Bureau of Lost Culture – How To Expand Your Consciousness Part 2: Tripping (28/10/2023)
Psychedelics have made a comeback but they remain deeply mysterious. They may be now seen as potential ‘breakthrough therapy’ for mental illness, but we still have only a vague idea how they work, and there is a limit to what studies in labs can reveal.
Neuropsychologist ANDY MITCHELL decided to investigate for himself, taking ten different drugs in ten different settings,from a London neuroimaging lab to the Colombian Amazon via Silicon Valley and his friend’s basement Along the way, in a picaresque, deeply strange and often wild odyssy, he encountered scientists and gangsters, venture capitalists and con men, psychonauts and shamans.
We get into all that and wonder if, whilst big pharma is closing in and whilst and psychedelics are being hailed (and monetised) as the latest treatment for mental health issues, can they still be countercultural, transformatory, consciousness raising?
