Mind Manifest

IN this episode I spoke with Adam Strauss and Shane Mauss We Discuss Shane’s podcast Here We Are The role of Cognitive Biases in human life The hygiene hypothesis and the potential up-regulation of our psychological sensitivity as a result Shane’s upbringing in small-town Wisconsin and how it set him up to go ‘against the grain’ and eventually saw him get interested in psychedelics How comedy helped him connect with his Father, “…I just loved seeing him laugh” and how subsequent psychedelic trips have given him context for this sensibility Shane demonstrates his world-class hand whistling ability - Shane alludes to how he feels psychedelics mediate between one's’ inner world and outer experience The fact that the visceral ‘take away messages’ from psychedelic experiences what Matthew Johnson calls ‘duh moments’ How psychedelic trips help Shane distil his comedic approach to be more authentic Adam Strauss Joins us as a ‘re-dose’! Shane gets to the bottom of a story about an unforgettable ‘editorial decision’. It was for this documentary btw Adam and Shane outline how they would like a neuroscience and fMRI ‘101’ to be out there Adam’s desires to see some info on the attenuating effect of SSRIs on psilocybin Shane’s experience working with mycomeditations and his anecdotal experience of people on SSRIs struggling to have profound phenomenological experiences with high doses of psilocybin Niall’s concerns over the potential risks associated with abrupt SSRI withdrawal and the potential for suicidality and SSRI discontinuation syndrome as people prepare to take psychedelics Adam talks about his various experiences with LSD vs Psilocybin and how surrendering to the various experiences helped him get to the ‘other side’ Adam tells a story about bothering the emergency services (and penis jokes are made) The potential emergence of psychedelic orthodoxy and the risk of dogma The upcoming Pittsburgh SOAP conference Horizons conference NYC Adam’s website and twitter Shane’s website, twitter documentary and current show stand up science Thanks for listening, check out more at mindmanifestpodcast.com If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for people you would like to hear interviewed, please email hello@mindmanifest.com . We love to hear from listeners!

In this episode, we chatted to Adam Strauss and Shane Mauss, two internationally renowned comedians who have been very influential in bringing the psychedelic renaissance to a more mainstream audience. We talk about weird trips, how the stuff your grandma knits on a blanket is the key to the universe, and how SSRIs might play nice with psilocybin. We also spend a fair amount of time discussing Shane's orifices, so there's that. Thanks for listening, check out more at mindmanifestpodcast.com If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for people you would like to hear interviewed, please email hello@mindmanifest.com . We love to hear from listeners!

In this episode, We spoke with Stevens a Brazilian Stem Cell Biologist currently investigating the effects of Harmine, NN-DMT and 5-MeO-DMT in human brain tissue differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells. We chat about his work with psychedelics, his hopes for the future in terms of researching potential benefits of psychedelic compounds for the treatment of various developmental and neurological disorders, and his concerns over the recent governmental attacks on science in Brazil

In this Episode, I spoke to an old friend of mine - Dr Sebastian Knudsen, an Intensive Care consultant with a special interest in Palliative care. We had an expansive and interesting discussion, which gave another ‘physician’s eye view’ of end of life care. This episode dovetails with our episode with Dr Jessica Zitter and both will serve as a backdrop for this quarter of medicine, where psychedelics such as psilocybin might soon find themselves inhabiting.

In this episode, I spoke with Dr Jesscia Zitter. She first came to my attention after I read New York Times article, which crystallised the dissonance and conflict I suspect a lot of critical care physicians feel around the marshalling of the end of life for their patients. The ‘slow burn’ of psychedelic science is as it should be – the gradual percolation of their empirically ratified benefits through medicine and then hopefully into mainstream society. At the time of writing, the research into the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin in end-of-life care, for example, seems to be proceeding at a pace that Goldilocks would approve of - not excessively slowed down by obfuscating bureaucrats, nor impatiently pushed along by overzealous stakeholders and evangelists. This gives us time to have a cultural conversation about how we can best integrate these substances into the care of the dying. If the phase 3 trials for psilocybin and other psychedelics in the fields of palliative care produce a shade of the benefits seen in phase 2, then the proposition of their normative prescription of  psychedelics for end of life issues will move from the realms of absolute psychonaut fantasy to possible medical reality.   Furthermore, (Barring some massive paradigm shift in the nature of health care hierarchy), doctors will very likely spearhead the prescription of such substances to the dying, and as such, I wanted to get a ‘physicians eye view’ of the current state of play in the world of palliative medicine - and that’s where Jessica comes in. She speaks with a nice combination of candour and humour, with confidence and doubt. I hope you enjoy.

n this Episode I spoke to Michael Pollan, New York Times Bestselling Author, Ivy League Professor and Author of the excellent psychedelic science primer, ‘How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence’ Michael is a self-described ‘immersive journalist’ and therefore his field notes and perspective as a reluctant, middle-aged psychonaut have proven an invaluable aid to those of us who understand that discussions about psychedelics must take place in every corner of society. Michael seems to understand that a civic discourse must include a truly cross-sectional representation of society, and the more nuanced and longstanding such a conversation is the more chance we have of optimally rolling out the power of these substances to everyone who wishes to avail. The better informed the gallery is, the less that politicians will be able to play to it.

As the weight of evidence supporting the therapeutic validity of psychedelic compounds mounts, we review the current state of affairs surrounding the legality of MDMA.

Today Hannah Courtauld (Psychologist) and spoke to Guillermo Velasco Diez, (PhD). Guillermo is a biochemist heavily involved in the research of the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in the treatment of Cancer. In this episode, Hannah and Guillermo Discuss: -Guillermo’s academic background and route into the world of cannabinoid research -The mechanisms of action of cannabinoids in terms of attenuating the physiological impact of carcinoma -Crowdsourced funding strategies including the medical cannabis bike tour -The current state of play with regards to clinical studies in this field -Glioblastoma and how cannabinoids are being used to treat this condition -His work with the Spanish Observatory of Medical Cannabis -Charitable and educational organisations like the canna foundation Guillermo Velasco Díez, PhD - BIO Guillermo Velasco was born in Madrid, studied Biology and obtained his PhD degree (1997) at the School of Biology of the Complutense University, Madrid, Spain. After defending his PhD, he got an EMBO long-term fellowship to work in Philip Cohen’s laboratory at the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit (Dundee, Scotland) on a project aimed at studying the regulation and of the Rho-activated protein kinase (ROCK). In 1999 he was awarded a position as an Assistant Teacher at the School of Chemistry of the Complutense University and in 2003 was awarded an associate professorship. In 2001 Guillermo started a line of research aimed at investigating the mechanisms underlying cannabinoid anti-tumour action as well as at optimising the potential clinical utilisation of these agents in cancer therapies. Many different avenues are currently been explored by in his group - they are currently investigating the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, apoptosis, intracellular trafficking of ceramide and regulation of mTORC1 and mTORC2 in cannabinoid anti-tumour action, as well as the participation of growth factor receptor-activated pathways in the resistance to the anti-neoplasic actions of cannabinoids. Guillermo Velasco was born in Madrid, studied Biology and obtained his PhD degree (1997) at the School of Biology of the Complutense University, Madrid, Spain. After defending his PhD, he got an EMBO long-term fellowship to work in Philip Cohen’s laboratory at the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit (Dundee, Scotland) on a project aimed at studying the regulation and of the Rho-activated protein kinase (ROCK). In 1999 he was awarded a position as an Assistant Teacher at the School of Chemistry of the Complutense University and in 2003 was awarded an associate professorship. In 2001 Guillermo started a line of research aimed at investigating the mechanisms underlying cannabinoid anti-tumour action as well as at optimising the potential clinical utilisation of these agents in cancer therapies. Many different avenues are currently been explored by in his group - they are currently investigating the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, apoptosis, intracellular trafficking of ceramide and regulation of mTORC1 and mTORC2 in cannabinoid anti-tumour action, as well as the participation of growth factor receptor-activated pathways in the resistance to the anti-neoplastic actions of cannabinoids.

Cannabis has been hailed as a panacea, and as it breaks through the cracks and into mainstream society, we try to sort the bud from the chaff when it comes to its empirical potential to help improve both quality and longevity of life.

MDMA does not carry the same degree of cultural baggage as its’ more hallucinogenic stablemates. As the campaign to promote this compound as a legitimate mainstay of psychiatric treatment gathers momentum, how can we ensure that the cultural conversation threads the needle between irrational over-exuberance and reactionary ignorance? Welcome to the mind manifest blogcast. We are committed to creating audio versions of all of our content. We want to help as many different types of people join the conversation around psychedelics. Not having the ability to read content, due to lack of time or disability, should not prohibit you from engaging with it.

We are all shuffling towards death. Could psychedelics help it to be a bit less Parkinsonian and be a bit more of a Charleston?

MIND MANIFEST EP3 - MARTIN WILLIAMS by Mind Manifest Podcast

If you didn’t have time to read our blog about Bicycle Day, you can just listen to it, instead! “Everything glistened and sparkled in a fresh light. The world was as if newly created. All my senses vibrated in a condition of highest sensitivity, which persisted for the entire day.” These are the words of Albert Hoffman, the scientist who discovered LSD. Listen to hear more!

In this episode Amanda Feilding, director of the Beckley Foundation, invited us to her beautiful home and research hub in the Oxfordshire countryside. We had a wide ranging and fascinating conversation, where it became apparent that, after decades of tireless researching and campaigning, the foundation finds itself in the anteroom to major change in the world of psychedelic science. We discussed: - The Genesis of the Beckley Foundation - Her work with a selection of fascinating scientific collaborators - The qualitative characteristics of the ‘mystical experience’ - How she differentiates the mystical experience from ‘peak’ experiences - The utility and potential of psychedelics to briefly interrupt the axiom of negative rumination which is such a characteristic trait types of refractory mental illness - The role of psychedelics in palliative care - The issue with funding Please enjoy and if you have a minute, give us a rating! Thanks for listening.

Today I was joined by Dr Ben Sessa - Ben is a man who wears a very many hats. He is a Psychiatrist in the South of England where he works in the fields of child and adolescent psychiatry and he also works with adults suffering from addictions. Dr Sessa is currently conducting a proof of concept trial into the safety and efficacy of MDMA assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of alcoholism. Ben was very gracious with his time and we covered quite a lot of ground as a result. We spoke about the suitability of MDMA for the treatment of psychological trauma, Ben’s professional background in the field of psychedelic medicine and research, and we touched on some of the potential cultural and political challenges and opportunities we foresee as the use of psychedelic compounds start to nudge up against mainstream society.