Luminous: A Podcast about the Science, Philosophy and Culture of Psychedelics

We all know Timothy Leary, the high priest of ‘60s psychedelia, but his partner, Rosemary Woodruff Leary, has largely been forgotten. She also had a remarkable life, even breaking Leary out of prison with the help of the Weather Underground. Now, biographer Susannah Cahalan tells her story — from the heady Sixties to a life on the run for decades.
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00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:40 Before Timothy Leary
00:10:40 Millbrook
00:20:00 Prison Break and Exile
00:36:00 Twenty Years as an Innkeeper
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Bio: Susannah Cahalan

Thomas Metzinger is a renowned German philosopher. He has a longtime fascination with psychedelics, stemming from his own experience and also from his work as an analytic philosopher. He says altered states of consciousness give us profound insights into the nature of the mind. And he believes modern society has an ethical imperative to foster a “culture of consciousness.”
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00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:10 Is There Knowledge in These States
00:06:55 Metzinger's Own Experiences
00:19:45 When It Backfires
00:28:15 A Concrete Proposal
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Bio: Thomas Metzinger

Most psychedelic stories are highly personal, but there’s a different dynamic when two people share the experience — especially a married couple. Steve talks with theoretical physicist Marcelo Gleiser and clinical psychologist Kari Gleiser about their transformative experiences.
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00:00:00 Introduction
00:08:45 A Physicist's First Journey
00:17:30 Reattaching Mind and Body
00:26:15 Kari's Clinical Practice
00:44:00 What a Shared Trip Opens Up
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Bio: Marcelo Gleiser

Bio: Kari Gleiser

Chris Timmerman is a neuroscientist with a deep interest in phenomenology—what’s actually happening in our minds during psychedelic experiences. He leads the DMT Research Group at Imperial College, where he’s found that a single psychedelic experience can transform a person’s belief system, often turning materialists into panpsychists. In this wide-ranging conversation, Steve talks with Chris about everything from fractals and ayahuasca ceremonies to whether scientists who study psychedelics should talk openly about their own experiences.
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00:00:00 Introduction
00:06:40 Why Study Non-Ordinary States
00:16:05 What DMT Does to the Brain
00:29:15 Entities and Scientific Caution
00:49:40 The Questions Still Open
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Bio: Chris Timmermann

Buddhist meditation and psychedelic journeys have a lot of shared DNA—both take you deep inside your mind and can change your life. But many Buddhists say psychedelics violate the prohibition against intoxicants. Do they? Spring Washam straddles this divide as both a Buddhist teacher and founder of an ayahuasca church. Her own story is fascinating—how she’s merged these two practices.
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00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:30 Finding Buddhism in Oakland
00:12:55 When the Boat Cracked
00:25:10 Two Traditions, Both True
00:42:05 A Church in Georgia
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Bio: Spring Washam