Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast Mark Plotkin, Ph.D.

Coffee is the most widely consumed mind-altering plant product in the world. The human species arose in or near the Rift Valley in East Africa, the northern edge of which abuts the forests of Ethiopia in which the coffee plants originated. The drunk monkey hypothesis proposes that human consciousness was born when our ancestors ingested fermented grapes. The stoned ape hypothesis suggests that the consciousness is due to proto humans consuming magic mushrooms. In the first half of two-part episode, Mark Plotkin suggests that the human mind developed when these primates ate coffee berries, whose caffeine inspired both their thinking and their creativity. 

In this episode of Plants of the Gods, we hear from Rhett Butler, editor-in-chief and CEO of Mongabay. Mongabay is a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform that produces original reporting by leveraging over 800 correspondents in 70 different countries. With a main focus on forests, wildlife, oceans, and the conservation sector, Mongabay reports on many regions that POTG host Dr. Mark Plotkin has spent his career working in. Today, join us in conversation with Dr. Plotkin and Rhett Butler to hear about everything from Mongabay’s origins, Rhett’s inspiration for his work, and how best to save the rainforest.
 
 
Mongabay's podcast covers the whole environmental spectrum, from Indigenous ecological knowledge to the latest in conservation science, with a variety of expert guests, authors, researchers, and activists. Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you get podcasts.
https://www.mongabay.com/podcast/

Welcome to part two of The Ethnobotany of Beer! This week, we continue to explore the question on everyone's mind these days: did civilization invent beer, or did beer invent civilization? And then we help solve a cold case: did ancient Africans know and use antibiotics? And why are we asking this in a discussion of beer? And is there really a 10 CD set comprised entirely of German beer drinking songs? And what did the late Frank Zappa say – and sing – about beer?
 
Works Cited
Appleton, Frank. Brewing Revolution: Pioneering the Craft Beer Movement. Harbour
Publishing, 2016.
Caruso, Giuseppe, et al. The Botany of Beer: An Illustrated Guide to More than 500 Plants Used
in Brewing. Columbia University Press, 2022.
English, Camper. Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine,
Spirits, and Cocktails. Penguin Books, 2022.
Hennessey, Jonathan, et al. The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World’s Favorite Beverage from
7000 BC to Today’s Craft Brewing Revolution. Ten Speed Press, 2015.
Laws, Bill. Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History. Firefly Books, 2015.
McGovern, Patrick E. Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic
Beverages. University of California Press, 2010.
Muraresku, Brian. The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name. St.
Martin’s Griffin, 2023.
Oliver, Garrett. The Oxford Companion to Beer. Oxford University Press, 2012.
Smith, Gavin D. Beer - a Global History. Reaktion Books, 2014.
Standage, Tom. A History of the World in Six Glasses. Doubleday Canada, 2010.

This two-part special edition kicks off Season Five of "Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation." We start by asking the question that is on everyone's mind these days: did civilization invent beer, or did beer invent civilization? And then we help solve a cold case: did ancient Africans know and use antibiotics? And why are we asking this in a discussion of beer? And is there really a 10 CD set comprised entirely of German beer drinking songs? And what did the late Frank Zappa say – and sing – about beer?
 
Works Cited
Appleton, Frank. Brewing Revolution: Pioneering the Craft Beer Movement. Harbour
Publishing, 2016.
Caruso, Giuseppe, et al. The Botany of Beer: An Illustrated Guide to More than 500 Plants Used
in Brewing. Columbia University Press, 2022.
English, Camper. Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine,
Spirits, and Cocktails. Penguin Books, 2022.
Hennessey, Jonathan, et al. The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World’s Favorite Beverage from
7000 BC to Today’s Craft Brewing Revolution. Ten Speed Press, 2015.
Laws, Bill. Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History. Firefly Books, 2015.
McGovern, Patrick E. Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic
Beverages. University of California Press, 2010.
Muraresku, Brian. The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name. St.
Martin’s Griffin, 2023.
Oliver, Garrett. The Oxford Companion to Beer. Oxford University Press, 2012.
Smith, Gavin D. Beer - a Global History. Reaktion Books, 2014.
Standage, Tom. A History of the World in Six Glasses. Doubleday Canada, 2010.

Season 4 of Plants of the Gods wraps up today with an episode featuring Peter Grinspoon, MD, cannabis specialist at Harvard Medical School. During this conversation, Dr. Plotkin and Dr. Grinspoon discuss everything from the pain-relieving and uplifting qualities of cannabis sought by people with chronic illnesses to marijuana in popular culture (cannabis trilogy to brush up on your history!), as well as his father’s successful efforts to fend off the Nixon Administration’s attempts to deport John Lennon because of a cannabis conviction. Join us today for this captivating interview.

Today's episode features world-renowned mycologist Giuliana Furci. Giuliana is the founder of the Fungi Foundation, the first NGO in the world solely dedicated to Fungi. This two-part discussion between Giuliana and Dr. Plotkin covers everything from her experiences in the field of mycology, influential mycologists and their work, and even a new species of fungi named after fellow mycologist Paul Stamets. Join us today for part two of this captivating interview.