PT 614 - Erica Rex: Scientific Integrity, Psychedelic Research, and the Religious Leader Study
Release Date: 07/15/2025
PT 638 - Dr Jason Konner - Psychedelic Oncologist
Psychedelics Today
In this episode, Joe Moore sits down with Dr. Jason Konner, a longtime oncologist who recently left his full-time clinical role at to devote himself to the emerging intersection of cancer care and psychedelics. Dr Konner shares how, after more than two decades treating people, he hit a wall. The accumulated grief, constant exposure to death, and intensity of oncology left him deeply , though he didn’t have that language for it at the time. A chance moment in a yoga class, overhearing someone say “ retreat” just before he was scheduled for hernia surgery, became the turning point....
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PT 637 Genesee Herzberg — Ketamine Truths, MDMA Hopes, and the Work of Integration
Psychedelics Today
Clinical psychologist Dr. Genesee Herzberg joins Kyle to reflect on two decades in trauma work and 15 years inside the psychedelic ecosystem—from early MAPS conferences to running Sage Integrative Health. She traces how personal psychedelic experiences set her on a path of service, research at CIIS on MDMA-assisted therapy, and hands-on roles with MAPS: Zendo Project harm reduction, adherence rating, and ultimately serving as an MDMA therapist in clinical trials. Today she leads Sage, an integrative clinic (psychotherapy, psychiatry, bodywork, acupuncture, and functional nutrition) focused...
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PT 636 - Dr. Ros Watts – Building Communities and Connection
Psychedelics Today
Clinical psychologist joins to share insights from her decade of work with and her evolving focus on community-based integration. As the former Clinical Lead for , Dr. Watts witnessed how psychedelic experiences can foster profound feelings of — to self, others, and nature — yet also how that connection can fade without ongoing support. In this conversation, she reflects on what years of research have taught her about connectedness as both a healing mechanism and a human need. She explores how can transform fleeting psychedelic breakthroughs into lasting change, and why community is...
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PT 635 - Jennifer Espenscheid — Art as a Practice, Psychedelics as a Teacher
Psychedelics Today
Artist, builder, and podcast host Jennifer Espenscheid joins Joe Moore for a rich conversation on creativity, process, and the spiritual dimensions of making art. Drawing from her South Dakota roots and large-scale works like Luciferia, Jennifer reflects on the blend of grit, intuition, and trust that guides her artistic life. She discusses how psychedelics have served as a tool for clarity and healing rather than direct creation of art, helping her dissolve patterns and reconnect to innate creativity. They explore how events like Burning Man catalyze inspiration, why intention and...
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PT 634 - Brad Adams - LAMPS
Psychedelics Today
Brad Adams — LAMPS (Los Angeles Psychedelic Society) joins Kyle to trace his path from PhD researcher to community builder. Brad shares how early work in AIDS, Alzheimer’s, gerontology, and cancer research primed him to notice Harbor-UCLA’s psilocybin pilot for stage-4 cancer patients with death anxiety—where the strongest mystical experiences correlated with profound death acceptance. Teaming with Dennis McKenna, he ran an ayahuasca pilot in Peru and presented findings at Psychedelic Science 2017. From there, Brad founded LAMPS: first as research meetups at UCLA, then as a thriving...
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PT 633 - Dreamshadow - Life and Breath
Psychedelics Today
In this episode, Kyle and Joe sit down with filmmaker Mustapha Khan and Dreamshadow’s Elizabeth & Lenny Gibson to explore Life and Breath—a new documentary immersing viewers in the experience and community of Holotropic Breathwork. We talk about why Mustapha was drawn to Dreamshadow, the film’s cinéma vérité approach that places you “in the room,” and how years of facilitation informed what became both an archival record and a living portrait of transformation. Elizabeth and Lenny reflect on 35+ years of holding space, the role of curiosity over agenda, and why genuine...
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PT 632 - Megan Portnoy MS - Ontological Design, Psychedelic Spaces, and Integrating Rigor
Psychedelics Today
In this episode, Joe Moore talks with Megan Portnoy, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Antioch University New England, about how can reshape the environments used in psychedelic-assisted therapy. Megan explains how physical space is not just a backdrop but an active participant in the therapeutic process, influencing emotion, cognition, and healing. She recently for her presentation on this topic at . They explore how design principles that foster awe, play, and flexibility can deepen integration and expand what’s possible in clinical settings. The conversation also...
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PT 631 - Kyle Buller and Joe Moore - Breathwork, Community, Bodywork and more!
Psychedelics Today
Joe and Kyle open with reflections from their first r/psychonaut AMA, then pivot to why they’re building Navigators—our off-social community with book/film clubs, early ad-free episodes, mentorship, and an expanding education library. The core discussion explores touch and bodywork in breathwork and psychedelic contexts: why defaulting to “no touch” and moving slowly matters; informed consent; reading nonverbals; and keeping client agency central. They unpack trauma-informed concepts like the window of tolerance, polyvagal‐adjacent ideas (and critiques), and the ethics of avoiding...
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PT 630 - TK Wonder and Cipriana Quann
Psychedelics Today
Interviewers: Joe Moore & Anne Philippi Guests: TK Wonder & Cipriana Quann (The Quann Sisters) Recorded: June 18 during MAPS PS 2025 Content note: This episode discusses childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, suicidal ideation, disordered eating, and recovery. Identical twins, writers, and culture-shapers TK Wonder and Cipriana Quann join Joe and Anne for a frank, generous conversation about identity, resilience, and the long arc of healing. Cipriana recounts launching Urban Bush Babes in 2011 to center women of color in beauty and fashion—work that led to a Vogue...
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PT 629 - Ivar Goksøyr - MDMA Therapy for Therapists
Psychedelics Today
In this candid, practice-focused conversation, Joe is joined by Norwegian psychologist and researcher to explore how therapists’ own healing journeys can measurably improve client outcomes—and why MDMA-assisted experiences, used thoughtfully, may be a uniquely powerful catalyst for professional development. Ivar shares lessons from Norway’s psychedelic research team (PTSD and the world’s first MDMA-for-depression trial), his clinic in Oslo, and his , “,” which uses authentic footage from his FDA-approved MAPS volunteer MDMA sessions to illuminate real clinical processes,...
info_outlineIn this episode, Joe Moore speaks with award-winning science journalist Erica Rex about her personal experience participating in psychedelic research, her upcoming book Seeing What Is There: My Search for Sanity in the Psychedelic Era, and the complex story behind the recently published Religious Leader Psilocybin Study from Johns Hopkins and NYU.
They examine:
Erica's firsthand experience as a participant in the original 2012 study that helped launch Roland Griffiths’ prominence in psychedelic science.
The goals and outcomes of the Religious Leader Study, which sought to explore how psilocybin might impact religious leaders’ effectiveness and connection to their communities.
The methodological and ethical problems that plagued the study.
The influence of perennialist frameworks and the limitations of measures like the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ).
Broader concerns about the infiltration of religious ideology and lack of rigor in psychedelic science.
A deep critique of the institutional systems that allowed flawed research processes to go unchecked — and how these patterns risk repeating the mistakes of the 1960s psychedelic wave.
Joe and Erica also dive into how modern psychedelic science struggles to reconcile subjective experience, spirituality, and the reductionist standards of academic research. They discuss Matt Johnson’s paper critiquing “psychedelic consciousness” framing and explore whether our current scientific tools are capable of capturing the depth of psychedelic experience.
Erica’s forthcoming book, slated for release in January 2026, blends memoir, neuroscience, and social critique. It offers a critical insider’s view of the psychedelic renaissance—its promise, pitfalls, and the ways it mirrors broader systemic issues in science and culture.