SKRAPS Studio

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Documentary

Updated 12/21/2021
Life Sciences

Life Sciences

Updated 03/12/2025

12/07/2021 · Bonus

Bonus Episode No.2: Building a perfect life (or Not)

Hello all, This is JoJo, your friend and co-host of SKRAPS. I grew up around construction. Tradesmen and experts at the crafts of building and repairing homes were omnipresent in my childhood. From a very young age, I knew more about framing than I did about Barbie dolls. I was comfortable in the world of power tools and knew the importance of “measure twice, cut once” before I knew my multiplication tables. Any contractor worth his or her salt will tell you that a sound foundation is the most important thing you need in any structure. A compromised foundation will compromise everything that you build on top. People have foundations, too. Our education, our family, our upbringing, our experiences and support systems all contribute to building our own foundations. Even with a solid foundation, it can become cracked when the earth below us shifts or when external forces push us too hard. Theses cracks and shifts are sometimes the cause of immense pain - pain so deep that no amount of paint and putty and window dressings can fix the real problem. Oh, we can try and DIY our way out of it - watch a few episodes of “Flip or Flop”, dress up our homes and ourselves, but the cracks remain. And the cracks eventually get bigger. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, we can find the tools to fix the cracks and bring the foundation back to a sound a solid state. But all too often, we lack the proper tools and skills and the pressures are just too much. The foundation finally gives way and our structures come tumbling down. Why am I speaking in construction metaphors? To demonstrate to you that our tool kit is inadequate. That the chaos and destruction of unaddressed mental health issues are ruinous and that they need a shopping spree at Home Depot. If we can expand our mental health tool kit to include tools like psychedelic medicines, maybe we can salvage a few more homes. Thank you Lindsay for sharing your story of your journey with Justin and for inspiring us to support meaningful research that can give us more, better, and different tools. -JoJo Platt This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
01/31/2023

Las Vagus, Baby!!

What happens in the vagus, stays in vagus?? Not with us at SKRAPS. “Science Is a Team Sport” If we truly mean this - I mean, really and truly mean that science is a group effort and not the effort of one person, let’s really dive in to this and embrace our opportunities to set the record straight. And I mean let’s start right now! As we endeavor to understand The Wanderer, we must also strive to understand the contributors - and not just the marquee names. We hope to shed light on the nerve, the possibilities, the history, and all of the major players - not just a solo artist. After all, as we near the end of another American football season, I think we can appreciate that Joe Montana was better because of Jerry Rice - Troy Aikman thrived with Michael Irvin, and Tom Brady is the GOAT because of his myriad weapons. Let’s be true to our intent to make science a team sport and go beyond the lip service. SKRAPS is your podcast, where we on your behalf explores unsaid, underappreciated and sometimes, untold stories of sparks of brilliance in science, technology and innovation. Show Credits Created & Produced by: Arun Sridhar Editing: Arun SridharSound design: Arun Sridhar & Swaminathan ThiruGnanaSambandamSound mixing and mastering: Swaminathan ThiruGnanaSambandam Social Media: Twitter: @PodcastSkrapsLinkedIn: SKRAPSArun's Twitter Feed You can help us fund the production costs by donating as little as $5 or £5 or in any currency of your choice as a one time or a recurring payment HERE or you can buy us a coffee - here
12/21/2021 · Bonus

Bonus Episode No.3: What's a trip really like?

If you’ve listened to the PsychedRx series, or ever contemplated experiencing psychedelics, you’ve probably asked yourself what a trip is really like. Well, I’d very much like to tell you what it’s like, but it’s much like trying to describe an exact shade of purple velvet. It’s deep, rich, bright, dark, it changes as the light shifts. When you touch it, everything changes. It’s different in the morning than it is at night. It’s simultaneously warm and cool, comforting and challenging, but it’s something you can’t fully appreciate or describe without seeing it in person. For additional exploration and examination, we’ve engaged a first-rate scientist and psychonaut of sorts to help us understand, as best we can… With that, we’d like to thank Juan for sharing his experiences and perspectives with us. We’d also like to thank all of our participants for their time, dedication, talent, and insights. Finally, we’d like to thank each of you for taking this journey with us. Hazzah! This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
09/29/2021

Episode 2: Mescaline: The OG of Psychedelics

Peyote crosses the border and causes a riot. Drug companies want their taste, and psychedelics reach the social elite. What could possibly go wrong? In episode two of PsychedeRx, Peyote comes north to the good old US of A. And it’s not just for religious ceremonies anymore, either. Spanish conquistadors and European explorers, seeking to dominate the indigenous tribes, used Peyote to show force by banning its use and denying the tribes their spiritual practices. And we all know what happens when prohibitions are imposed - the use doesn’t stop, it just gets moved underground. James Mooney, an ethnographer dispatched by the Smithsonian Institute, is one of our best resources for this era. He committed to his diary first-hand accounts of the use of and backlash against peyote in tribal rituals. As Peyote moved north, albeit underground, it became the catalyst for a series of events that were bloodier than an episode of Dexter. Wovoka and the Ghost Dance were the turning point. The execution of Sitting Bull led to the massacre at Wounded Knee - and it was all over peyote and freedom of religion - ain’t that an ironic twist? Episode two also sheds light on the earliest interventions of the drug companies like Merck and Parke-Davis and their part in our little psychedelic drama. Arthur Heffter separates the resins from the alkaloids and isolates the first real information on dosing. We get a close-up look at how the psychiatrists and psychologists got involved - where they got it right, and where they got it all wrong. Psychedelics also make their way into the world of the social elites through folks like Aldous Huxley and Ken Kesey. We’ll close out this week with our first peek at LSD. So remember to “Turn on, tune in, and drop out.” This documentary series is made possible by our kind donors. Kindly help us by donating to our cause of disseminating factual stories of science, scientists and innovations at https://skrapspodcast.com/donate/ This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
11/30/2021 · Bonus

Bonus Episode No.1: Psychedelics: When is it a bad idea?

Over the ten episodes in this series, it’s clear that we are enthusiastic about the future of psychedelic medicines. There are so many potential applications for responsible, physician-assisted therapies that it almost seems as though psychedelics are a silver bullet, or a little black dress - perfect for any occasion and applicable to myriad diseases and conditions. Not to contradict ourselves, but there are definitely situations in which psychedelic medicines are not only ineffective, but ill-advised or flat out a bad idea. We hope to provide responsible and balanced information to our listeners and believe that we have done so. The PTSD episode, you heard from the leaders of Heroic Hearts and Heroic Hearts UK about their non-negotiable exclusion criteria. But the same way you heard emotional personal stories about their success, we thought it imperative to share with you a story about why not everyone and not everything can be helped with psychedelic medicines and why responsible use is the only possible solution. We give our special thanks to Dr. Erika Ross for sharing the story that changed her life. This one is for Kreg. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
11/09/2021

Episode 8: New Frontiers in Psychedelics for Addiction and Depression

Zeus gave Sisyphus the eternal punishment of forever rolling a boulder up a hill in the depths of Hades for his crimes of being a trickster and twice cheating death. “Then I witnessed the torture of Sisyphus, as he wrestled with a huge rock with both hands. Bracing himself and thrusting with hands and feet he pushed the boulder uphill to the top. But every time, as he was about to send it toppling over the crest, its sheer weight turned it back, and once again towards the plain the pitiless rock rolled down. So once more he had to wrestle with the thing and push it up, while the sweat poured from his limbs and the dust rose high above his head. (Odyssey, Book 11:593)” His tale sounds woefully close to the trials of addiction and depression. Just when you see the light, just when the journey appears as though it will end in success and the completion of a herculean task, life turns that boulder right around and sends you back to the foot of the mountain - only to start the task all over again with nothing more than your corporeal toolkit. But what if Sisyphus had real tools? Not just his hands and brute strength, but genuine tools like levers and pulleys? What if he had a partner to help him brace the boulder while he lassoed it with the rope that could be manipulated to make the work of one man equal to two? and to mitigate the back-roll? Depression and addiction, much like PTSD from episode seven, have benefitted little from new discoveries. The tool kits haven’t changed much lately while the rates of incidence climb without check. Is there a way that psychedelics can offer a good old fashioned Craftsman-style revolution? We talk with Celia Morgan (https://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/staff/profile/index.php?web_id=Celia_Morgan), Laurie Higbed (https://theorg.com/org/awakn-life-sciences/org-chart/laurie-higbed ) and others about where the research stands. We’ll walk through the history of psychedlics in addiction and depression, and we’ll hear from people like Mary Ann Dimond with a poignant reminder that these are not problems, not boulders, not numbers, but people who are struggling, people who are loved, and all to often, people who are gone. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
02/18/2022

S4 E3: Basic Bench - Bedside Considerations For Bioelectronic Medicines

Have you ever wondered what decisions go behind deciding if a pharmaceutical is to be administered either orally or intravenously or via inhalation. Who decides that? Well, the short answer is that it is decided based on a tested pharmaceutical developmental framework that has stood the test of time. First, it is determined by a clinical need, then by what the drug does to the body (pharmacodynamics) and what the body does to the drug (pharmacokinetics) married with other commercial question. Now, if we flip it to Bioelectronic Medicines, we have realized that the field does not have an established framework that is available for everyone to discuss. So we sought to establish that via this episode. We are joined by Dr. Victor Pikov, who unpicks these crucial questions, as it pertains to Bioelectronic Medicines. We discuss all the crucial questions that needs to be discussed and considered. Special thanks to Laura Szklarski for providing us with a great testimonial and some key actions for you to consider. Our deepest thanks to CorTec Neuro and CirTec Medical for their kind help in bringing these episodes to you. SKRAPS will always remain free, but production of SKRAPS is not. We appreciate kind, recurring donations to help produce such content. You can find more information HERE.
10/06/2021

Episode 3: The Doors are Blown Open

Drug discovery doesn’t happen in a vacuum. So much of the world’s geopolitical activities affect what happens both inside and outside of the lab. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide was such a curious drug that there were seemingly no limits to how and when it would be tested. Episode three of PsychedeRx kicks off with an LSD-laden military training exercise. Don’t laugh. It really did happen and we have the tapes to prove it. All in the name of science, right? We bring back Mike Jay from Episode Two to bring some of the highlights from the lab of Albert Hoffman and how his cult-favorite bicycle “trip.” A day now celebrated around the world. But it wasn't a pleasant ride as the world sees it. We got the details on it from Hoffman's personal journal. We’ll see how Sandoz, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, passed out LSD to psychiatrists around the world in an attempt to find out just what the heck this chemical could really be used for - including as a possible cure for alcoholism. As always, we want you to listen in and ask the hard questions. Were these incidents that shaped the reputation and the future of these substances use or misuse? Were they inherently bad, or was it their handling that earned the demonized notoriety? Hoffman's Potion Documentary Link: CLICK HERE This podcast series is made possible by kind donations. If you wish to donate to our cause of spreading factual stories of science, scientists and innovations, please click here: https://skrapspodcast.com/donate/ This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
11/10/2020

E14: "Meandering" Journey in Innovation with Kate Rosenbluth, Founder of Cala Health

This is one fantastic conversation that we are proud to state that no one has brought this story out to the listeners. Join us to listen to one of the best storytellers whose career has experienced the amazing innovation that straddles engineering and medicine. To make it more interesting, she is the first person we know of, who has experiences in people from pioneers in silicon valley, biotechnology and bioelectronic medicines (including making a name for herself). Kate recounts the story from her birth, to her varied upbringing, her interest in music and architecture, engineering to neuroscience. This is one amazing conversation. Show notes are on our blog pages at www.skrapsofbrilliance.com
10/12/2021

Episode 4: Oh, LSD! My Problem Child

“Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men? The Shadow knows!” But seriously - who knows? And are the men evil? Or is it their hearts? Or is it the means that they employ? Can their cause serve as cover? Can there be righteous justification for some of the horrendous things done in the name of self-preservation? In the short gap between World War II and the Cold War, America was battling new enemies, both foreign and domestic. How could that be? How could the superpower that conquered the Nazis and fought off attacks from the Pacific suffer internal moral and ethical turpitude? Fear. Fear causes people to do amazing and improbable things. Fear of an enemy, fear of an unknown. They are powerful motivators and ones that Syndey Gottlieb embraced with every fibre of his professional being. The same man whose family would have been Nazi victims engaged in some of the most insidious “experiments” known to man - experiments based on the knowledge and tutelage of the same Nazi scientists who deployed the gasses that would have killed his own family. Join us as New York Times reporter and prolific author, Stephen Kinzer introduces us to the most diabolical personalities of the psychedelic journey to date. This episode includes nothing short of the best Bourne thriller - with murder, mayhem, science, spies, brainwashing, and oh so much more. And then… let’s bring in Mr. LSD himself, Dr. Timothy Leary. All of this came to a pinnacle, and contributed to the 1971 war on drugs. Join us as we explore paranoia, brutality, recklessness and glorification of recreational use led to where we are today. This podcast series is made possible by kind donations. If you wish to donate to our cause of spreading factual stories of science, scientists and innovations, please click here: https://skrapspodcast.com/donate/ This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

SKRAPS Studio explores the stories sparks of scientific brilliance in science and innovation through its interview based podcast (SKRAPS Podcast) and its scripted narrative audio documentary series.

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SKRAPS Studio

Top Shows

Bonus Episode No.2: Building a perfect life (or Not)

Las Vagus, Baby!!

Bonus Episode No.3: What's a trip really like?

Episode 2: Mescaline: The OG of Psychedelics

Bonus Episode No.1: Psychedelics: When is it a bad idea?

Episode 8: New Frontiers in Psychedelics for Addiction and Depression

S4 E3: Basic Bench - Bedside Considerations For Bioelectronic Medicines

Episode 3: The Doors are Blown Open

E14: "Meandering" Journey in Innovation with Kate Rosenbluth, Founder of Cala Health

Episode 4: Oh, LSD! My Problem Child

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