Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast - Plants of the Gods: S3E5. Mushrooms, Magic, Medicine and Mortality: Paul Stamets in Conversation with Dr. Mark Plotkin

Plants of the Gods: S3E5. Mushrooms, Magic, Medicine and Mortality: Paul Stamets in Conversation with Dr. Mark Plotkin

07/06/22 • 35 min

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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.

Previous Episode

Plants of the Gods: S3E4. Absinthe, New Orleans, and the Birth of Rock and Roll

In the previous episode, we learned how and why Absinthe was considered the ultimate creative elixir in 19th century Belle Epoque France. However, absinthe also served as an inspiration for artists in New Orleans, long regarded as the most European city in the US. As we heard in previous episodes on opium (S1E6) and cannabis (S2E7), New Orleans has long been awash in mind-altering plant products, all of which have played a vital role in the city's fecund creativity which gave rise to jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll.

Next Episode

Plants of the Gods: S3E6. Part 2 — Mushrooms, Magic, Medicine and Mortality: Paul Stamets in Conversation with Dr. Mark Plotkin

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 continue their discussion pondering mushrooms, magic and mortality, while 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.