI, a transformation in our personal and collective identities, geopolitical insanity, the list goes on. But beneath it all, there’s a pattern. A new myth, a new age emerging.  

🥰 Support TED and join the community on Patreon

🎧 Sub and Review on Apple Podcasts 

🎧 Sub and Review on Spotify

 👁Watch and Subscribe on Youtube

🌀 Website 

🥰 Support TED and join the community on Patreon

Author, consciousness adventurer, Rebel Wisdom and Kainos founder Alexander Beiner returns!

Video version here

We explore the mysterious alien languages reported by seekers in altered states, as Alex shares insights from his participation in a groundbreaking extended-state DMT study. He also opens up about a profound non-dual experience encountered during a separate Imperial College research session. Along the way, we muse on the meaning crisis, the evolving face of spirituality, and what might lie beyond the veil of consensus reality.

🥰 Support TED and join the community on Patreon

🎧 Sub and Review on Apple Podcasts 

🎧 Sub and Review on Spotify

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🌀 Website 

 

 

A panel discussion with Jim Harris, Rachel Zoeller, DPT, David W. McMillan, Ph.D., and Manesh Girn, Ph.D. Recorded live at the Aspen Psychedelic Symposium

In this riveting and deeply personal conversation, moderator Jim Harris is joined by three pioneers at the intersection of neuroscience, psychedelics, and disability: Dr. Rachel Zoeller (Doctor of Physical Therapy and spinal cord injury survivor), Dr. David McMillan (Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Miami), and Dr. Manesh Girn (neuroscientist and postdoctoral researcher with Robin Carhart-Harris at UCSF). Together, they explore how psychedelics may do far more than treat depression or catalyze mystical experiences—they may also support healing and regeneration in the nervous system.

The discussion opens with an acknowledgment that our cultural understanding of psychedelics has mostly focused on their psychological and spiritual effects. But as these experts reveal, the somatic potential of psychedelics is vast and understudied. They delve into promising areas like central and peripheral neuroplasticity, the anti-inflammatory effects of psychedelics, and how these mechanisms might play a role in healing from spinal cord injuries or paralysis.

Dr. Girn breaks down the science behind psilocybin's interaction with 5-HT2A serotonin receptors, not only in the brain but also in the spinal cord. These receptors, when activated, may increase neuronal excitability and even help restore lost signaling in damaged motor pathways. He suggests that psychedelics could reopen “critical periods” for neuroplasticity—windows of opportunity for the nervous system to rewire and heal.

Rachel Zoeller shares her powerful lived experience as both a physical therapist and a spinal cord injury patient. Her story brings the science to life, particularly her observation that psychedelic experiences help her reconnect to parts of her body affected by paralysis. Psychedelics, she suggests, have allowed her to rebuild mind-body communication and foster compassion toward her own physical limitations. She also underscores the need for patients to cultivate body awareness, meditation, and breathwork as essential tools for safe and effective psychedelic use.

Dr. McMillan, who leads outreach at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, provides a clinical and safety-oriented perspective. While optimistic about the potential, he urges caution—especially with individuals who have high-level spinal cord injuries and are vulnerable to serious complications like autonomic dysreflexia. He stresses that before we can bring these treatments into clinical settings, we must carefully assess physiological risk, develop precise pharmacological protocols, and prioritize patient safety.

The panel also addresses cultural and spiritual interpretations of spasticity. Drawing on both shamanic and somatic perspectives, they propose that these involuntary muscle contractions could be reinterpreted not as dysfunction, but as potential portals for healing, integration, or neurological feedback. The idea that such spasms might help the brain remap muscle groups is discussed as a provocative and hopeful reframe.

The conversation wraps with a call to action: to bring together indigenous wisdom, embodied knowledge, rigorous science, and community storytelling in order to chart a new frontier in psychedelic medicine—one that does not leave the disabled community behind. As McMillan puts it, "There’s a lesson to psychedelia from paralysis.” It’s a reminder that neuropharmacology must consider not just molecules and mechanisms, but people and possibilities.

Whether you're a clinician, researcher, patient, or curious explorer, this panel is a moving and illuminating look at how psychedelics could transform not only minds—but bodies.

Thanks to Aspen Public Radio, Aspen Psychedelic Resource Center, Healing Advocacy Fund and Aspen Psychedelic Symposium for allowing us to share this podcast.

A full agenda from the symposium can be found here.

In this special panel, Joe Moore of Psychedelics Today is joined by Sandor Iron Rope, Lakota spiritual leader and peyote practitioner, and Zach Leary, writer and advocate for psychedelic culture. Together, they explore the critical importance of respecting the cultural, spiritual, and ecological roots of plant medicines. Sandor shares powerful reflections on the Lakota worldview, the trauma of colonization, and the deep spiritual kinship indigenous peoples hold with medicinal plants. Zach reflects on the American counterculture's relationship with psychedelics, highlighting the need to preserve mysticism and community over commercialization.

The panel dives into challenges around synthetic versus natural medicines, the risks of spiritual harm when practices are rushed or disconnected from tradition, and the urgent need for indigenous voices at the table as psychedelic policy evolves. Throughout, a theme emerges: slow down, honor kinship, and build right relationship with nature, culture, and spirit.

This conversation offers a rare and necessary bridge between indigenous wisdom and the psychedelic resurgence, calling for respect, collaboration, and a return to deep roots to guide future generations.

Learn more at ipci.life and psychedelicstoday.com.

In this episode, Tracy Kim Townsend, MD, joins to discuss the potential efficacy of psilocybin therapy for addressing burnout, particularly in healthcare professionals. Dr. Townsend is a Harvard-trained medical doctor, licensed psilocybin facilitator, and the Co-Founder & CEO of Meadow Medicine, one of the only legal psilocybin service centers based in the U.S., founded and led by an MD.

In this conversation, Dr. Townsend gives an overview of burnout and discusses its prevalence amongst healthcare professionals due to the intense nature of these professions. She mentions the relevance of the wounded healer archetype for many physicians and how this identity can intersect with experiences of burnout. Turning to psilocybin therapy, Dr. Townsend discusses how these psychedelic treatments can help address burnout through promoting neuroplasticity and facilitating effective emotional processing. Following these experiences, patients are often much better poised to make well-considered life changes to help stave off burnout. Dr. Townsend concludes by emphasizing the importance of integration following psychedelic journeys to ensure maximal benefit and effectiveness of these treatments. 

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How burnout develops

• How technology and culture have contributed to the rise of burnout

• The symptoms of burnout

• Supporting career longevity for physicians

• How psilocybin may support patients looking to address burnout

• Clinical research into psilocybin for burnout in healthcare professionals

• Why loosening the grip on one’s identity and ego dissolution may be tied to the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics

Quotes:

“One core area that I see psilocybin playing a role [for addressing burnout] is just creating these spaces where we can process emotions and integrate them.” [21:41]

“SSRIs, which are the gold standard intervention right now for depression, usually result in about a nine-point drop [in depression scores on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale], which is really no better than placebo… Whereas psilocybin showed a three-fold drop—there’s really no intervention for depression we see with that dramatic of results.” [25:17]

“Another thing that I think is remarkable, too is… you continue to see the benefits—if you check scores immediately after the [psilocybin] journey and then at six months out, there continues to be improvement in mental health scores.” [29:06]

Links:

Dr. Townsend on Instagram

Dr. Townsend on X

Meadow Medicine website 

“Psilocybin Therapy for Clinicians With Symptoms of Depression From Frontline Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Clinical Trial” by Anthony L. Back, MD et al.

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Porangui

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Sam Mandel, co-founder and CEO of Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles (KCLA). Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-301-sam-mandel/?ref=278 Sam shares his journey co-founding KCLA with his father in 2014, pioneering ketamine infusion therapy when few were exploring its potential for mental health. From humble beginnings in a storage closet to becoming a leading mental health center with over 30,000 infusions administered, Sam discusses the challenges and triumphs of building a patient-centric practice. He explains the science behind ketamine's effectiveness compared to alternatives like Spravato, highlights the importance of individualized treatment, and offers a passionate critique of the current mental healthcare system while envisioning what meaningful reform could look like.

Co-founder & CEO of Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles (KCLA), Sam Mandel has channeled his lifelong passion for healthcare advocacy into transforming mental health care. From volunteering at a teen-to-teen suicide prevention hotline at twelve to pioneering one of the foremost Ketamine Infusion Therapy clinics in 2014 alongside his father, Dr. Steven L. Mandel, Sam has been featured in Entrepreneur's Top 10 Inspiring Healthcare Entrepreneurs (2023) and earned two 2024 Stevie Awards. Under his leadership, KCLA has provided over 30,000 infusions to more than 6,000 patients with an 83% success rate, establishing gold-standard treatment protocols while expanding services to include General Psychiatry and TMS therapy. Highlights: 

• The founding story of KCLA and early skepticism from the medical community
• Why IV ketamine outperforms nasal Spravato in efficacy and cost-efficiency
• Creating individualized ketamine protocols for optimal patient outcomes
• How insurance companies create barriers to effective mental healthcare
• KCLA's 83% success rate compared to 50-70% in controlled research settings
• Expanding from ketamine to TMS and general psychiatry
• Preparing for future psychedelic medicines like MDMA and psilocybin
• The critical flaws in America's mental healthcare system

Episode Links: 

• Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles (KCLA)
• The difference between Ketamine and Spravato (esketamine)
• Third Wave’s Ultimate Guide to Ketamine

Episode Sponsor:

• Psychedelic Coacing Isntitute's Intensive for Psychedelic Professionals in Costa Rica - a transformative retreat for personal and professional growth.