Plus Three dives deep into the world of drugs, from local decriminalization and emerging psychedelic corporations to leftist politics and mass incarceration. Each week the team and guests attempt to make sense of the complex connections between drugs, science, capitalism, policy, and culture.

Plus Three dives deep into the world of drugs, from local decriminalization and emerging psychedelic corporations to leftist politics and mass incarceration. Each week the team and guests attempt to make sense of the complex connections between drugs, science, capitalism, policy, and culture.

Plus Three dives deep into the world of drugs, from local decriminalization and emerging psychedelic corporations to leftist politics and mass incarceration. Each week the team and guests attempt to make sense of the complex connections between drugs, science, capitalism, policy, and culture.


Power Tripping #2: That’s an Old Story

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 #1: I See a Sh*tshow

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

#45 – Part Two: Digital Capitalism on Psychedelics with Emma Stamm

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.

#44 – Part One: Talking Acid Communism with Emma Stamm

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.

#43 – Part Two: Dave Rubin Courts Right-Wing Psychedelic Billionaire Christian Angermayer

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."

#42 – Part One: Dave Rubin Courts Right-Wing Psychedelic Billionaire Christian Angermayer

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."

#41 – We (Still) Hope Michael Pollan Changes His Mind

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

#41 – We (Still) Hope Michael Pollan Changes His Mind

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


#40 – Part Two: Has Atai Taken the Psychedelic Throne from MAPS? (The Murderous Dictator Episode)

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.


#39 – Part One: Has Atai Life Sciences Taken the Psychedelic Throne From MAPS?

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.


#38 – Part Two: The Psychedelic Capitalism Debate That Wasn’t

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.


#37 – Part One: The Psychedelic Capitalism Debate That Wasn’t

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.


#36 – Ioan Grillo – Pt. 2 – Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and 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.


#35 – Ioan Grillo – Pt. 1 – Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and 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.


#34 – Psychedelic Anarchy with Thought Slime

Psymposia sits down with Thought Slime to chat about carving out a leftist space in psychedelia.


#33 – Queering psychedelics and tripping out on gender with Jae Sevelius

Psymposia advisory board member and psychedelic researcher, Jae Sevelius, joins us to talk about queer theory, psychedelic research with transgender and gender diverse people, and what happens when political assumptions go unexamined in both research contexts and the world at large. Drawing on the work of Dr. Sevelius, as well as Dr. Devenot and Dr. Ross, we discuss some of the ways that research and social relations reproduce the logic of mainstream culture, and how queering acts as barrier to and disruption of that reproduction.


#32 – It’s All Red Flags: 5-MeO-DMT with Dr. Martin Ball

Psymposia editors discuss Dr. Martin Ball’s “session info” document that the retired 5-MeO-DMT practitioner sent to Psymposia. Dr. Ball has referenced the document in defense of his practices and cites it as evidence that his clients consented to him touching their genitals or vomiting on them while under the influence of 5-MeO-DMT.