Brainforest Café

SpectreVision Radio

In the Brainforest Café, Dennis McKenna discusses a wide range of topics related to philosophy, plant medicines, psychedelics and consciousness in nature. Guests are invited from diverse fields such as anthropology, neuroscience, and spirituality to explore various aspects of the human experience. Some of the topics that are covered in the Brainforest Café include the history and the role of plant medicines in traditional healing practices and the potential benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health. The Brainforest Café also explores the cultural, social, and political implications of psychedelic use. Dennis McKenna shares his own personal experiences with plant medicines, offering insights and reflections on his own journey of self-discovery and transformation. The Brainforest Café is a thought-provoking and engaging exploration of the intersection between science, spirituality, and culture, and offers a valuable perspective on the potential of plant medicines to transform our understanding of ourselves and the natural world.

McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy
https://mckenna.academy/

SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring the anomalous, the luminous, and the numinous. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions.

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65 episodes
Updated July 27

Episodes65

Newest first

Oct 6, 2025 · 1 hr 45 min
(2nd Installment) Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna
Graham St John, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist and historian of transformational events, movements, and figures. His forthcoming book Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna (MIT Press, Oct 7, 2025) is the latest among his ten books, which also include Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT (North Atlantic Books 2015). Graham is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield, UK.
Aug 18, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna
Graham St John, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist and historian of transformational events, movements, and figures. His forthcoming book Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna (MIT Press, Sep 30, 2025) is the latest among his ten books, which also include Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT (North Atlantic Books 2015). Graham is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield, UK.
Jul 28, 2025 · 1 hr 10 min
Creating Human-Centered, Ethical AI Inspired by Nature
Tony Ācworth (pronounced Ayk-worth) is a visionary herbalist, psychedelic advocate, forest guide, and self-described “wily wizard” living with his wife and five-year-old son amid the coastal rainforests of Brentwood Bay, Vancouver Island. For 15 plus years, Tony has walked the plant (and mushroom) path, logged over 5,000 clinical hours doing comprehensive intakes with patients, helping them untangle what truly plagues the mind, body, and spirit. Under the mentorship of herbal elder and prolific
Jul 14, 2025 · 1 hr
The Buddhabrot - Unlocking the Mathematical Code of Consciousness
Dr Harry Shirley has a PhD in organic chemistry and research experience at theUniversity of Oxford. His research focussed on the synthesis of biologically active chemicalsof marine origin. Having left academia some years ago, he now holds a deep passion forJungian thought. He recently published his paper “the Buddhabrot and the Unus Mundus” inthe International Journal of Jungian Studies, which explores the role of the Mandelbrot set inmind and matter.
Jun 30, 2025 · 1 hr 16 min
Exploring the DMT Realm and the Nature of Reality
Dr. Andrew Gallimore is a computational neurobiologist, chemical pharmacologist, and writer, living and working in Tokyo. He has a master’s degree in chemical pharmacology and a PhD in biological chemistry from the University of Cambridge and has held postdoctoral research fellowships in computational neuroscience at the Universities of York, Oxford, and Okinawa. He has been fascinated by the neuropharmacology of psychedelics for more than two decades and is the author of three books: Alien Info
Jun 16, 2025 · 50 min
Psychedelics and Brain Mapping for Trauma Healing
Luke served in the Marine Corps for six years and two years in the National Guard, deploying to Afghanistan with an Airborne infantry unit. After his deployment, he faced severe PTSD, a loss of purpose, and a transformative “dark night of the soul.” Seeking healing, Luke explored various modalities, eventually traveling to the Amazon basin in Peru to experience Ayahuasca. This profound encounter brought him personal healing and a spiritual awakening, revealing the vast, interconnected nature of
Jun 2, 2025 · 1 hr 25 min
Mushrooms, AI, and the Human Spirit
Paul Stamets, speaker, author, mycologist, medical researcher and entrepreneur, is considered an intellectual and industry leader in fungi: habitat, medicinal use, and production. He lectures extensively to deepen the understanding and respect for the organisms that literally exist under every footstep taken on this path of life. His presentations cover a range of mushroom species and research showing how mushrooms can help the health of people and planet. His central premise is that habitats ha
May 12, 2025 · 1 hr 22 min
Psychedelics, Dissociation & Trauma
Steve Elfrink, a pioneer with over 40 years of experience in psychedelic medicine and integrative healing, is the founder of OmTerra (www.omterra.org). In this podcast, Steve focuses on his groundbreaking hypothesis of Psychedelic Iatrogenic Structural Dissociation (PISD), which was recently published in Frontiers in Psychology (co-authored by Leigh Bergin). Drawing from his own deeply personal journey—from a transformative yet destabilizing ayahuasca ceremony in a sacred Southern Wisconsin vall
Apr 14, 2025 · 58 min
Exploring Plant Consciousness and Photosynthesis Miracles
Rajnish Khanna, M.Sc. Ph.D., is a Senior Investigator, Biosphere Science and Engineering at Carnegie Science, Stanford. Rajnish is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of i-Cultiver, Inc. TerreLocal, and co-founder and Executive Director of “Urban Green Project”. He is a strategic biotechnology consultant, plant and soil health scientist applying multidisciplinary approaches for research and development. Known for empowering the industry through strategic partnerships with academic instituti
Mar 24, 2025 · 48 min
The Original Psychedelic Artist - From NYC to the World
Isaac Abrams was born and raised in New York City.He is a self-taught artist who started painting in 1965.Based in Upstate New York, he continues to paint every day. He first discovered psychedelics in 1962. He then discovered psychedelics again and again. He decided there had to be such a thing as psychedelic art and founded the Coda Gallery - the first gallery of Psychedelic Art in NYC in 1965. He had his first one man show in 1968 at Galerie Bischofberger in Zurich. Other memorable moments in
Mar 10, 2025 · 1 hr
Fungi, Ecology, and Bioremediation Technologies.
Howard Sprouse, CEO of the Remediators, Inc. and developer of bioremediation technologies since the mid 1990s. Howard previously worked as a consultant to Battelle’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Sequim, Washington assisting with the development of mycoremediation technology. His work assisted projects aimed towards remediation of petroleum hydrocarbons, biological agents, pathogen degradation, and biofiltration of agricultural runoff. Howard also worked for the Department of Botany,
Feb 24, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
Pioneering Seed Banking for Global Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration.
Jill Wagner has been a forester in Hawaii for 30 years. She started at the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden as a horticulturalist for the garden, where she grew native Hawaiian species. She received a Bachelors Degree from the University of Hawaii in Ethnobotany. She has been conducting forest restoration projects for the State of Hawaii, Department of Hawaiian Homelands, The Nature Conservancy, The National Park Service, Kamehameha Schools and other private land owners. She has trained p
Jan 20, 2025 · 49 min
The Sacred Coca Plant, an 8,000 Year History & The Fight to Liberate It.
Wade Davis is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker whose work has taken him from the Amazon to Tibet, Africa to Australia, Polynesia to the Arctic. Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society from 2000 to 2013, he is currently Professor of Anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Author of 23 books, including One River, The Wayfinders and Into the Silence, winner of the 2012 Samuel Johnson prize, the top nonf
Jan 13, 2025 · 52 min
Bridging interdisciplinary perspectives from Psychedelic-Induced Psychosis to Spiritual Emergency
Mariya Garnet is a Ukrainian-born artist, traditionally trained psychedelic facilitator, and student psychotherapist with over 15 years of experience in indigenous healing practices. Since 2008, she has been in apprenticeship with mestizo curanderos in the Peruvian Amazon. During her eight years living full-time in Peru, Mariya co-founded Canto Luz Centre for Research and Cultural Preservation, a treehouse retreat dedicated to healing and environmentalism. Mariya integrates her expertise in psyc
Jan 6, 2025 · 1 hr 38 min
Sound, Consciousness and the Divine
Alexandre Tannous is as an ethnomusicologist, sound therapist and sound researcher. He has been investigating the therapeutic and esoteric properties of sound from three different perspectives - Western scientific, Eastern philosophical, and shamanic societal beliefs - to gain a deeper understanding of how, and to what extent, sound has been used to affect human consciousness. This search has led him to the intersection of art, science, philosophy and spirituality. His ethnomusicological approa
Dec 16, 2024 · 1 hr 9 min
A Grateful Tribute to Amazonian Wisdom in "Yuriana's Garden"
Luis, born in Galicia, Spain, has been fascinated by dreams, the occult, spirits, and magic since childhood. This lifelong curiosity drew him to science fiction, comics, and ultimately, filmmaking. After beginning his career with short horror and sci-fi films, he soon grew weary of commercial work and moved to London to expand his career. There, he joined London Real and rose to the role of creative director, where he eventually met one of his idols, Dennis McKenna. Together, they created ReConn
Dec 2, 2024 · 58 min
The Spirit of Huachuma
Laurel Anne Sugden is a Ph.D. candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of British Columbia. She grew up in rural Montana, where she developed deep connections with the flora and fauna of the Rocky Mountains, and went on to earn a B.Sc. in Molecular Biology. Her PhD research centers on the visionary San Pedro Cactus (Huachuma) and its cultural and ecological roles in the Andes. Laurel conducted a broad survey of the endemic habitats of Huachuma which revealed the decline of wild H
Nov 18, 2024 · 1 hr 3 min
Exploring Ancestral Pilgrimages and Visionary Art in Sacred Sites
Delvin Solkinson is a visionary permaculture designer and art culture creator from the Elpinstone Rainforest of British Columbia, Canada. Holding four Diplomas, a experimental Masters and Doctorate in Permaculture Education, he teaches permaculture design, writes articles and books, makes videos and creates learning tools with his beloved wife Grace. He is the Diploma Program Coordinator for the Permaculture Institute in the USA, a Diploma Tutor With the Permaculture Association Britain, and Dea
Nov 11, 2024 · 1 hr 15 min
The Power of Unscripted Stories
Lucy Walker is an Emmy-winning, twice Oscar-nominated director renowned for creating riveting character-driven nonfiction. Her films have won over 100 awards including two at Sundance and two at Berlin and include Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, Of Night and Light: The Story of Ibogaine, Bring Your Own Brigade, The Lion's Mouth Opens, The Crash Reel, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Waste Land, Countdown to Zero, Blindsight, and Devil's Playground. For Netflix she directed/execu
Nov 4, 2024 · 57 min
A Journey into Ethnobotanical Drug Discovery
Steve began learning about tropical ecosystems, indigenous and local people in 1974 at the age 15 when he went to the Rio Polochic River area in Alta Verpaz, Guatemala as a volunteer paramedic with the NGO Amigos de los Americas where he supported volunteer MD’s/ Dentist and provided vaccines to youth in the nearby small mountainous villages. A few years later he visited a village of Angotere Secoya indigenous people in Peru who live near the Colombian and Ecuadorian border with a Spanish Jesu