Psychedelics were banned for decades. Now universities are studying them again as possible treatments for depression, addiction and trauma. Since 2012 Brian Rose has sat down with the researchers running those trials, the campaigners who fought to make them possible and the writers asking what these substances reveal about the mind. These conversations cover the brain science, the clinical evidence, drug policy and the history of plant medicines. Every full interview is free to watch.
From neuroscientist Dr Robin Carhart-Harris of Imperial College London and former UK government drugs adviser Professor David Nutt to MAPS founder Rick Doblin, Beckley Foundation founder Amanda Feilding, How to Change Your Mind author Michael Pollan and ethnobotanist Dennis McKenna: what the research shows and where it goes next.
Robin Carhart-Harris first came to London Real in 2013 to explain his Imperial College research into psilocybin and MDMA, and how they might help with depression and addiction. He returned in 2019 to discuss what psychedelics do to the brain and what that could mean for mental health care. Dr Rosalind Watts, a clinical psychologist, describes research into LSD, psilocybin and DMT as possible treatments for depression, addiction and anorexia. Michael Pollan explains how reporting on that research, and trying psychedelics himself, became his book How to Change Your Mind.
Professor David Nutt, former chair of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, explains why he believes drug laws do not match the evidence on harm, why LSD was made illegal and why alcohol deserves more scrutiny. In 2013 he described his struggle to run a clinical trial of psilocybin for depression. Rick Doblin, who founded MAPS in 1986, argues that MDMA-assisted therapy can treat post-traumatic stress disorder, and recalls how MAPS anticipated the US ban on MDMA. Amanda Feilding describes how the Beckley Foundation has backed psychedelic research and drug policy reform.
Dennis McKenna, the ethnobotanist and brother of the late Terence McKenna, talks about the Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss and why he believes plant medicines matter for humanity’s future. Simon G. Powell argues that psilocybin mushrooms have been unfairly maligned in the West. Rupert Sheldrake looks at how science can study spiritual practices, and Dr Gabor Maté explains his view that addiction is rooted in trauma. For first-hand stories of plant medicine ceremonies, see the Ayahuasca topic.
Get every new episode free: watch the latest London Real interviews.
Who has London Real interviewed about psychedelics? Brian Rose has interviewed Robin Carhart-Harris, David Nutt, Rick Doblin, Amanda Feilding, Michael Pollan, Dr Rosalind Watts, Dennis McKenna and Simon G. Powell, among others.
Can psychedelics treat depression and PTSD? That is the question the researchers on this page are trying to answer. Robin Carhart-Harris, Rosalind Watts and David Nutt discuss clinical studies of psilocybin for depression, and Rick Doblin makes the case for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. These are the guests’ views on ongoing research, not medical advice.
Why were psychedelics banned? David Nutt explains his view of why LSD was made illegal and argues that drug classification should follow the evidence on harm. Rick Doblin and Amanda Feilding describe decades of campaigning to get research restarted.
Are the full psychedelics episodes free to watch? Yes. Every full-length interview on this page can be watched free on londonreal.tv.
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