About the podcast
ATTMind is an interview-based podcast focusing on psychedelics. It is hosted by Canadian author and public educator, James W. Jesso who is the author of 2 fantastic books I highly recommend everyone to read: Decomposing The Shadow: Lessons From The Psilocybin Mushroom and The True Light Of Darkness. Another absolute favorite of mine is his lecture called The 4 Archetypes Of Psilocybin given by him in Vancouver BC in 2013, you can buy it on Bandcamp for any price you’re comfortable paying or simply listen to it here. Below is a collection of ATTMind episodes I find most important or interesting out of 250+ episodes he’s done so far which are all pretty incredible.
“My primary goal with this podcast is to explore psychedelic cultures, research, and medicine. However, attached to that primary goal is a secondary goal: supporting the personal and cultural integration of psychedelic experiences in a functional and healthy way. I move towards that goal by exploring the psychedelic field with a curiosity for immediate and valuable relevance to a person’s lived life.
Core ATTMind episodes (6)
#210 Psilocybin Therapy, Start To Finish | Dr. JJ Pursell
Dr. JJ Pursell offers a complete, beginner-friendly map of psilocybin therapy, from the first preparation conversation all the way through to integration, told from inside a working practice.
#127 Psilocybin Therapy and Mushroom Wisdom | Francoise Bourzat and Dr. Rosalind Watts
Two highly accomplished women in psilocybin therapy come together to talk with each other about psilocybin for depression, trauma, dying; as well as integration, the role of community in getting the most out of our psychedelic experiences, why the depression comes back after psilocybin therapy, and the challenges of being a woman in psychedelic research.
#65 DMT and the Mainstreaming of Psychedelics | Rick Strassman MD
Rick Strassman touches on how he feels about the impact his work with DMT has had on psychedelic research and the psychedelic subculture and talks about God, prophecy, and even politics.
#67 We Don’t Know Sh!t | Dennis McKenna
Dennis talks about emergence of psychedelics in the culture, how and why Dennis and Terence got into psychedelics, danger of the cults and power hunger within ayahuasca culture, the moral dimension of psychedelic technology and much more.
#93 Psychedelic Neuroscience, Civilization, and The Ego | Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris
Dr. Carhart-Harris joins ATTMind to talk about the Entropic Brain (and mind) theory, complexity vs. order, the disproportionate representation of ‘ego’ consciousness in modern civilization and its impact on the natural world, confirmation biases and misreporting in psychedelic science and, of course, how psychedelics work in the brain.
#197 Microdosing for Health, Healing, and Enhanced Performance
Psychedelic researchers James Fadiman and Jordan Gruber discuss microdosing protocols, benefits, current research, and safety considerations. They also talk about microdosing for various neurological and mental health conditions like ADHD, TBI, dementia, and depression—as well as for the betterment of well people.
Psilocybin & Magic Mushrooms (8)
#127 Psilocybin Therapy and Mushroom Wisdom | Francoise Bourzat and Dr. Rosalind Watts
Two highly accomplished women in psilocybin therapy come together to talk with each other about psilocybin for depression, trauma, dying; as well as integration, the role of community in getting the most out of our psychedelic experiences, why the depression comes back after psilocybin therapy, and the challenges of being a woman in psychedelic research.
#210 Psilocybin Therapy, Start To Finish | Dr. JJ Pursell
Dr. JJ Pursell offers a complete, beginner-friendly map of psilocybin therapy, from the first preparation conversation all the way through to integration, told from inside a working practice.
#112 Researching Psilocybin’s Effect on Depression | Dr. Rosalind Watts
Dr. Rosalind Watts joins ATTMind to help breakdown and better understand the nuances of the psilocybin for depression trials she leads at Imperial College London. She talks about what her team’s research helped her understand about the nature of depression, the value of feeling into our emotional pain, and what makes the difference between those who’s lives turn out for the best and those who fall back into depression.
#145 The Effects of Psilocybin on Creativity | Natasha Mason & Jan Ramaekers
Natasha Mason and Jan Ramaekers discuss the effects of psilocybin on creativity; the challenge of measuring creativity in a lab; the role creativity plays in mental health; and even the connections between psychedelics, creativity, and movements in art and culture.
#48 Ultra-High Dose Psilocybin and The Future Humanity w/ Kilindi Iyi
Kilindi Iyi joins the show to discuss his experiences with his ultra-high dose psilocybin experiences, what brought him to explore so deeply, what it’s like to take such a high dose, and what he has gleaned from those experiences about the nature of reality. Most importantly, we talk about what it means to become explorers of the mind by taking entheogens at any dose.
#133 Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy For The Terminally Ill | TheraPsil
The discussion with Dr. Bruce Tobin leans heavily into the legal argument for access to psilocybin-assisted therapy for the terminally ill here in Canada, and especially the role of psilocybin in helping alleviate the existential suffering that comes during a person’s dying time, and thus into talk about life’s meaning and its presence or absence in that dying time.
MDMA & Entactogens (3)
#177 Entactogens, MDMA, and Bringing New Love Drugs To Market | Matthew Baggott
Matthew Baggott talks about MDMA as a molecule, as a medicine, and as a drug out in the world. This includes an in-depth discussion on the pharmacology of MDMA, the neurological basis of the so-called loss of magic phenomenal, and an emerging theory on how to bring the magic back.
#150 Group MDMA for Grief And The Recently Bereaved | Shelley and Charley Wininger
Shelley and Charley join ATTMind to tell a story, one that provides the context to wonder about the potential of group MDMA experiences for grief and the recently bereaved, as well as questions about death and dying, feeling safe to be vulnerable, and the profound healing of togetherness in times of great loss.
#10 The Therapeutic Power Of MDMA w/ Dr. Ben Sessa
Ben Sessa talks about the current face of psychedelics in academia, The life cycle of childhood trauma into PTSD, the potential of psychedelics for the treatment of PTSD, as well as the neurophysiological mechanisms and potentials of not only MDMA but also LSD, Psilocybin, and Ketamine.
DMT, 5-MeO-DMT & Ibogaine (9)
#65 DMT and the Mainstreaming of Psychedelics | Rick Strassman MD
Rick Strassman touches on how he feels about the impact his work with DMT has had on psychedelic research and the psychedelic subculture and talks about God, prophecy, and even politics.
#101 DMT, Aliens, and The Meaning Of Life | Dr. Andrew Gallimore
Andrew Gallimore joins ATTMind to talk about extended-state DMT, the structure of reality, hyperdimensional alien intelligences, and the implications of dying while tripping DMT.
#56 The Science Of DMT w/ Christopher Timmermann
Christopher Timmermann talks about his research on DMT, psychedelic research in general, and the relationship between neural activity and altered consciousness.
#176 Using Psychedelic Molecules to Explore Alternate Worlds | Andrew Gallimore, PhD
Andrew Gallimore discusses how the brain builds an experiential world model from patterns of information at the neural level; how all of those worlds are correlated with specific neural patterns; how we can disturb that neural pattern to encounter new worlds; essentially, using psychedelic molecules to explore alternate worlds and about how every experience is “real” but not all experience is accurately mapped to our environment.
#71 5-MeO-DMT Therapy and Integration | Rafael Lancelotta
Rafael Lancelotta is on the show to unpack 5-MeO-DMT – chemically, neurologically, psychologically, culturally, and therapeutically. He also comments on the current rise of toad retreats and his particular concerns over the weekend retreat model. Finally, he gives us some important tips on the 5-MeO-DMT integration process.
#113 Building Best Practices In The Underground Subculture Of 5-MeO-DMT | Chad Charles
Chad Charles joins ATTMind to talk about the problems present in the worldwide culture of 5-MeO-DMT and where the establishment of a Standard Of Care amongst facilitators might help address those problems. He also speaks deeply about patterns of abuses of power, restorative circling over cancel/call-out culture, spiritual bypassing, flashbacks, and other personal, and social issues present in the worldwide 5-MeO-DMT culture.
Ayahuasca & Plant Medicine (3)
#67 We Don’t Know Sh!t | Dennis McKenna
Dennis talks about emergence of psychedelics in the culture, how and why Dennis and Terence got into psychedelics, danger of the cults and power hunger within ayahuasca culture, the moral dimension of psychedelic technology and much more.
#174 The 6 Pitfalls: Safety and Best Practices for Ayahuasca Facilitators in Non-Traditional Contexts | Jeronimo M.M.
This episode explores the potential dangers and pitfalls present for ayahuasca/plant medicine facilitators in non-traditional contexts. Those dangers include things that can happen with participants during ceremony that might result in them being harmed, as well as some dangers specific to the facilitators, dangers that Jerónimo refers to as The 6 Pitfalls.
#195 Suggestibility and Ayahuasca: Managing Influence | Jerónimo Mazarrasa
In this interview James and Jerónimo explore the vulnerability of increased suggestibility while the influence of ayahuasca (and other psychedelics), and the various harms that can can incur when one’s facilitator that suggestibility is not handled with skillful care.
LSD, Neuroscience & Consciousness (6)
#93 Psychedelic Neuroscience, Civilization, and The Ego | Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris
Dr. Carhart-Harris joins ATTMind to talk about the Entropic Brain (and mind) theory, complexity vs. order, the disproportionate representation of ‘ego’ consciousness in modern civilization and its impact on the natural world, confirmation biases and misreporting in psychedelic science and, of course, how psychedelics work in the brain.
#83 Mapping Consciousness With High Dose LSD | Chris Bache, Ph.D.
In this episode, Chris and James explore the research and exploration that underpins Diamonds from Heaven: a twenty-year journey into 70+ high dose LSD experiences done with the explicit intent to map Consciousness. They talk about why Bache chose this path, what it was like, and what he learned from it all about Consciousness, psychedelic consciousness, and what it means to be a finite human, nested in a complex web of relationships, defined by its dualist dance for meaning.
#142 Global Collapse, Spirituality, and The Birth Of The Future Human | Chris Bache, Ph.D.
In this interview, Chris outlines why and where he sees this collapse as already having begun and what his LSD journeys into ‘deep time,’ the collective suffering of all humanity, and divine encounters with oneness have revealed about what it will take for humanity to make it through collapse into the future anew.
#76 LSD and The New Science Of Brainwave Harmonics | Selen Atasoy, PhD
Selen Atasoy is on the show to talk about a new model for interpreting fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) data based on the mathematics of harmonic waves she and her team developed. They have developed a way to ‘decompose’ brain states in the same vein as how we can decompose a musical piece down to its individual notes. They call it connectome-harmonic decomposition and have applied this approach to the fMRI data of the brain on LSD.
#123 The impact of Psychedelics on Memory Processing | Maria Balaet
Maria Balaet is on the show to talk about the impact of psychedelics on memory processing, the neuropharmacology of memory, the interplay of memory and personal consciousness, and the ethics of memory modulation with psychedelics.
#116 Psychedelics increase nature-relatedness | Sam Gandy, Ph.D.
Sam Gandy is on the show to explore where the scientific observation that psychedelics increase nature-relatedness does and does not weave into our facing of the climate crisis.
Therapy, Integration & Facilitation (6)
#163 Integrating Internal Family Systems and Psychedelic Therapy | Robert Falconer
James and Robert lay the groundwork for what Internal Family Systems therapy is; its foundational propositions about the nature of the mind; and both how IFS works and how therapists work with IFS to bring about healing. From there they go into the unique benefit IFS has to offer psychedelic therapy and how to use IFS in both preparation for and integration of psychedelic experiences.
#202 An In-Depth Exploration Of Psychedelic Integration | Marc Aixalà
This interview goes in depth into psychedelic integration, what it offers, what it’s for, how we do it, timelines for when to apply which practices, and common mistakes we make both our practice and understanding of psychedelic integration. Marc also talks about derealization/depersonalization; working with so-called bad trips or traumatic psychedelic experiences; and integrating experiences the transcendental or transpersonal.
#172 A Jungian Approach To Psychosis, Spiritual Crisis, and Healing Our Deepest Wounds | Dr. Tim Read
Dr. Tim Read discusses the deep unconscious, complexes, being triggered, and why we need a new way to treat mental illness. He also talks about the difference between spiritual crisis and psychosis; how modern psychiatry is broken; and why psychiatrists should undergo psychedelic therapy.
#90 Psychedelic Psychotherapy: A Conversation With Three Underground Providers
In this episode of ATTMind three female, underground psychedelic therapists from Canada are on the show anonymously to share their wisdom, experience, and knowledge of psychedelic psychotherapy. They talk about psilocybin, MDMA, and 3-MMC assisted psychotherapy; their methodologies and practices; cautions and concerns; and an in-depth look at both what it is like and what it takes to be an underground psychedelic psychotherapist.
#179 Swimming In The Sacred: Wisdom From The Psychedelic Underground | Rachel Harris
In this episode Rachel Harris shares what she learned from underground guides, where it compliments and contrasts the prevailing narratives around psychedelic medicine presently at the forefront of our so-called psychedelic renaissance and how psychedelic guiding work is NOT therapy and how therapy and guiding are two different skill sets.
#115 Exploring Our Relationship To Psychedelic Healing | Mel Cassidy
Mel joins ATTMind to explore how their models of understanding and engaging human relationships apply to understand and engaging our relationship to psychedelics, psychedelic healing, and psychedelic communities.
Microdosing (3)
#197 Microdosing for Health, Healing, and Enhanced Performance
Psychedelic researchers James Fadiman and Jordan Gruber discuss microdosing protocols, benefits, current research, and safety considerations. They also talk about microdosing for various neurological and mental health conditions like ADHD, TBI, dementia, and depression—as well as for the betterment of well people.
#194 Microdosing Psilocybin: Effects on Stress Resiliency and Compulsive Behaviours | Dr. Mikael Palner
Mikael Palner talks about how psilocybin microdosing may help people manage the conflict between the positive life health choices we want to make and the compulsions towards the choices we are trying to change, research on the positive effects of microdosing psilocybin on stress resiliency, compulsions, and neuroplasticity; as well as what microdosing IS NOT good for, and some important cautions to consider with respect to potential harms of microdosing.
#73 Microdosing Psychedelics For A Better World | Paul Austin
Paul Austin joins ATTMind to talk about what microdosing is and what it's good for, his journey with microdosing and his current microdosing protocol, how to safely microdose psilocybin mushrooms and LSD, the psychedelic subculture going mainstream and all the problems that come with that and more.
Medical Uses (Pain, Ketamine, Headaches, OCD)
#196 Psychedelics for Chronic Pain | Dr. Alex Bekker
Dr. Alex Bekker talks about what chronic pain is, the different between chronic and acute pain, how chronic pain is related to what he refers to as maladaptive neuroplasticity, and how it is that psychedelics may be effective in treating chronic pain conditions that we presently have no completely effective drugs or therapies for.
#143 Somatic Ketamine Therapy For Depression | Pierre Bouchard
Pierre Bouchard is on the show to talk about somatic therapy, the traumatic roots of depression, and the role ketamine-assisted somatic psychotherapy can play in healing that trauma, and thus the depression it produces.
#173 Psychedelic Hope In The Treatment Of Cluster Headaches | Bob Wold
Bob Wold joins ATTMind to explore what cluster headaches are: their patterns, symptoms, and pathophysiology; The treatment landscape presently available, with a specific deep dive into psychedelic tryptamines as the most effective treatment discovered thus far and how those with clusters use those tryptamines.
#106 Treating OCD with Psychedelic Medicine | Adam Strauss
Adam Strauss is on the show for this episode to dive into the painful lived experience of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and what it was, exactly, that psychedelics did for him that helped him regain agency over his life.
Risks & Critical Thinking (3)
#58 The Psychedelic Dark Side: Cults, Psychosis & Delusional Ideation | James Kent
James Kent joins ATTMind for an unapologetic and unbarred exploration of his criticisms and exposures of the psychedelic culture from his 25 years of immersion and his first-hand experiences of psychosis, psychotic episodes, and even ketamine addiction.
#152 Hallucinogen Perception Persisting Disorder (HPPD) | Ed Prideaux
Ed Prideaux joins ATTMind to discuss what HPPD is, its symptoms, its history, its association with other mental health conditions, how widespread it seems to be, and how it isn’t necessarily a negative experience.
#122 Preparing for The Unintended Consequences of Mainstreaming Psychedelics | Jerónimo M.M.
Jerónimo M.M. joins ATTMind to discuss the cultural issues we are presented with insofar as integrating psychedelics into the mainstream of the Western World of the Global North. He also talks about preparing for the unintended consequences of ending prohibition and the amputation of culture that comes with our globalized export of psychoactive plants.
Culture, Ethics & Policy (6)
#211 The State Of The Psychedelic Renaissance | Shelby Hartman
Shelby Hartman joins Adventures Through The Mind to map what is actually happening in the psychedelic renaissance right now; from the rise of for-profit “corporadelic” pharma and the FDA approval track, to city-level decriminalization, to the unregulated grey market where lab tests found almost no psilocybin in products sold as mushrooms.
#161 Safeguarding The Sacredness of Psychedelics Against Profit-Driven Industrialization | Martijn Schirp
Martijn and James wonder about the potential harms that will come from the profit-driven industrialization of psychedelics and psychedelic therapy; how we might safeguard the sacredness of psychedelics and people seeking psychedelic therapy against those harms; and where and how he sees Synthesis Institute as attempting to do so.
#137 Sensemaking Psychedelic Capitalism with Rebel Wisdom | Alexander Beiner
Alexander Beiner joins us on Adventures Through The Mind to discuss the rise of psychedelic capitalism, its impact on the culture, and the risk of us losing something promising if we get swept up by various narratives for-profits models are seeding into our minds.
#114 #ThankYouPlantMedicine: Destigmatizing Psychedelics | Jonathan Glazer & David Grillot
David Grillot and Jonathan Glazer are the founders of ThankYouPlantMedicine, and they are on the show to both talk about the movement itself and respond to some of my criticisms. We speak about the possible risks of “coming out of the psychedelic closet”, the potentially adverse outcomes of destigmatizing psychedelics too quickly, the importance of actualizing our psychedelic learning, and the problems of politicizing the psychedelic movement.
#100 Asking 3 Potent Questions To 8 Psychedelic Luminaries
For this milestone 100th episode of ATTMind James asks 8 amazing psychedelic thinkers and researchers 3 questions: What do you feel is the best use of psychedelics at this time? What does the psychedelic experience show us about what it means to die? What is an area in psychedelic culture that is important but under-represented in the major discourse?
#45 Dying To Know: The Story Of Tim Leary and Richard Alpert w/ Gay Dillingham
Gay Dillingham joins ATTMind to talk about Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, who they were on the surface of history but also who they were as people, friends, and members of a larger community. She talks about the process of making "Dying To Know: Timothy Leary and Ram Das" and why she felt telling the story of these two men was so important that she was willing to invest 19 years of her life into making it.
Far-Out Conversations (2)
#06 Getting Far-Out In The Jungle w/ Rak Razam
This episode is admittedly one of far-out ideas, speculation, and heavy vernacular. From Terence McKenna as a pattern of potential consciousness analogs to The Christ to navigating the experience of entities in altered states, to the fundamental nature of reality as a play of archetypal patterns in divine consciousness, this is an interesting conversation.
#33 Stoned Cyborg Theory | Sebastian Job
Sebastian Job joins ATTMind to talk about his path from studying the psychology of racist Russian nationalists to the sociopolitical significance of entheogens. James and Sebastian discuss his personal journey with plant dietas, entheogens and the potential they hold as allies in advancing our local and global sociopolitical context, and his advancement of Terrence’s McKenna’s Stoned Ape Theory, which he calls Stoned Cyborg Theory.