In this wide ranging conversation Erika discusses the evidence for psychedelic use over millennia and world-wide. We talk about her investigation into and opportunity to speak with Humphry Osmond, the British psychiatrists who coined the term 'psychedelic', and introduced Aldous Huxley to mescaline. We roam from Canada to India, West Africa, Cold War Czechoslovakia and Sartre's bad trip before moving on to South America, the CIA and the influence of psychedelics on 60s and 70s music and art, ending with a look to the future. Really fascinating conversation.

Participants:

Erika Dyck, Professor, Canada Research Chair in the History of Medicine, Department of History, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. https://artsandscience.usask.ca/profile/EDyck

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

'Expanding Mindscapes': https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edited-volume/5697/Expanding-MindscapesA-Global-History-of

Opening and closing music: Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Portrait sketch by KB illustration

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David Escobebo has been involved in improv theatre for over 25 years, beginning in California and more recently in Chester, UK where he has recenty compelted his PhD thesis on the subject. We talk about the social and educational roots of improv is 1930s Chicago and it's evolution into performance/theatre leading to 'Second City, contrasted with the UK where it was a 'revolutionary act against theatre'. We talk about some of the leaders in the field and their views before David talk about how he arrived at his own 'six principles of improv' (and you heard them here first). We talk about the application of improv training, and particularly active listening, to other groups (healthcare, tech companies, etc.) and include a brief example of a warm up as an afterword to the podcast. Great chat.

Participants:

David Escobebo Improv performer and educator www.ImprovBoost.com LinkTree https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=738465012079167&set=a.178659034726437

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Opening and closing music: 'Improv' a blues improvised and played by Stephen Asma

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Portrait sketch by KB illustration

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, Joanna talks about working with and studying the patient support group 'Clusterbusters' for over a decade and their willingness to become 'outlaws' to obtain or grow illegal psilocybin to treat severe 'cluster' headaches too often after appalling treatment by the medical profession. We discuss the sociology and politics of psychedelics, and medical research generally, reflecting on the many forces that act on researchers in supposedly objective science. We also talk about the members of the current US administration who have spoken openly and positively about their use of psychedlics and contrast this with the way drug users from other ethnicities are treated by the criminal justice system. Fascinating conversation and book.

Participants:

Joanna Kempner, Associate Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. www.joannakempner.com

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Joanna's book, 'Psychedelic Outlaws': https://www.joannakempner.com/psychedelic-outlaws

Cluster headache:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cluster-headaches/

Clusterbusters:https://clusterbusters.org/

Chemical structure of psychedelics (the 'indole ring'): https://psychedelics.cornell.edu/

Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Portrait sketch by KB illustration

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.