In the ‘80s and ‘90s, MDMA (also known as molly or ecstasy) was dismissed as a club drug and became the target of anti-drug propaganda. Today, it’s on the brink of being legalized for use in clinical therapy to treat conditions like PTSD. How did that happen? And what have we learned about the therapeutic potential of MDMA? Sean discusses all this with Rache ... Show More
Sep 2023
115. The Future of Therapy Is Psychedelic
<p>For 37 years, Rick Doblin has been pushing the F.D.A. to approve treating post-traumatic stress disorder with MDMA, better known as Ecstasy. He tells Steve why he persisted for so long, why he doesn’t like calling drug use “recreational,” and what he learned from his pet wolf. ... Show More
53m 5s
Jul 2020
Gwyneth Paltrow x Rick Doblin: What’s an MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Session Like?
“Whatever is emerging, we want to help people explore it and experience it,” says Rick Doblin. GP interviewed the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) about the impact MDMA-assisted psychotherapy may have on PTSD, eati ... Show More
54m 31s
Nov 2023
MDMA: Can Ecstasy Cure Your Agony?
Molly, ecstasy, MDMA: whatever you call it, this drug is blowing up. Some say MDMA can be a legitimate medicine to treat conditions like PTSD. But others reckon it's a dangerous drug that can fry your brain, and even kill you — from just one bad pill. Who's right? That's what we' ... Show More
43m 14s
Dec 2022
Can Psychedelic Therapy Reset Our Social Media Brains?
When you look at the world, it can feel like we're in a precarious moment. If you’ve listened to past episodes, you know we call this the meta-crisis — an era of overlapping and interconnected crises like climate change, polarization, and the rise of decentralized technologies li ... Show More
42m 51s
Jun 2023
The Science of MDMA & Its Therapeutic Uses: Benefits & Risks
In this episode, I discuss Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which is also commonly known as “ecstasy” or “molly,” including how it works in the brain to cause short- and long- term-shifts in emotional processing and its clinical applications for the treatment of post-traum ... Show More
2h 13m
Aug 2019
#65 - Rick Doblin, Ph.D.: MDMA— the creation, scheduling, toxicity, therapeutic use, and changing public opinion of what is possibly the single most important synthetic molecule ever created by our species
<p>In this episode, Rick Doblin, founder and executive director of MAPS, discusses MDMA, a molecule that has (at a minimum) revolutionary therapeutic benefits for PTSD, but arguably could have, at the highest order, a lasting impact on humanity's ability to peacefully coexist. Ri ... Show More
3 h
Sep 2021
Psychedelics for Treating Mental Disorders | Dr. Matthew Johnson
This episode I discuss medical research on psychedelic compounds with Dr. Matthew Johnson, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. We discuss the biology and medical clinical-trial uses of psilocybin, MDMA, ayahuasca, DMT, and L ... Show More
2h 49m
Jun 2020
17. Veterans & Psychedelics part 3 – From Shock to Awe with Mitch Schultz
<p>From an early age, Mitch Schultz's curiosity of the unknown universe forged his path in storytelling. His work as a transmedia producer, UX designer, and educator explores the inherent connections among consciousness, nature, culture, and the evolving human mythology.</p><p>Th ... Show More
32m 30s
May 2023
The Science of Psychedelics for Mental Health | Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris
In this episode, my guest is Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD, distinguished professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. He is one of leading researchers in the study of how psychedelics such as psilocybin, LSD and DMT can change the human brain ... Show More
2h 32m