In this episode, Joe interviews Jason Slot, Ph.D.: Associate Professor of Mycology and Evolutionary Genomics at Ohio State University. Slot discusses mushroom reproduction and what the science of evolutionary genomics entails. www.psychedelicstoday.com

PT361 – Jason Slot, Ph.D. – Mycology and Evolutionary Genomics

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In this episode, Joe interviews Joey Lichter, Ph.D.: professor in the Chemistry & Biochemistry department at Miami’s Florida International University, and one of the few professors in the U.S. teaching a course about psychedelics at the collegiate level. He talks about his path towards the course, the challenge of creating a curriculum that covers everything in a few months, and the importance of teaching young minds about psychedelics the right away; shifting drug education from the “Just say no!” D.A.R.E. model to a more balanced, honest, and evidence-based approach. He aims for his students to think critically, ignore the hype, and see all possible angles with a fairly simple approach: Present the full story. He discusses:  The importance of teaching history, from Stan Grof to MKUltra The work of David Nichols, David Nutt’s drug harm scale, and the greatest lesson William Leonard Pickard took from LSD The representation of Spravato as a new drug, and his concerns with the over-medicalization of psychedelics Teaching about the complexities of Timothy Leary: Was he a positive or negative force? Decriminalization, legalization, and how he gets students to think about drug policy  and more!  For links and more, head to the show notes page. 

PT504 – Rethinking Drug Education: From D.A.R.E. Scare Tactics to an Evidence-Based Approach, with Joey Lichter, Ph.D.

In this episode, Joe interviews Devon Phillips: community & partnerships officer for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Phillips works on strategies to tackle the questions: How do we responsibly mainstream psychedelics? And how do we get culture engaged? He's focusing on being the bridge to psychedelics outside of research, facilitating workshops and psychedelic coming-out stories at music festivals and conferences. He talks about harm reduction and drug checking at festivals, the concept of training big names to become trustworthy resources, the differences found in a hop hop crowd compared to EDM, and the power in using psychedelics for pleasure and celebration – not just healing and growth.  He also discusses:   MAPS' involvement with the NFL for their 'My Cause, My Cleats' campaign, and how the San Francisco 49ers' Jon Feliciano is bringing awareness to psychedelic healing Details about MAPS' first responders training, fiscal sponsorship program, international therapist education program, and upcoming membership program (launching in June) The success of MAPS' Psychedelic Science and his hopes for the 2025 edition, taking place June 16 - 20 at the Denver Convention Center Dr. Carl Hart, drug exceptionalism, and the importance of creating safe containers and inclusive drug policy   and more!  For links and more, head to the show notes page.

PT503 – Updates from MAPS: Current Initiatives, Psychedelic Science 2025, and Music as a Bridge, with Devon Phillips

In this episode, Joe interviews Keeper Trout: archivist, author, photographer, co-founder of the Cactus Conservation Institute, and creator of Trout’s Notes, a website compiling personal research and collected data to help ethnobotanical researchers. From an interest in cactus taxonomy, Sasha Shulgin urged Trout to go through his files, resulting in a friendship, and eventually, an 8-year project of digitizing all of these files into the ever-evolving Shulgin Archive. Trout discusses:  His relationship with Sasha and The Shulgin Farm project, which aims to make the farm a community resource for therapy, research, events, and more The messiness of cactus taxonomy, and how he believes we’re nearing the end of being able to properly identify cacti The perception of LSD as unnatural and why the natural vs. synthetic argument is largely political Why repealing the Controlled Substances Act is the path we should take over decriminalization or legalization  and more! For links and more, head to the show notes page. 

PT502 – Preserving Psychedelic Legacies: Shulgin Farm and the Shulgin Archive Project, with Keeper Trout

In this episode, Alexa interviews April Pride: creative entrepreneur, veteran of the cannabis space, and now, founder of SetSet, an educational platform and podcast (picking up where The High Guide left off) for women curious about psychedelics. With Alexa about to embark on the journey of motherhood, she asks many of the questions parents working with psychedelics have to consider: How do you overcome the stigmas of being a psychedelic parent? How do you talk to your children about drugs? How do you know if a substance is ok to use during pregnancy? Pride discusses:  Being dubbed “the weed mom” and why she embraced the nickname Parenting children around drug use and how parents lose credibility when they lie (the kids are going to know) The need for more research into how substances interact with women’s cycles and changing hormones Knowing when to trust your doctor and how more conversations lead to more knowledgeable doctors Microdosing psilocybin and the developing SetSet protocol  and more!  For links and more, head to the show notes page. 

PT501 – Women and Psychedelics, Microdosing, and the Challenges of Psychedelic Parenthood, with April Pride

In this episode, Joe interviews Paul F. Daley, Ph.D., who worked with Sasha Shulgin in his lab for the last seven years of his life, helping him finish (and co-authoring) "The Shulgin Index, Volume One: Psychedelic Phenethylamines and Related Compounds." He is now the co-founder, Chief Science Officer, and Director of Analytical Science at the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute (ASRI), focusing on the discovery and development of novel psychedelic compounds. While Sasha was passionate about self-experimentation, the Institute is aiming for the next step for these drugs: FDA approval.   He discusses:   Meeting Sasha at the 2nd international conference on hallucinogenic mushrooms in Washington D.C. Bonding with Sasha while reviewing the autopsy of researcher Robert van den Bosch for possible foul play The two compounds ASRI is closest to being able to test in clinical trials The 5-HT2B receptor, risk of valvular disease, and why we will likely be hearing more about this going forward How AI and new technology can lead to better safety science    and more!  Click here to head to the show notes page.

PT361 – Jason Slot, Ph.D. – Mycology and Evolutionary Genomics

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