PT 655 - Martha Hammel and Tasia Poinsatte - Aspen Psychedelic Symposium
Release Date: 05/08/2026
PT 655 - Martha Hammel and Tasia Poinsatte - Aspen Psychedelic Symposium
Psychedelics Today
Aspen Psychedelic Symposium is the focus of this conversation with Martha Hammel of the Aspen Psychedelic Resource Center and Tasia Poinsatte of Healing Advocacy Fund. They join Joe Moore to discuss this year’s symposium, how it fits into Colorado’s evolving natural medicine landscape, and why Aspen has become a strong setting for serious public conversations about psychedelics. Hammel explains that the symposium is now in its third year and is designed to bring major psychedelic voices to Colorado’s West Slope. She also outlines the local roots of the Aspen Psychedelic Resource...
info_outline
PT 654 - Erica Rex - Seeing What Is There
Psychedelics Today
Seeing What Is There is at the center of this conversation with journalist and author Erica Rex, who joins Joe Moore to discuss her book Seeing What Is There: My Search for Sanity in the Psychedelic Era. Rex brings an unusual mix of personal experience and scientific rigor. She came to psychedelic medicine after breast cancer, participation in Roland Griffiths’ clinical trial for cancer-related depression, and a long career in journalism covering science, nature, climate, and technology.
info_outline
PT 653 - Dr. Michael Alpert and Peter Alberding - ALS, Existential Distress, and Ketamine Therapy
Psychedelics Today
ALS and ketamine therapy are at the center of this conversation with psychiatrist and , who was diagnosed with in late 2023. Alpert is a Boston-area psychiatrist with experience in MDMA-assisted therapy research for PTSD and a private practice that includes . Alberding shares what it has been like to face a fatal neurodegenerative illness while working with ketamine in a structured clinical setting. Alberding explains that he was not looking for a casual psychedelic experience. He wanted help facing fear, grief, loss of function, and the reality of death. Over time, ketamine-assisted...
info_outline
PT 652 - Esme Dark - Psychedelics, Somatics and the Shadow
Psychedelics Today
Dr. Esme Dark joins Kyle Buller for a conversation on psychedelic therapy, somatic psychotherapy, and shadow work. Based in Australia, Dark is a clinical psychologist, somatic psychotherapist, and psychedelic therapist. She shares her perspective on Australia’s authorized prescriber model, the role of psychotherapy in psychedelic care, and what it means to work with the body before, during, and after a psychedelic experience. The discussion stays practical. Dark draws on her work in research settings, including psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder at Monash...
info_outline
PT 651 - Betty Aldworth & Ismail Ali: MAPS Co-Executive Directors on Leadership, Research, and the Future of Psychedelics
Psychedelics Today
MAPS co-executive directors Betty Aldworth and Ismail Ali join Psychedelics Today to talk about leading one of the most visible organizations in the psychedelic field during a period of transition. The conversation covers their move into permanent leadership, how they work together, and how MAPS is thinking about research, education, policy, and movement strategy after a difficult period for the organization and the broader field.
info_outline
PT 650 - Joe Moore Psychedelics Today on Leadership, Integration, and the Psychedelic Landscape
Psychedelics Today
Jen Davenport joins Psychedelics Today to interview co-founder Joe Moore about the growth of Psychedelics Today, the broader psychedelic ecosystem, and how professionals are beginning to engage with psychedelic ideas. Davenport is the founder of Iron Thread Partners and a graduate of the Vital psychedelic training program. Her work focuses on executive leadership, decision making, and organizational development. In this conversation she asks Moore about the evolution of Psychedelics Today and the changes he has witnessed across the psychedelic field over the past decade. Moore explains that...
info_outline
PT 649 - Melissa Lavasani and Jay Kopelman
Psychedelics Today
& join our podcast to discuss how psychedelic policy is actually moving in Washington, DC. Lavasani leads , a DC-based advocacy organization focused on educating federal officials and advancing legislation around psychedelic medicine. Kopelman is CEO of , which provides scholarships for veterans and first responders seeking psychedelic-assisted therapy retreats, . The conversation centers on veterans, the , and why that system may be the first realistic federal pathway for psychedelic care. Early Themes Lavasani describes PMC’s work on , including hosting events that bring...
info_outline
PT 648 - Enamory - Couples Therapy with Ketamine
Psychedelics Today
Enamory is a clinical practice, training institute, and nonprofit research organization focused on psychedelic assisted couples therapy. In this episode, clinical psychologists Chandra Kian and Kayla Knopp discuss their work integrating ketamine assisted psychotherapy with evidence based couples therapy models. Both guests trained as academic researchers at the University of California San Diego Veterans Affairs system, where they worked on large scale couples based PTSD trials. They later co founded Enamory to continue clinical work, train therapists, and conduct research focused...
info_outline
PT 647 - Joshua White: Fireside Project and Lucy, an AI Training Simulator for Psychedelic Support
Psychedelics Today
is a nonprofit that helps reduce the risks of psychedelic experiences through a free support line, coaching, education, and research. In this episode, Joshua White speaks with Psychedelics Today about why real-time support matters, what it takes to run a national hotline, and what Fireside learned after more than 30,000 conversations since launch. White shares how his background as a lawyer and his early hotline volunteering shaped Fireside’s model. He also describes how festival harm reduction work, including lessons from Zendo-style support spaces, revealed a major gap: people often...
info_outline
PT 646 - Manvir Singh: Shamanism the Timeless Religion
Psychedelics Today
Manvir Singh joins Psychedelics Today to unpack what shamanism means and why the term matters now. Singh is an anthropologist and author of Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. He argues that shamanism is not limited to “remote” societies or the past. Instead, it reliably reappears because it helps humans manage uncertainty, illness, and the unknown. This episode is relevant for the psychedelic community because “shaman” often gets used loosely, or avoided entirely. Singh offers a clear framework for talking about shamanic practice without leaning on romantic myths, drug-centered...
info_outlineAspen Psychedelic Symposium is the focus of this conversation with Martha Hammel of the Aspen Psychedelic Resource Center and Tasia Poinsatte of Healing Advocacy Fund. They join Joe Moore to discuss this year’s symposium, how it fits into Colorado’s evolving natural medicine landscape, and why Aspen has become a strong setting for serious public conversations about psychedelics.
Hammel explains that the symposium is now in its third year and is designed to bring major psychedelic voices to Colorado’s West Slope. She also outlines the local roots of the Aspen Psychedelic Resource Center, which grew out of education and outreach work around decriminalization and the Natural Medicine Health Act. Poinsatte describes Healing Advocacy Fund’s broader role across Oregon, Colorado, and New Mexico, where the group works on safe access, implementation, affordability, and public education.