Mike Jay - Free Radicals: How Nitrous Oxide Galvanized Psychedelic Science

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, host Paul F. Austin welcomes cultural historian and acclaimed author Mike Jay.

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-316/?ref=278

Together they explore the untold history of nitrous oxide, psychedelic experimentation in the Romantic era, and the deeper cultural and philosophical roots of psychedelic science.

Mike shares insights from his latest book, Free Radicals, highlighting how figures like Humphry Davy and William James helped shape psychedelic thought long before the 1960s. The conversation weaves through ancient San Pedro rituals, colonial attempts to suppress peyote use, and the divergent paths of modern psychedelic medicine.

From poetic self-experimentation to medicalized models, Mike unpacks the historical tensions between grassroots healing and institutional control—and what this means for the future of psychedelic culture.

Mike Jay is a British author and cultural historian who has written widely on the history of drugs, consciousness, and medical science. His books include Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic, Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind, and Free Radicals: How a Group of Romantic Experimenters Gave Birth to Psychedelic Science. Mike contributes regularly to The London Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, and The Wall Street Journal.

Highlights:

• How early scientists used nitrous oxide for inner exploration
• Romantic poets as the original psychedelic self-experimenters
• Parallels between Humphry Davy and Alexander Shulgin
• What William James learned from nitrous, not mescaline
• Colonial suppression of peyote and indigenous resilience
• The enduring symbolism of San Pedro in Andean ritual
• How the counterculture reinterpreted Native practices
• Why modern psychedelic medicine may be repeating history
• The role of finance in shaping current therapy models
• Looking ahead: divergent futures of psychedelic healing

Episode links: 

• Mike’s website
• Mike’s new book, Free Radicals
• Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic
• Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind
• Manvir Singh’s article in The Guardian
• “The Peyote Dance” by Antonin Artaud

Episode sponsors: 

• Psychedelic Coacing Institute's Intensive for Psychedelic Professionals in Costa Rica - a transformative retreat for personal and professional growth.
• Golden Rule Mushrooms - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout