The Psymposia Podcast
Psymposia is a 501(c)(3) research non-profit with a mission to educate the public on psychedelic science and harm reduction. We offer critical perspectives on drugs, politics, and culture. The podcast is co-hosted by Psymposia co-founder Brian Normand, psychedelics researcher and ethicist Neşe Devenot, evolutionary ecologist Brian Pace, and journalist Russell Hausfeld.
Episodes
Normie, Mike, and Neşe discuss the upcoming MAHA Summit and its psychedelic pharmaceutical sponsors.
The crew discusses the FDA's September 14 psychedelic hearing, including Neşe's experience being in attendance, the financial conflicts of interest at the event, and the pseudoscientific beliefs of practitioners who gave testimony.
Footnotes:
Submit written comment to the FDA by October 5, 2026 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/14/2026-14155/considerations-for-potential-future-therapeutic-use-of-psychedelic-dr...
Psymposia dives into the recent Rolling Stone article — "Reggie Watts Is a Prominent Ketamine Advocate. Was It His Ex's 'Undoing'?" — and explores how the dynamics at play in that article are pervasive within the psychedelic advocacy scene.
Footnotes:
Reggie Watts Is a Prominent Ketamine Advocate. Was It His Ex's 'Undoing'? (Rolling Stone): https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/reggie-watts-keta...
Psymposia interviews YouTube documentarian @Alex-Novell about his experience with Andrew Callaghan and Channel 5, drug legalization, and creating documentary films.
Thumbnail terminator image provided by Alex Novell.
Psymposia discusses takeaways from their "Psychedelic Conversion Therapy" series and reflects on the ten year anniversary of their "Coming Out of the Psychedelic Closet" series.
The crew discusses two recent news stories — a recently published New Yorker article on right-wing psychedelia and the news that Resilient Pharmaceuticals resubmitted its MDMA for PTSD application without the new Phase 3 study that was requested during its 2024 rejection.
We have an interview Zenab Ahmed, who wrote the story "Israel's Rave Music Drowns Out the Sound of its Victims" for Current Affairs. And we wrap up the epis...
Neşe and Russell speak with Kaleb Graves about his reporting on the growing links between psychedelic therapy and conversion therapy movements. Drawing from his article — "Psychedelic Conversion Therapy: How Christian Nationalism Is Co-Opting a Movement Once Reserved for Hippies" — they discuss how right-wing religious and political ideologies are increasingly intersecting with the psychedelic space.
They discuss figure...
Neşe and Russell examine the rise of modern right-wing influencers who simultaneously advocate for the dismantling of "woke" ideologies, express support for conversion therapy frameworks, and promote the use of psychedelic therapy. Focusing on figures like Elon Musk and Jordan Peterson, they explore how these seemingly contradictory positions intersect. Both Musk and Peterson have had a notable influence within psychedelic culture,...
Neşe and Russell review the history and harms of conversion therapy practices in the broader medical landscape, as well as their persistence throughout the history of psychedelic research. In the first wave of psychedelic science, influential figures helped legitimize deeply harmful ideas about pharmaceutical assistance in shifting identity.
Timothy Leary publicly suggested psychedelics could "cure" homosexuality. Richard Alpert (l...
The crew discusses AtaiBeckley's acquisition by Eli Lilly, The Wall Street Journal's mini-documentary on 5-MeO-DMT, and a recent death that occurred during a psychedelic retreat.
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 join...
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https://www.patreon.com/psymposia
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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...
We have made some changes to our Patreon and wanted to let you know what to expect from your subscription moving forward!
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Simplified Tiers. We simplified our tiers so there will only be three offerings: a $5, $10, and $50 level
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The $2 tier is going away July 1, but any current $2 members will be grandfathered in at that price.
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Early Access. All of our paid members will receive early access to ad-fre...
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.
...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 P...
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.
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