Psychedelics Today

A panel discussion with Jim Harris, Rachel Zoeller, DPT, David W. McMillan, Ph.D., and Manesh Girn, Ph.D. Recorded live at the Aspen Psychedelic Symposium

In this riveting and deeply personal conversation, moderator Jim Harris is joined by three pioneers at the intersection of neuroscience, psychedelics, and disability: Dr. Rachel Zoeller (Doctor of Physical Therapy and spinal cord injury survivor), Dr. David McMillan (Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Miami), and Dr. Manesh Girn (neuroscientist and postdoctoral researcher with Robin Carhart-Harris at UCSF). Together, they explore how psychedelics may do far more than treat depression or catalyze mystical experiences—they may also support healing and regeneration in the nervous system.

The discussion opens with an acknowledgment that our cultural understanding of psychedelics has mostly focused on their psychological and spiritual effects. But as these experts reveal, the somatic potential of psychedelics is vast and understudied. They delve into promising areas like central and peripheral neuroplasticity, the anti-inflammatory effects of psychedelics, and how these mechanisms might play a role in healing from spinal cord injuries or paralysis.

Dr. Girn breaks down the science behind psilocybin's interaction with 5-HT2A serotonin receptors, not only in the brain but also in the spinal cord. These receptors, when activated, may increase neuronal excitability and even help restore lost signaling in damaged motor pathways. He suggests that psychedelics could reopen "critical periods" for neuroplasticity—windows of opportunity for the nervous system to rewire and heal.

Rachel Zoeller shares her powerful lived experience as both a physical therapist and a spinal cord injury patient. Her story brings the science to life, particularly her observation that psychedelic experiences help her reconnect to parts of her body affected by paralysis. Psychedelics, she suggests, have allowed her to rebuild mind-body communication and foster compassion toward her own physical limitations. She also underscores the need for patients to cultivate body awareness, meditation, and breathwork as essential tools for safe and effective psychedelic use.

Dr. McMillan, who leads outreach at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, provides a clinical and safety-oriented perspective. While optimistic about the potential, he urges caution—especially with individuals who have high-level spinal cord injuries and are vulnerable to serious complications like autonomic dysreflexia. He stresses that before we can bring these treatments into clinical settings, we must carefully assess physiological risk, develop precise pharmacological protocols, and prioritize patient safety.

The panel also addresses cultural and spiritual interpretations of spasticity. Drawing on both shamanic and somatic perspectives, they propose that these involuntary muscle contractions could be reinterpreted not as dysfunction, but as potential portals for healing, integration, or neurological feedback. The idea that such spasms might help the brain remap muscle groups is discussed as a provocative and hopeful reframe.

The conversation wraps with a call to action: to bring together indigenous wisdom, embodied knowledge, rigorous science, and community storytelling in order to chart a new frontier in psychedelic medicine—one that does not leave the disabled community behind. As McMillan puts it, "There's a lesson to psychedelia from paralysis." It's a reminder that neuropharmacology must consider not just molecules and mechanisms, but people and possibilities.

Whether you're a clinician, researcher, patient, or curious explorer, this panel is a moving and illuminating look at how psychedelics could transform not only minds—but bodies.

Thanks to Aspen Public Radio, Aspen Psychedelic Resource Center, Healing Advocacy Fund and Aspen Psychedelic Symposium for allowing us to share this podcast.

A full agenda from the symposium can be found here.

In this special panel, Joe Moore of Psychedelics Today is joined by Sandor Iron Rope, Lakota spiritual leader and peyote practitioner, and Zach Leary, writer and advocate for psychedelic culture. Together, they explore the critical importance of respecting the cultural, spiritual, and ecological roots of plant medicines. Sandor shares powerful reflections on the Lakota worldview, the trauma of colonization, and the deep spiritual kinship indigenous peoples hold with medicinal plants. Zach reflects on the American counterculture's relationship with psychedelics, highlighting the need to preserve mysticism and community over commercialization.

The panel dives into challenges around synthetic versus natural medicines, the risks of spiritual harm when practices are rushed or disconnected from tradition, and the urgent need for indigenous voices at the table as psychedelic policy evolves. Throughout, a theme emerges: slow down, honor kinship, and build right relationship with nature, culture, and spirit.

This conversation offers a rare and necessary bridge between indigenous wisdom and the psychedelic resurgence, calling for respect, collaboration, and a return to deep roots to guide future generations.

Learn more at ipci.life and psychedelicstoday.com.

This podcast comes from the Aspen Psychedelic Symposium from last summer. It features Diane Goldstein who is the executive director of Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Sarko Gergerian a police officer from Winthrop, Mass and Rick Doblin from MAPS.

This panel was introduced by Zach Leary and was a highlight of our trip to Aspen's conference last year.

We discuss new ways in which police should or could consider psychedelics and drugs more generally.

Thanks to Aspen Public Radio and Aspen Psychedelic Symposium for allowing us to share this podcast.

In this episode Kyle Buller and Joe Moore speak to Zach Leary about his new book "Your Extraordinary Mind: Psychedelics in the 21st Century and How to Use Them".

Kyle and Joe join Zach in person for this recording.

Zach has lots of hard earned wisdom and gracefully shares it with us and with his readers.

We discuss MAPS PS25, Psychedelic Churches, psychedelic overuse and much more.

Join us to learn more.

In this episode, Joe Moore welcomes LP Giobbi, an internationally famous DJ, electronic music producer, and jazz pianist. LP shares the story behind Dead House, her project blending Grateful Dead samples with house music. What started as a tribute to her parents during pandemic live streams has become a celebrated musical movement.

Joe and LP explore the deeper connection between music and psychedelics. They talk about Bicycle Day, the story of Albert Hofmann's famous LSD bike ride, and how psychedelics can support creativity and personal growth. LP opens up about her own experiences with psychedelics, touring burnout, and how she's learning to reconnect with her body through music and intention.

The conversation also highlights LP's work with Fem House, an educational platform that empowers women and gender-expansive individuals in music production. She explains how representation, access, and support are key to shifting the music industry.

This is a warm, inspiring, candid episode about breaking barriers, finding your voice, and leading purposefully. If you're in Denver, catch Dead House live at Meow Wolf on Bicycle Day!

In this episode, Kyle Buller speaks with Kayse Geheret, founder of Microdosing for Healing and instructor for Psychedelics Today's Vital program. They explore what it means to be a modern guide in the world of psychedelics. Kayse shares how microdosing has become a key entry point for many and highlights the importance of training, community, and personal growth.

They discuss how not all psychedelic work involves facilitation. Some guides support through integration, education, or community organizing. The conversation covers what makes a great guide—qualities like groundedness, empathy, curiosity, and the ability to hold space. They also talk about the growing need for psychedelic-literate professionals in all fields, not just therapy.

Kayse and Kyle reflect on the importance of finding the right training—whether for coaching, integration, or peer support. With more people entering the space, education and connection are more important than ever.

Whether you're curious about microdosing, thinking of becoming a guide, or simply want to better support your community, this episode offers valuable insight.

🎧 Learn more at microdosingforhealing.com 🌱 Discover Vital at vitalpsychedelictraining.com

Joe Moore sits down with UK-based artist Harry Pack, whose vibrant, surreal, and often psychedelic art has captured the attention of dreamers, psychonauts, and seekers worldwide. Known for channeling the aesthetic of altered states rather than simply replicating them, Harry discusses his journey from childhood doodles to being a full-time artist working digitally in Procreate. He shares stories of deep inspiration from figures like Ott—whose album Hiraeth he recently illustrated—and how art has helped him integrate mystical experiences, recovery, and even potential alien contact.

The conversation explores the therapeutic potential of art, the role of storytelling in visionary creativity, and the emergence of recurring themes in Harry's work—most notably, the enigmatic "Purple UFO." We also get into the importance of community, nature, and play in feeding the creative spirit, and Harry's aspirations to build spaces for collective art-making and integration.

Follow Harry on Instagram @harrypackart and @thepurpleufo, and explore his work at harrypackart.com.

In this episode of Psychedelics Today, Joe Moore sits down with South African ethnobotanist and healer Jean-François Sobiecki to explore the rich and largely underrecognized world of African psychoactive plants. With over two decades of fieldwork and research, Jean-François sheds light on the traditional use of these plants in healing, divination, and spiritual practices across Southern Africa.

Topics covered include:

• Jean-François's early inspirations and the ancestral roots of his herbal knowledge
• His discovery and documentation of 306 African psychoactive plant species
• The ritual use of Ubuwalu (dream-enhancing emetic infusions) and their role in personal transformation
• How vomiting, dietary restrictions, and sensory isolation are used as part of initiation processes
• Cross-cultural parallels between Southern African and Amazonian plant healing traditions
• The underexplored use of psychoactive plants to treat mental health conditions like schizophrenia and hysteria
• Ethical fieldwork, indigenous knowledge protection, and the dangers of overharvesting sacred plants
• Visions for healing and conservation gardens in Africa and the role these plants could play in global mental health

Jean-François shares moving stories of his 15-year mentorship with a Northern Sotho diviner and healer, Letti Ponnya, and how she introduced him to African "plant teacher" medicines. His message is clear: Africa has a deep, sophisticated, and scientifically underappreciated tradition of psychoactive plant use that deserves recognition, respect, and further study.

📘 Get the book: African Psychoactive Plants: Journeys in Phytoalchemy

🌐 Learn more at: phytoalchemy.co.za

📝 Related reading: ➡️ African Psychoactive Plants: Journeys in Phytoalchemy – Chacruna

In this inspiring and far-reaching conversation, Joe Moore is joined by Vince Kadlubek, the founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Meow Wolf, the groundbreaking arts and entertainment company known for its massive, immersive art experiences. Together, they dive deep into Meow Wolf's humble DIY origins, its evolution into a multi-city creative juggernaut, and how it intertwines with psychedelic culture and expanded states of consciousness.

Vince shares the story of Meow Wolf's formation in Santa Fe, the evolution from a group of passionate friends into a thousand-person company, and the power of belief, creativity, and visionary leadership. He reflects on raising funding from George R. R. Martin and major investors, navigating massive growth, and the challenge of keeping the creative spark alive in the face of institutionalization.

They also discuss the upcoming Bicycle Day Portal Takeover at Meow Wolf Denver on April 19, which will feature performances, talks, and immersive experiences throughout the exhibition—with appearances from Reggie Watts, Duncan Trussell, Zach Leary, and more.

From the imaginative to the esoteric, Vince and Joe explore the intersection of psychedelics and art, the nature of reality and the imaginal realm, and how to build beauty and wonder into the world around us.

• What Meow Wolf is and how it all began
• Growing from a DIY collective to a nationwide phenomenon
• Maintaining creative spirit through growth and structure
• Vision, belief, and the spiritual work of creating art
• Navigating private equity and big funding in the arts
• Santa Fe's unique cultural and energetic imprint
• Portal's Bicycle Day event at Meow Wolf Denver
• Fictional character sentience and AI in immersive worlds
• Art as a cultural response in times of uncertainty
• Psychedelics as tools for accessing the imaginal and creative realms

Hosted by Portal, this one-of-a-kind immersive celebration of Bicycle Day takes over the entire Meow Wolf Denver space. Expect DJs, speakers, psychedelic storytelling, ecstatic dance, art, and surprises around every corner.

Featured Guests Include:

• Reggie Watts
• Duncan Trussell
• LP GIOBI (Dead House)
• Zach Leary
• David Satori (Dirtwire)
• Frick Frack Blackjack
• Dennis Walker
• Veronica Lightning Horse Perez
• …and many more to be announced!

🌀 Plus: Pre-event Bicycle Day bike ride through Denver, curated by Portal.

• Learn more about Meow Wolf
• Check out Portal Events for Bicycle Day details

If you love what we do, please share this episode, leave a review, and consider supporting us in our Navigators Program.

In this episode, Joe interviews Fayzan Rab, an MD candidate (when we recorded) at Emory University with a background in tech at Google and a focus on the intersection of psychedelics, spirituality, and public health. Fayzan shares Emory's unique approach to psychedelic studies, emphasizing spiritual health and the lived religious and existential aspects of psychedelic experiences—what he and his team call "CERT."

The conversation explores Fayzan's collaboration with health economist Elliot Marseille on economic modeling for psilocybin therapy, including their estimate that over 5 million Americans could be medically eligible. He shares insights into the policy challenges around payer systems and the importance of preparing implementation strategies before FDA approval.

Fayzan also discusses his groundbreaking research on Muslim perspectives on psychedelics—revealing surprising openness, complex spiritual tensions, and a strong interest in integrating these substances into healing and faith-based frameworks. He highlights the need for inclusive infrastructure and upcoming work with clergy to deepen the conversation.

Finally, they explore non-clinical psychedelic use among healthcare workers and entrepreneurs, discussing how psychedelics are being used to address burnout, identity, and life purpose.

This is a powerful episode about interdisciplinary collaboration, cultural sensitivity, and the potential for psychedelics to transform not just individuals—but systems.

Science on Spiritual Health Symposium 2025

Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality - Emory University