Altered States

PRX

Psychedelics are now at the center of a global conversation about mental health, mysticism, and even how we experience illness and death. In Altered States, host Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores how people are taking these drugs, who has access to them, how they're regulated, who stands to profit, and what these substances might offer us as individuals and as a society.

  1. Sex, Psychedelics and Consent (Pt. 2)

    2025-12-03

    Sex, Psychedelics and Consent (Pt. 2)

    Allegations of sexual, financial, and psychological abuse sometimes arise in the growing psychedelic church movement in Utah and beyond. A leader or guide might use their authority to pressure people – usually women – into having sexual contact with them. How might mind-altering substances play into such abuses of power? How should practitioners navigate consent? And what can psychedelic churches do to keep people safe? For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.

    28 min
  2. Psychedelic Church vs. State of Utah (Pt. 1)

    2025-12-03

    Psychedelic Church vs. State of Utah (Pt. 1)

    In November 2024, police raided Singularism, an establishment that claims to be a new religion founded by a former Mormon man. But before the state could press charges, Singularism went on the offensive, saying the seized psilocybin was a religious sacrament. Singularism sued the state of Utah, claiming religious freedom. So far, a federal judge has been adamant: psychedelic religion is still religion. For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.

    42 min
  3. Psychedelics for Anorexia?

    2025-11-19

    Psychedelics for Anorexia?

    In South Africa, a former ballet dancer and horseback rider struggled for years with anorexia. After undergoing in-patient treatment and regular therapy, she tried psychedelics, and that’s when she got her first meaningful glimpse into what her mind would be like without anorexia. So is this actually a potential treatment? Early research suggests it could be. And now, at the University of California, San Francisco a new study is underway, exploring whether psilocybin might help young adults with severe anorexia.  If you or someone you know are struggling with an eating disorder, help is available. Please call the National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline at 866-662-1235.  And for 24/7 support, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, or text “HOME” to 741741 to reach the crisis text line. For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.

    42 min
  4. In Texas’s Peyote Gardens

    2025-11-12

    In Texas’s Peyote Gardens

    Reporter Adreanna Rodriguez gets invited to Texas to harvest peyote, a psychoactive cactus often caught in the crosshairs of the so-called psychedelic Renaissance. When she arrives, she finds a threatened cactus, a community determined to protect it, and an unexpected calling that reconnects her to home. For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.

    47 min
  5. Mice on Magic Mushrooms

    2025-11-05

    Mice on Magic Mushrooms

    How do you know if a mouse is on a psychedelic? It might just shake its head. This behavior, known as the head-twitch response, signals whether a molecule is a psychedelic-like hallucinogen. Head twitch is one tool used by pharmaceutical companies racing to develop new mental health drugs. But does a mouse experience an altered state like a human? Do animals have mystical experiences? And what can we really learn about the brain, or even human consciousness, from these unwitting rodent psychonauts? For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.

    25 min
  6. UPDATE: A Navy SEAL Goes to Mexico to take Ibogaine

    2025-10-29

    UPDATE: A Navy SEAL Goes to Mexico to take Ibogaine

    A former Navy SEAL named Craig deployed nine times over nearly three decades in the military. When he left the service, he felt lucky to have all his limbs, toes and fingers. But he found himself struggling with language and memory and rising frustration. One day he forgot his wife’s name and couldn’t remember it for hours. His wife Gretchen started looking for help online and found information about a Stanford University research study on ibogaine and veterans. Craig volunteered. On October 8, Dr. Nolan Williams, who led that ibogaine study, died. He was 42. For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.

    45 min
  7. Was Ayahuasca Used for Political Indoctrination in Brazil?

    2025-10-22

    Was Ayahuasca Used for Political Indoctrination in Brazil?

    In 2023, supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro violently stormed the capital in an attempted coup. Among Bolsonaro’s most loyal supporters were leaders in the União do Vegetal, one of Brazil’s oldest and most popular ayahuasca churches. Brazil’s laws state that electoral propaganda is forbidden inside temples and churches but former União do Vegetal members say they experienced what some called brainwashing while in an altered state. For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.

    40 min
  8. An Ayahuasca Message

    2025-10-15

    An Ayahuasca Message

    The Noke Koi are an Indigenous group from Acre, Brazil who consider themselves guardians of the psychoactive plant brew ayahuasca, which they call “uni.” This summer, they traveled to the U.S. to spread an urgent message: their home in the Amazon is being destroyed. For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.

    23 min
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Psychedelics are now at the center of a global conversation about mental health, mysticism, and even how we experience illness and death. In Altered States, host Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores how people are taking these drugs, who has access to them, how they're regulated, who stands to profit, and what these substances might offer us as individuals and as a society.

Information

  • Skapad av
    PRX
  • Aktiva år
    2024 - 2025
  • Avsnitt
    25
  • Åldersgräns
    Vuxet innehåll
  • Copyright
    © UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics
  • Programmets webbplats
    Altered States
  • Leverantör

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