We talk drugs and anti-capitalism with anthropology PhD candidate, Hilary Agro. Ranging from prohibition to psychedelic clinical trials and beyond, we explore the overlaps and differences in our analyses of the current psychedelic (and broader drug policy) landscape.

We continue our discussion about Brian Pace and Neşe Devenot's recently published paper: "Right-Wing Psychedelia: Case Studies in Cultural Plasticity and Political Pluripotency" 

We discuss Brian Pace and Neşe Devenot's recently published paper: "Right-Wing Psychedelia: Case Studies in Cultural Plasticity and Political Pluripotency" 

What the hell is going on in this house full of shit? And where do we go from here? We don’t have answers, but we have ideas and plenty of questions. House Full of Sh*t was a montage of stories that illustrate a bigger picture. From the structural features of the psychedelic therapy marketplace, to the cognitive biases that encourage conformity and groupthink, we explore how the status quo of psychedelic therapy encourages bad behavior and complicity.

Many people are familiar with MK-ULTRA, the CIA's illegal human experimentation program, which involved psychedelics and resulted in torture techniques that have since been used at CIA black sites around the world. What if someone tried to tell you these techniques were, in fact, a novel therapy that could revolutionize mental healthcare and transform dissidents into better citizens? In this episode, we discuss Dr. Salvador Roquet, a man who tortured people for the Mexican state and also parlayed those techniques to become an influential pioneer of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. What does it mean that Roquet's trainings and ideologies have influenced an untold number of present-day psychedelic practitioners?

Michael Pollan, Tim Ferriss, Gabor Maté, and a number of other "thought leaders" have offered glowing endorsements of Françoise Bourzat and her approach to training psychedelic guides. However, amidst the wave of allegations and revelations about Bourzat, her husband Aharon Grossbard, and their training program, many of these individuals have refrained from weighing in on these events, or even retracting their endorsements. In light of "Susan's" experiences, detailed in episode three of Power Trip, what does it mean to have such visible figures endorsing such questionable methodologies?

The Psymposia team, discusses how the "Psychedelic Community" responded to T's abuse of Lily in the Ecuadorian Amazon and her attempts to call attention to the wider issues around her experience. We recall our own experiences of Lily's efforts dating back to 2012, and consider a number of individuals and institutions we've experienced as insulating harmful people in psychedelic communities. It takes a village to enable and cover up ongoing harm; how many people in psychedelic communities are complicit?

Power Tripping is Psymposia's weekly deep-dive into New York Magazine's Cover Story: Power Trip podcast, co-produced with Psymposia.

As proponents of psychedelics begin to grapple with legacies of abuse, it’s time to learn from victims themselves. Psymposia is co-producing an investigative podcast series, Power Trip, with New York Magazine.

A new website — whoisjoeschraube.com — alleges that Joe Schraube and Miguel Delgado have taken advantage of positions of power and abused people under the influence of psychedelics.

As the psychedelic pharmaceutical industry increasingly prioritizes personal data extraction through mobile apps, wearables, and so-called “targeted” medicine, a recent data breach by former MAPS Canada Executive Director Mark Haden provides a warning about some of the possible consequences to the financial incentives of datafication.

DoubleBlind claims its recently-unveiled New York City billboard is a lot of things, except what it actually is: a giant advertisement.

Hamilton Morris, the creator of Vice’s “Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia,” will cease working with Vice on the show following the third season. He has joined psychedelic pharmaceutical corporation COMPASS Pathways as a chemistry consultant.

In part two of our conversation with Villanova visiting professor of philosophy Emma Stamm, we discuss the "psychedelic industry's" increasing fixation on digital capitalism. Looking at apps like MyDelica and hardware like Kernel's brain-scanning helmet, we discuss how the social implications of this technology extend well beyond psychedelia.

In part one of our conversation with Villanova visiting professor of philosophy Emma Stamm, we discuss Mark Fisher’s Acid Communism, leftist thought in psychedelia, Jacques Derrida’s hauntology, and Byung-Chul Han’s Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power.

In Part Two, the crew continues their break down of Atai Life Sciences' founder and COMPASS Pathways investor Christian Angermayer's recent appearance on right-wing YouTuber Dave Rubin's "The Rubin Report."

While COMPASS has issued a response defending the validity of its patents, one of the co-inventors says the patent examiner’s opinion is probably “a valid one.”

In Part One, the crew breaks down Atai Life Sciences' founder and COMPASS Pathways investor Christian Angermayer's recent appearance on right-wing YouTuber Dave Rubin's "The Rubin Report."

The crew reviews Michael Pollan’s recent New York Times Op-Ed "How Should We Do Drugs Now?”

In Part Two Normie, Dave, Russell, and Sarvesh continue their conversation about Atai Life Sciences and how the introduction of for-profit psychedelic pharmaceutical corporations have shifted capital away from non-profits. This episode gets extra wacky and dark as they dive into Atai Founder & Chairman Christian Angermayer's role on Rwandan president Paul Kagame's Advisory Council.

Brian Normand, David Nickles, and Russell Hausfeld are joined by new team member, Sarvesh Ramprakash, to discuss Atai Life Sciences' recent IPO on Nasdaq. They also discuss and provide updates on Russell's previous 2020 report exploring how the introduction of for-profit psychedelic pharmaceutical corporations has shifted capital away from non-profits.

In Part Two, the Psymposia crew continues to deconstruct a conversation between two self-described entrepreneurs who recently discussed psychedelics and medicalization during an event called Psychedelic Capitalism with Alexander Beiner [Rebel Wisdom] and Lars Wilde [COMPASS Pathways, Atai Life Sciences]— while studiously avoiding a debate of capitalism altogether.

The Psymposia crew deconstructs a conversation between two self-described entrepreneurs who recently discussed psychedelics and medicalization during an event called Psychedelic Capitalism with Alexander Beiner [Rebel Wisdom] and Lars Wilde [COMPASS Pathways, Atai Life Sciences]— while studiously avoiding a debate of capitalism altogether.

In this episode we sit down with journalist Ioan Grillo to discuss his newest book, Blood Gun Money, which is a look at how the illegal gun and drug trades are intertwined, and how U.S. gun laws result in firearms making their way into black market in Mexico and Latin America, including into the hands of drug cartels.

In this episode we sit down with journalist Ioan Grillo to discuss his newest book, Blood Gun Money, which is a look at how the illegal gun and drug trades are intertwined, and how U.S. gun laws result in firearms making their way into black market in Mexico and Latin America, including into the hands of drug cartels.