256. Psychedelic Salon: Psychedelics & Seniors: With Scott Wright, Abbie Rosner, Dr. Emily Whinkin, and April Pride
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Release Date: 04/16/2026
260. ReWilding Seattle Gardens With Dave Hunter, Jessi Bloom, Bill Thorness, Kim M. Camara, and Swil Kanim
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Local beekeepers, gardeners, and native plant experts join in a conversation about turning your own backyard into a native ecosystem oasis. Learn about the benefits of mason bees, the importance of best-gardening practices to protect Puget Sound salmon, and how you can make a difference in keeping our city climate change resilient. Featuring Dave Hunter, author of Mason Bee Revolution: How the Hardest Working Bee Can Save the World One Backyard at a Time, along with panelists Jessi Bloom, Bill Thorness, Kim M. Camara, and Swil Kanim, this event hopes to empower everyone to...
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259. Psychedelic Salon: Psychedelics & Substance Use With Dr. Nathan Sackett and April Pride
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Psychedelic therapy is rapidly gaining traction as a promising approach for addressing substance use disorders—from alcohol and opioids to nicotine and beyond. This session will explore how psychedelic compounds like ibogaine, ketamine, and psilocybin may help interrupt compulsive cycles, uncover root causes of addiction, and support sustained recovery. Featuring Dr. Nathan Sackett of the UW Center for Novel Therapeutics in Addiction Psychiatry, this conversation will examine how pairing psychedelic compounds with evidence-based behavioral interventions could transform the treatment of...
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258. Michael Pollan with Jon Mooallem: A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
When it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers, and artists all agree: it feels like something to be us. Yet the fact that we have a subjective experience of the world remains one of nature’s greatest mysteries. How is it that our mental operations are accompanied by feelings, thoughts, and a sense of self? What would a scientific investigation of our inner life look like when we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of the sea? In A World Appears, Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that...
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257. Dr. Nicole McNichols with Dr. Julie Gottman: You Could Be Having Better Sex
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Whether you’re married, dating, or flying solo, Dr. Nicole McNichols has some sex advice for you. And you may want to pay attention because McNichols is not only the professor of University of Washington’s most sought-after class in its history, she’s one of social media’s most popular educators on the topic of sex. Pulling from her book, You Could Be Having Better Sex, McNichols shares the latest data that shows good sex is one of the most powerful and effective sources of joy. Good sex, McNichols argues, is a gateway to better health, stronger relationships, and the diverse...
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256. Psychedelic Salon: Psychedelics & Seniors: With Scott Wright, Abbie Rosner, Dr. Emily Whinkin, and April Pride
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
As life expectancy increases, so does the need for mental, emotional, and spiritual support in later years. This Salon delves into the ways older adults are exploring psychedelics for healing, spiritual deepening, meaning-making, joyful intimacy and making peace with mortality. With insights from geriatric practitioners, researchers, and individuals with lived experience, we’ll examine how today’s older psychonauts are rewriting the narrative around aging. Scott Paul Wright is a filmmaker and screenwriter based in Paris and New Orleans. His adventures in film followed previous...
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255. Blaise Agüera y Arcas: What Is Intelligence?
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
What intelligence really is, and how AI’s emergence is a natural consequence of evolution. It has come as a shock to some AI researchers that a large neural net that predicts next words seems to produce a system with general intelligence. Yet this is consistent with a long-held view among some neuroscientists that the brain evolved precisely to predict the future—the “predictive brain” hypothesis. In What Is Intelligence?, Blaise Agüera y Arcas takes up this idea—that prediction is fundamental not only to intelligence and the brain but to life itself—and explores the wide-ranging...
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254. Psychedelic Law & Nature: What Can Americans Use Legally? Perry Salzhauer, Daniel Shortt, and April Pride
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Seattle’s 2021 ordinance decriminalized entheogens — plants and fungi that contain psychoactive indolamines, tryptamines, or phenethylamines—such as psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, mescaline cacti, and iboga. This Salon weaves together two threads: the little-known plant and fungal allies often left off the psychedelic main stage, and the laws that shape how we can (and cannot) work with them today. Legal experts Perry Salzhauer and Daniel Shortt explore what this ordinance means in practice, including how it shapes access, cultivation, and community use of approved entheogenic plants...
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253. Therese Huston with Katy Sewall: Everyday Strategies for a Sharper Mind
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Your brain has a favorite beverage, a surprising way to add new neurons, and strong opinions about multitasking—and it’s not what you think. In this engaging conversation, cognitive scientist Therese Huston and podcast host Katy Sewall unpack the small changes, many of which take 5 minutes or less, that can keep your brain sharp and your body calm. Based on Huston’s new book Sharp, they’ll explore topics like how to turn a scattered mind into focused energy and why switching doctors, while annoying, might be your secret weapon for your health. This is a night filled with...
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252. Psychedelic Salon: Psilocybin & Menopause: With Dr. Patricia Singh, Kelly McGinty, and April Pride
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Menopause is often portrayed as a period of decline, but what if it could be reframed as an awakening? Join co-authors Dr. Patricia Singh, psychotherapist and psychedelic integration specialist, and Kelly McGinty, nurse practitioner specializing in hormonal and integrative wellness, for a groundbreaking exploration of menopause as a transformative threshold. This session will delve into how psychedelics, especially psilocybin, offer a radical new perspective, easing cognitive rigidity, reducing internal narratives of decline, and fostering emotional and spiritual growth. Attendees will gain...
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251. Dr. Shelley Sella with Amelia Bonow: Beyond Limits — Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
For 20 years, Dr. Shelley Sella saw patients whose diverse backgrounds and circumstances led them to the same difficult decision: to end their pregnancies. In her new book, Beyond Limits, Sella draws from her experiences to offer a window into a typical week at her clinic, weaving together patient stories—including those of a mother navigating a devastating prenatal diagnosis, a woman confronting unexpected test results after IVF, and a parent weighing safety and stability for her existing children. Dr. Sella offers a testament to a standard of care grounded in competence, compassion,...
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As life expectancy increases, so does the need for mental, emotional, and spiritual support in later years. This Salon delves into the ways older adults are exploring psychedelics for healing, spiritual deepening, meaning-making, joyful intimacy and making peace with mortality. With insights from geriatric practitioners, researchers, and individuals with lived experience, we’ll examine how today’s older psychonauts are rewriting the narrative around aging.
Scott Paul Wright is a filmmaker and screenwriter based in Paris and New Orleans. His adventures in film followed previous careers as a radio personality, record business executive, and award-winning winemaker. He’s written five feature films, and made two documentaries that are now in international distribution. He took his first psychedelic journey at age 68 – resulting in his new documentary – Psychedelics for Seniors, which is now in post-production and scheduled for release in June 2026.
Abbie Rosner is a writer and cultural observer exploring how the modern psychedelic renaissance is reshaping our understanding of aging—individually and collectively. Her forthcoming book, Psychedelics and the Counterculture of Aging (Park Street Press, July 2026), examines how baby boomers are once again intersecting with psychedelics, this time with the insight and perspective of a lifetime behind them. Through her Substack ELDEREVOLUTION, Rosner documents the experiences of older adults turning to psychedelics for healing, growth, and spiritual exploration—revealing how later life can become a profound period of renewal and meaning. Rosner’s work has been featured in Forbes, Next Avenue, DoubleBlind, and other publications. She regularly speaks on the intersection of psychedelics and aging, and closely follows emerging research and evolving frameworks for legal and spiritual access to psychedelics.
Dr. Emily Whinkin (she/they) is a naturopathic physician and integrative mental health specialist blending psychedelic and entheogenic medicine with mental, reproductive, and generative health. Trained at the National University of Natural Medicine and the AIMS Institute in Seattle, she is a board-certified Fellow of the Psychiatric Association of Naturopathic Physicians and holds certifications in perinatal mental health (PMH-C) and Holistic Pelvic Care™. Her work centers on community, belonging, and social justice, weaving somatic therapy and botanical medicine into care for people of all genders across the lifespan. Dr. Whinkin is licensed in Oregon and Washington, provides global consultation, and is dedicated to research, education, and individualized integrative mental health. Learn more at emilywhinkin.com.
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Psychedelic Salon: Cultivating Conscious Connections
Join Seattle-based psychedelics educator and podcast host April Pride in a dynamic series co-produced with Town Hall Seattle. Psychedelic Salon explores the transformative potential of psychedelic medicines through engaging conversations, expert panels, and interactive community discussions. Rooted in scientific evidence, each event highlights unique themes—including grief, seniors, menopause, and more—emphasizing their role in mental health, spiritual growth, and personal optimization. Designed to be inclusive and insightful, this series invites attendees of all backgrounds to discover how psychedelics can foster profound connections, healing, and well-being.
About April Pride
April Pride is a Seattle-based creative entrepreneur and harm reduction advocate with over two decades of experience building brands at the intersection of lifestyle, cannabis, psychedelics, and women’s health. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Vice, and The Guardian. April is the founder of SetSet, the world’s first clinician-approved woman-focused platform for safe, accessible psychedelic integration. To learn more, follow April on Substack – aprilpride.substack.com
Presented by Town Hall Seattle and SetSet.
