Host Isabel Berwick investigates claims that microdosing improves performance at work. It’s well known that in Silicon Valley some executives have taken to ingesting very small amounts of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, in the belief that it increases concentration and productivity. But there are also soft-touch versions, known as nootropics or ‘smart drugs’, which include legal mushroom varieties and are said to have similar effects. Isabel and her team try them out at Shroom Town Cafe, a pop-up in central London, and she speaks to Jakobien van der Weijden, co-founder of the Microdosing Institute in the Netherlands. 

Want more?

How safe is your psychedelic trip? https://www.ft.com/content/c5cc0077-3966-4c65-9320-d0a0860740af

The secret to making your brain work better: https://www.ft.com/content/08078211-638b-4326-ac2e-92ae2cdf65c9

How Silicon Valley rediscovered LSD: https://www.ft.com/content/0a5a4404-7c8e-11e7-ab01-a13271d1ee9c

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Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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