Medicines shape almost every life, yet the line between a medicine, a performance aid and an illegal drug is often fiercely argued over. London Real has asked psychiatrists, neuroscientists, a cardiologist, biohackers and a Tour de France stage winner about the drugs we take and the ones we are told to avoid. These conversations cover psychedelic therapy, drug laws, performance-enhancing drugs, smart drugs and the debate over COVID vaccines. Guests share their own views, not medical advice. Every full interview is free to watch.
From neuropsychopharmacologist Professor David Nutt and MAPS founder Rick Doblin to psychedelic researcher Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, neuroscientist Dr Carl Hart, cardiologist Dr Peter McCullough, cyclist David Millar and Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey: what drugs really do, and who gets to decide.
Rick Doblin founded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in 1986 with the goal of making MDMA an approved medicine. He explains its use in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, and returns in Fighting The Good Fight and MDMA Is Medicine. Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, who led psychedelic research at Imperial College London, discusses how psilocybin and MDMA could help with depression and addiction, and later the science of psychedelics. Clinical psychologist Dr Rosalind Watts describes research into psychedelic treatments for depression, addiction and anorexia. Dennis McKenna, brother of the late Terence McKenna, recalls their early work with plants that alter consciousness.
Professor David Nutt, a psychiatrist and former chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, talks about his struggle to run a clinical trial of psilocybin for depression. In The Truth About Drugs he explains why he thinks LSD was made illegal and why he calls alcohol the original recreational drug. Dr Carl Hart grew up in a poor neighbourhood in Miami believing drugs were the cause of its problems. After the military and a career in neuroscience, he changed his mind, and he argues that much of what the public hears about drugs and addiction is misinformation. Both put the scientific evidence at the centre of the debate.
David Millar, one of Britain’s most successful road cyclists, rode 12 Tours de France and won five stages. He talks openly about performance-enhancing drugs, his two-year ban in 2004 and his return to racing clean. Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof, explains why he optimises everything for performance and has always been open about using the prescription drug modafinil. Ben Greenfield shares his own approach to biohacking. Dr Peter McCullough, a cardiologist, argues that the public was not told the truth about COVID vaccines.
Get every new episode free: watch the latest London Real interviews.
Who has London Real interviewed about drugs and medicine? Brian Rose has interviewed Professor David Nutt, Rick Doblin, Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, Dr Rosalind Watts, Dr Carl Hart, Dennis McKenna, Dr Peter McCullough, David Millar, Dave Asprey and Ben Greenfield, among others.
Can psychedelics be used as medicine? Several guests argue they can. Rick Doblin has worked since 1986 to make MDMA an approved medicine, and Robin Carhart-Harris, Rosalind Watts and David Nutt describe research into psilocybin and other psychedelics for depression and addiction. These are the guests’ views, not medical advice.
How is this page different from Psychedelics? The two overlap. The Psychedelics page covers the substances and experiences themselves. This page looks more widely at drugs as medicine, drug laws, performance drugs and vaccines.
Are the full pharmaceuticals episodes free to watch? Almost all of them. The full-length interviews on this page can be watched free on londonreal.tv; Dr Peter McCullough’s episode is on the Digital Freedom Platform.
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