Brainforest Café

McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy
  • 5.0 (10)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

In the Brainforest Café, Dennis McKenna discusses a wide range of topics related to philosophy, plant medicines, psychedelics and consciousness in nature. Guests are invited from diverse fields such as anthropology, neuroscience, and spirituality to explore various aspects of the human experience. Some of the topics that are covered in the Brainforest Café include the history and the role of plant medicines in traditional healing practices and the potential benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health. The Brainforest Café also explores the cultural, social, and political implications of psychedelic use. Dennis McKenna shares his own personal experiences with plant medicines, offering insights and reflections on his own journey of self-discovery and transformation. The Brainforest Café is a thought-provoking and engaging exploration of the intersection between science, spirituality, and culture, and offers a valuable perspective on the potential of plant medicines to transform our understanding of ourselves and the natural world.

  1. 2D AGO

    It's Going to Get Weirder: The Terence McKenna Story

    Sharon McKenna is the director and producer of the forthcoming feature documentary, “It’s Going to Get Weirder: The Terence McKenna Story.” Sharon  is a writer, film director, and journalist whose work has appeared in a range of outlets, from several alternative weeklies to MSNBC digital, among others. Her career spans three-plus decades of network news production, investigative reporting, corporate creative work and screenwriting. Her screenplays have been optioned and won numerous awards, and she has worked as a script reader and consultant for several film production companies. She is a member of the International Documentary Association, Film Independent, Women in Film, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and several other organizations dedicated to filmmaking, the arts, and freedom of speech. Sharon has various projects in the works; to learn more about her, visit her creative hub: seanchaistudio.com and you can learn more about the Terence McKenna documentary project at goingtogetweirder.com

    1h 6m

  2. 11/25/2025

    From Conventional Medicine to Plant Dietas and Spiritual Growth

    Nissan started his career as a medical doctor and began his work as a general practitioner in an urban community clinic system. He then specialized in ophthalmology and practiced in a small town for 36 years. He became dissatisfied working strictly on the physical level and received training in Gestalt psychotherapy and had a small private practice. He became interested in the field of Natural Vision Improvement which combined his interest in vision with present moment, embodied presence. A reading from a tarot card reading psychic suggested the need for working in and with the spiritual realm to facilitate the Natural Vision work and suggested there were some gifts for him in shamanism. His wife had had a powerful experience in a ceremony with Don José Campos and encouraged him to explore Ayahuasca as a method to open himself spiritually. He had two very different , but powerful experiences with Don José and participated in a plant dieta in the Amazon in 2005 with Don José. He received what he interpreted as an initiatory experience and felt called to be trained as a vegetalista. He embarked on the training under Don José and Don Lucho’s guidance and began leading ceremonies in the US in 2009 and in 2011 began leading plant dietas in the Amazon. He continues to lead ceremonies in various locations in the US and occasionally Canada and leads dietas in the Amazon twice a year.

    1h 6m

  3. 11/03/2025

    The Faerie Rings, a Magical Tale of Healing and Rebellion.

    Zina Brown is the writer and director of The Faerie Rings, an upcoming narrative feature film about the promise of visionary plant medicines, and the cruelty of those who would outlaw them. Zina’s unique visual and narrative style has been awarded in film festivals across the world, including the Barcelona International Environmental Film Festival, Kyiv Film Festival in Ukraine, Mexico City International Film Festival, Amsterdam International Film Festival, San Antonio Film Festival, and the Woods Hole Film Festival. He has over 25 years of writing and directing experience, including numerous music videos and festival favorite short films. His short film, Dreams of the Last Butterflies, was screened at 50 Film Festivals in 13 countries, as well as winning many awards.

    48 min

  4. 10/20/2025

    Entheogen Stewardship Project—Protecting Sacred Plants and Indigenous Wisdom.

    Kevin Reed, founder and president of the Entheogen Stewardship Project, a vital new nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting culturally significant plant and animal species sacred to indigenous communities worldwide. Kevin brings a remarkable 45-year journey as a student of psychedelic science and culture to this crucial conservation work. His path began in 1984 under the mentorship of legendary researchers Sasha and Anne Shulgin, followed by profound connections with iconic figures including Wavy Gravy, Jack Herer, Timothy Leary, Rick Strassman, and many others who have shaped the modern psychedelic renaissance. Kevin's hands-on expertise spans an impressive range of fields: from teaching cannabis extraction in the mountains of Jamaica in 1985, to large-scale indoor cultivation in the Netherlands, to designing and successfully opening a state-of-the-art Type 7 cannabis manufacturing facility in California. His diverse interests encompass mycology, conservation biology, indigenous traditions, accelerated learning, transpersonal psychology, and ethical wildcrafting—principles that now support his conservation philosophy. The Entheogen Stewardship Project represents the culmination of Kevin's decades-long commitment to both psychedelic wisdom, indigenous rights and environmental protection. The organization combats illegal trafficking and exploitation of endangered entheogenic species while fostering respectful collaboration with all indigenous communities whose ancestral knowledge have safeguarded these sacred plant and animal spirits for millennia. Kevin's work addresses one of the most pressing issues facing our community today: how do we honor and protect the plant and animal teachers that have guided human consciousness for thousands of years, while ensuring their survival for future generations? Chapters (00:00:13) - Kevin Reed(00:02:44) - Kevin Reed on Cannabis Ethics(00:12:32) - Psilocybin and the Bardo(00:20:46) - The Ethnobotanical Stewardship(00:26:01) - The Psychedelic Science Foundation's work in Brazil(00:32:37) - The journey of ayahuasca in the Amazon(00:44:56) - The role of plant medicines in intelligence stewardship

    54 min

  5. 10/06/2025

    (2nd Installment) Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna

    Graham St John, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist and historian of transformational events, movements, and figures. His forthcoming book Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna (MIT Press, Oct 7, 2025) is the latest among his ten books, which also include Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT (North Atlantic Books 2015). Graham is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield, UK.

    1h 45m

  6. 08/18/2025

    Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna

    Graham St John, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist and historian of transformational events, movements, and figures. His forthcoming book Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna (MIT Press, Sep 30, 2025) is the latest among his ten books, which also include Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT (North Atlantic Books 2015). Graham is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield, UK. Chapters (00:00:13) - Introduction(00:01:38) - Early McKenna Brothers’ History(00:06:38) - Terence’s Rejection of Science & Authority(00:09:49) - Timewave Zero Theory(00:18:10) - Limitations & Criticism of Timewave Zero(00:22:35) - Compressionism & Acceleration of History(00:25:59) - Possible Modern ‘Transcendental Object’—AI(00:28:27) - Terence’s Oratory Legacy & Cultural Impact(00:33:01) - AI Simulations of Terence’s Voice(00:40:12) - Research Process & Acknowledgements(00:41:36) - Rick Watson & Early Psychedelic Experiments(00:46:49) - John Parker’s Influence(00:49:03) - Unusual Characters from Paonia(00:52:25) - Telegraph Avenue ‘Salon’(00:55:31) - Neo Etudiant Newsletter(00:59:54) - Morning Glory Seeds & Hawaiian Wood Rose as Psychedelics(01:03:59) - Need for Further Research(01:05:03) - Writing the Biography During COVID(01:06:26) - Closing Remarks

    1h 8m
  7. Creating Human-Centered, Ethical AI Inspired by Nature

    07/28/2025

    Creating Human-Centered, Ethical AI Inspired by Nature

    Tony Ācworth (pronounced Ayk-worth) is a visionary herbalist, psychedelic advocate, forest guide, and self-described “wily wizard” living with his wife and five-year-old son amid the coastal rainforests of Brentwood Bay, Vancouver Island. For 15 plus years, Tony has walked the plant (and mushroom) path, logged over 5,000 clinical hours doing comprehensive intakes with patients, helping them untangle what truly plagues the mind, body, and spirit. Under the mentorship of herbal elder and prolific author and mycologist Robert Rogers, Tony deepened his reverence for the fungal world and its wisdom. In 2015, he was hired to work in Pacific Rim College’s herbal dispensary. Soon after he created and began teaching their first medicinal mushroom materia medica. From here, Tony began offering herbal clinics, nutrition courses, herbal therapeutics and mycological exploration weekends for students in the community herbalist, nutrition, and permaculture programs at the College. At home, he spent a decade developing his own ritual for psilocybin ceremonies, immersing himself in shamanism from Iquitos to the moss-laden forests of Vancouver Island. This led to guiding individuals and men’s groups through the ritual experience, facilitating deep personal explorations for those who participated. Tony is also the creator behind DelOs, his heart-led line of herbal-supported mushroom microdose blends, with the expressed purpose of supporting the human body and nervous system with herbal medicine to help rewire stagnant, disserving patterns and improve overall well-being. In 2026, he will expand his offerings by launching a dedicated Psychedelic Therapy Training Program at Pacific Rim College, further bridging ancestral plant wisdom with modern integration practice. Recently, Tony blends mushroom intelligence with machines as a mycelial-minded systems tinkerer building ethical, living AI ecosystems designed to help people recalibrate and remember who they truly are. His work guides both personal recalibration and scalable AI solutions for human-centered collaboration, ensuring that advanced technology uplifts humanity. He’s a father, a leatherworker, a Raspberry Pi hobbyist and if he appears in your life, chances are, the mushrooms arranged it. Tony Ācworth is a techno-mystic wizard: part forest guide, part quantum gardener, part mycelial ambassador – all heart.

    1h 9m

  8. 07/14/2025

    The Buddhabrot - Unlocking the Mathematical Code of Consciousness

    Dr Harry Shirley has a PhD in organic chemistry and research experience at the University of Oxford. His research focussed on the synthesis of biologically active chemicals of marine origin. Having left academia some years ago, he now holds a deep passion for Jungian thought. He recently published his paper “the Buddhabrot and the Unus Mundus” in the International Journal of Jungian Studies, which explores the role of the Mandelbrot set in mind and matter.

    1 hr
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

In the Brainforest Café, Dennis McKenna discusses a wide range of topics related to philosophy, plant medicines, psychedelics and consciousness in nature. Guests are invited from diverse fields such as anthropology, neuroscience, and spirituality to explore various aspects of the human experience. Some of the topics that are covered in the Brainforest Café include the history and the role of plant medicines in traditional healing practices and the potential benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health. The Brainforest Café also explores the cultural, social, and political implications of psychedelic use. Dennis McKenna shares his own personal experiences with plant medicines, offering insights and reflections on his own journey of self-discovery and transformation. The Brainforest Café is a thought-provoking and engaging exploration of the intersection between science, spirituality, and culture, and offers a valuable perspective on the potential of plant medicines to transform our understanding of ourselves and the natural world.

Information

  • Creator
    McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy
  • Show Website
    Brainforest Café

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