Community is the Medicine

Missi Wooldridge, Director of Operations at BPS, sits down with Colin Pugh, Executive Director of BPS, and Logina Mostafa, Executive Director of Queering Existentialism, to explore the promise of community-based approaches to psychedelics.

Recorded during Global Psychedelics Week (on Halloween—hence the witch hat!), this conversation dives into what it takes to build a psychedelic community from the ground up, and the visions and challenges of creating a truly revolutionary, community-driven psychedelic ecosystem.

Hello BPS/Community is the Medicine members and subscribers!

I’m excited to share this recent conversation with Jason Wiener, a Colorado-based attorney and one of the foremost experts on cooperatives. Cooperatives—or co-ops for short—are democratically governed enterprises that put decision-making power in the hands of the stakeholders who run or benefit from them.

At BPS, psychedelic co-ops have always been part of our long-term vision for a community-owned psychedelic ecosystem. Our Trellis framework is designed to lay the groundwork for a future psychedelic co-op network—an ecosystem created by and for communities.

Jason and I first connected way back in 2022 (and in-person at Psychedelic Science 2023!), but we didn’t have the chance to do a deep-dive until right after Psychedelic Science 2025 where we spent a full day hiking and exploring these ideas together. This conversation is just the beginning, and I have no doubt we’ll be bringing him back on the podcast again.

Enjoy!

Cate Jester, BPS facilitator, dives into the power of laughter as medicine, sharing her journey of learning and healing through plant ceremonies. Cate reflects on the Trickster’s role in teaching discernment, humility, and joy, and why laughter is essential for connection and clarity. With stories of profound experiences and a call to shed our “BS”—belief systems, bogus stories, and blocks—Cate invites us to see life as a playful, sacred learning ground.

In this episode, we dive into Mike Fowler’s journey, a former software engineer who traded the San Francisco tech world for a more meaningful path as a psychedelic facilitator. Mike candidly shares how an unexpected introduction to psychedelics during a backpacking trip with friends sparked a spiritual awakening that reshaped his life.

Mike also takes us on an exploration of his understanding of community, emphasizing the importance of shared values, caring, and love over mere interests. He offers insights into how psychedelics can serve as catalysts for individual and collective transformation, and why genuine community is crucial for navigating the complexities of life and the psychedelic world.

We know it’s been a while, but here’s episode two! For this podcast episode, we recorded a really special conversation with rave theorists McKenzie Wark and Michelle Lhooq at our Horizons NY 2024 AFTER-RAVE.

We cover topics like the differences between raving and club/party culture, the phenomenological, spiritual, and cultural aspects of raving, and even get some tips from McKenzie on how to let music do its thing on the dance floor. 

This talk really inspired us to continue the conversation going at future raves, so keep your ears and feet ready to move once we announce the next iteration in the coming weeks. 💗

Colin Pugh, Executive Director of Brooklyn Psychedelic Society interviews David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner’s.

David shares their story of how they found psychedelics and their transformational impact on their life and spirituality. Colin and David also discuss community-based healing and the importance for new cultural myths that help people heal and get in touch with their spiritual nature.

You can watch the interview here: