Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast

Paul Stamets is a leading American mycologist, author of many books, and best known for his role in the award-winning documentary and accompanying book, Fantastic Fungi. An advocate of medicinal fungi, Stamets' interests overlap with those of ethnobotanist Dr. Mark Plotkin. In this episode, Stamets and Dr. Plotkin ponder mushrooms, magic, and mortality, challenging some Western beliefs with personal observations, experiences, and ideas.

Recorded by award-winning nature photographer Joshua Bloom (realityinbloom.com) at the ESPD55 – Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs – Conference (espd55.com). Special thanks to Joshua Bloom, Dylan Fitchett, Dennis McKenna, and the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy.

Today's episode features Brian Muraresku, author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Immortality Key. This two-part discussion between Muraresku and Dr. Plotkin examines the role psychedelics have played in the development of Western civilization. In the first half, we'll cover topics ranging from the Eleusinian Mysteries, early Christianity, and the pagan continuity hypothesis to the work of philosopher and psychologist William James.

In today's episode, we continue our discussion with Brian Muraresku, author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Immortality Key, and Dr. Mark Plotkin, the President of the Amazon Conservation Team. This two-part discussion between Muraresku and Plotkin examines the role psychedelics have played in Western civilization. In the second half, we'll cover topics spanning from ancient wine and beer, experiencing spirituality, the Jewish concept of "tikkun olam," and much more.

Ergot, LSD and the Birth of Western Religions – Ergot is a fungus that parasitizes rye where - in the Middle Ages - it was sometimes milled into the flour used to make bread. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting folks who ate the bread, ergot is rich in powerful alkaloids that can cause a range of symptoms, from visions to gangrene to death. Some historians have postulated that consumption of ergotized bread may have cause the bizarre behaviors that resulted in the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts in the late 17th century.

When employed correctly, ergot offers many beneficial curative properties in terms of treating medical problems in childbirth as well as migraines. And it was the ergot alkloids that inspired Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman in 1938 to devise synthetic chemicals similar to the ergot alkaloids - and one of the results was LSD.

This episode also delves into whether visions caused by ergot or other plants of the gods may have played an important role in the formation of several western religions.

Sources:

Balick, Michael J., and Paul Alan Cox. Plants, People, and Culture the Science of Ethnobotany. CRC Press, 2020.

Harner, Michael. Hallucinogens and Shamanism. Oxford University Press. 1981.

Mann, John. Murder, Magic, and Medicine. Oxford University Press, 2000.

Muraresku, Brian. The Immortality Key: the Secret History of the Religion with No Name. St. Martin's Press, 2020.

Schultes, Richard Evans., and Albert Hofmann. Plants of the Gods. Vandermarck, 1979.

Simpson, Beryl Brintnall., and Molly Conner-Ogorzaly. Economic Botany:Plants in Our World. McGraw-Hill, 2001.

Stewart, Amy, et al. Wicked Plants: the Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2009.

This two-part special edition kicks off Season Five of "Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation." We start by asking the question that is on everyone's mind these days: did civilization invent beer, or did beer invent civilization? And then we help solve a cold case: did ancient Africans know and use antibiotics? And why are we asking this in a discussion of beer? And is there really a 10 CD set comprised entirely of German beer drinking songs? And what did the late Frank Zappa say – and sing – about beer?

Works Cited

Appleton, Frank. Brewing Revolution: Pioneering the Craft Beer Movement. Harbour Publishing, 2016. Caruso, Giuseppe, et al. The Botany of Beer: An Illustrated Guide to More than 500 Plants Used in Brewing . Columbia University Press, 2022. English, Camper. Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails . Penguin Books, 2022. Hennessey, Jonathan, et al. The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World’s Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today’s Craft Brewing Revolution . Ten Speed Press, 2015. Laws, Bill. Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History. Firefly Books, 2015. McGovern, Patrick E. Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages . University of California Press, 2010. Muraresku, Brian. The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2023. Oliver, Garrett. The Oxford Companion to Beer. Oxford University Press, 2012. Smith, Gavin D. Beer - a Global History. Reaktion Books, 2014. Standage, Tom. A History of the World in Six Glasses. Doubleday Canada, 2010.