The Psymposia Podcast

Psymposia sits down with Dr. Tyler Black to discuss debunking pseudoscience, a recent case study involving giving a woman with Alzheimer's psilocybin, psychedelic zealot mindsets, and his ketamine research.

This is an excerpted interview from episode #74. Psymposia speaks with Jane Migliara Brigham of The Needle to discuss her recent article, "Ambetter Insurance, Centene denying hormones to trans patients across 19 states in push for MAHA Medicine."

James, Russell, and Normie chat about the Best in Grass competition before diving into a discussion of a lawsuit against OpenAI over alleged bad drug advice and the preservation of the Terence McKenna archive.

Russell conducts an in-depth interview with Jane Migliara Brigham on the state of trans healthcare under Trump, unpacking the policy landscape and its real-world implications.

In the back half of the episode, the crew is joined by Mike and Neşe to discuss billionaire investor Christian Angermayer — breaking down his psychedelic origin story, his concept of "Societal Adjustment Disorder," and his broader vision for the future, including techno-feudalism, dosing the water, and even his thoughts on extraterrestrials.

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Chapters:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:00 Best in Grass competition

00:09:47 Suboxone clarification

00:12:14 OpenAI sued for bad drug advice

00:20:53 Terence Mckenna archive

00:33:53 Patreon Updates

00:36:00 Interview with Jane Migliara Brigham on trans healthcare under Trump

01:03:03 Psymposia shop updates

01:04:16 Christian Angermayer's psychedelic origin story

01:27:45 Christian Angermayer on "Societal Adjustment Disorder"

01:40:55 Christian Angermayer's techno-feudalist vision for the future

01:58:25 Christian Angermayer wants to does the water

02:06:51 Christian Angermayer's views on aliens

Footnotes:

Parents say ChatGPT got their son killed with bad advice on party drugs (The Verge) https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/928691/openai-chatgpt-wrongful-death-overdose

Terence McKenna's Daughter Is Quietly Building The Archive A Generation Of Psychonauts Has Been Waiting For (High Times) https://hightimes.com/culture/terence-mckennas-daughter-has-been-paying-for-a-storage-unit-in-hawaii-for-25-years-she-just-opened-it/

Ambetter Insurance, Centene denying hormones to trans patients across 19 states in push for MAHA Medicine (The Needle) https://www.theneedle.media/2026/06/ambetter-insurance-centene-denying-hormones-to-trans-patients-across-19-states-in-push-for-maha-medicine/

Better Sex, Better Hair, Better Sleep: 'Humanmaxxing' Is Here (New York Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/opinion/biotech-maxxing-christian-angermayer.html

Enhanced Games Was Just the Start... (Fifter Years) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iDHaPz6kek

SUPPORT:

https://www.patreon.com/psymposia

FOLLOW:

https://www.instagram.com/psymposia/

https://x.com/psymposia

https://bsky.app/profile/psymposia.bsky.social

Normie, Neşe, Russell, and James dive into the telehealth supplement play behind the Enhanced Games, dissect the Secretary of Homeland Security's significant stake in Botanic Tonics, unpack the dangerous rhetoric of the MAHA movement and its real-world impact on mental health policy and infant mortality, and examine the key figure pushing ibogaine from fringe psychedelic to centerpiece of a broader Christian nationalist movement.

Footnotes:

The Enhanced Games Explained: Inside the $1.2 Billion Bet on Doping in Sports (Huddle Up)

https://huddleup.substack.com/p/the-enhanced-games-explained-inside

How a kratom giant got what it wanted from RFK and new Homeland Security chief (Kansas City Star)

https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/david-hudnall/article315593616.html

RFK Jr. launches plan to address 'overuse' of psychiatric medications (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/05/health/rfk-jr-overprescribing-psychiatric-drugs-wellness

Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth (Propublica)

https://www.propublica.org/article/more-parents-decline-vitamin-k-shot-newborns

The Man Behind the Trump Administration's Favorite Psychedelic (The Atlantic)

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/05/psychedelics-ibogaine-bryan-hubbard-republican/687281/

We have made some changes to our Patreon and wanted to let you know what to expect from your subscription moving forward!

• Simplified Tiers. We simplified our tiers so there will only be three offerings: a $5, $10, and $50 level

  • The $2 tier is going away July 1, but any current $2 members will be grandfathered in at that price.

• Early Access. All of our paid members will receive early access to ad-free podcast episodes, generally released twice a month. Additionally, Patreon members will receive around 20-45 minutes of post-episode bonus content with each release!

• Group Chat. All paid members also now have access to a community group chat and a chat where you can suggest stories for us to cover in upcoming episodes.

• Live Chat. Our $10 tier offers the chance to join us for live "Shitpostia" doomscroll sessions, where we will discuss our social feeds and answer audience questions.

• Extra Offerings for Annual Subscribers. If you subscribe annually at either the $5 or $10 level, you will receive merchandise including buttons ($5+$10 tier), stickers ($5+$10 tier), and blotter art ($10 tier).

This clip from our Patreon bonus content breaks down the so-called "pentastack" behind looksmaxxer streams: a combinations of stimulants, dissociatives, performance drugs, and psychiatric medications. We also examine the disturbing response from the people around Clavicular during his livestreamed overdose.

Russell, Normie, Pace and James debut a new podcast format covering the latest developments in psychedelics, drug policy, and politics. Today, they review the latest Church of Sacred Synthesis lawsuit news, misperceptions of the "psychedelic Left", Purdue Pharma's collapse, the Trump administration's cuts to fentanyl test strip funding, vaccine and ivermectin discourse, and worsening conditions in veterans' mental healthcare.

Footnotes:

Michelle Lhooq — "We Have Entered the Era of Conservative Psychedelia"

https://ravenewworld.substack.com/p/we-have-entered-the-era-of-conservative

Associated Press — "OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to dissolve in opioid settlement"

https://apnews.com/article/oxycontin-purdue-pharma-criminal-sentence-settlement-b8aa94eaab3d9d8efed520f272f6d810

Vocal Politics — On Jake Lang being arrested for psychedelic mushrooms

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYNljTRjdRI/?igsh=OXpkeGVxMDQ0OGo3

The New York Times — "Trump Administration Restricts Funding for Fentanyl Test Strips"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/health/trump-fentanyl-test-strips.html

The New York Times — "FDA Delays Publication of Vaccine Safety Research"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/us/politics/fda-covid-vaccine-studies.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

ProPublica — "Veterans Who Depend on Mental Health Care Keep Losing Their Therapists Under Trump"

https://www.propublica.org/article/veterans-affairs-mental-health-therapists-quit-trump

Drug Policy Alliance — Harm Reduction Form Letter

https://engage.drugpolicy.org/secure/take-action-protect-funding-treatment-overdose-prevention-lifesaving-services

Psymposia board member Dr. Neşe Devenot's presentation at the Ohio State University "Religion and Psychedelics" conference, recorded March 28, 2026. In this talk, Dr. Devenot presents their research on the reliance on unscientific telepathic attunement in many popular schools of psychedelic therapy.

Professor Dave is a well-known science communicator and prolific debunker of pseudoscience. Despite building his platform on combatting misinformation, he continues joining conversations that promote false claims about the FDA's rejection of MDMA-assisted therapy — one of which he republished on his own channel. In this episode, Psymposia responds to the latest of these conversations on the Danny Jones Podcast. We encourage Professor Dave to do his homework on the psychedelic industry before aligning himself with the very pseudoscience promoters he's built his career opposing.

Three psychedelic companies received vouchers for expedited FDA review: Usona, Compass Pathways, and Otsuka—NOT Resilient Pharmaceuticals. This voucher announcement is yet another vindication of our reporting on major problems and pseudoscience within Lykos'/Resilient's trials. Update to episode #68.