A Four Part Series from TTBOOK!

Public Radio International

Wisconsin Public Radio

PSYCHEDELICS

Program 10-06-06-A

Listen!

Timothy Leary nearly killed the psychedelic revolution. He did more than anyone to popularize LSD and urged us all to "turn on, tune in, drop out." But Leary's indiscriminate use of mind-altering drugs created a backlash, and made them taboo for serious scholars. Now a new generation of scientists is studying hallucinogens, and finding remarkable effects. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll take you to the cutting edge of psychedelic research.

SEGMENT 1:

When Timothy Leary invited everyone to "turn on, tune in, drop out" in the Sixties, it captured the public's imagination, but it was also bad news for scientists who wanted to study the effects of psychedelics. It's taken decades for study of mind-altering drugs to be taken seriously. Now a handful of scientists are at the forefront of new research. One of them is Roland Griffiths is a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins. He's just turned his attention to psilocybin, a classic hallucinogen commonly known as magic mushrooms. He tells Steve Paulson about his findings. Then, after an excerpt from an interview with Aldous Huxley from 1958 about his use of mescaline, we take a look at other mystical experiences. Stefanie Syman explores how to achieve them without drugs. The author of "The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America" tells Jim Fleming that today's scientific study of psychedelics could lead to new breakthroughs.

SEGMENT 2:

In 1971 Terrence McKenna, a philosopher and ethnobotanist set out with his brother Dennis to travel the Amazon in search of drug-induced visionary experiences. That wild adventure led to a lifelong study of hallucinogens. Though Terrence died ten years ago, Dennis McKenna, now a botanist and lecturer at the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality and Healing, continues the quest. He tells Steve Paulson how shamanistic cultures use hallucinogens.

SEGMENT 3:

We hear a clip from Annie Levy who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In the late stages she took part in an experimental study designed to see if taking psilocybin could help with the fear and panic about dying. In her case, taking a single dose was a life-changing experience in her final months. The groundbreaking study was the project of Charles Grob, a psychiatrist at the UCLA medical school, who tells Anne Strainchamps about his research on psychedelics.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 10-06-06-A.

................................................................

Books & CDs:

Stefanie Syman, The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America (FSG)

Websites:

• BioPharmaceutical Technology Center:
  http:// www.btci.org
• Heffter Research Institute:
  http://www.heffter.org
• Roslyn Dauber's film on psychedelics:
  http://www.doc-jukebox.com/search/node/roslyn%20dauber
• NIH page explaining the Charles Grob study: Effects of Psilocybin in Advanced-Stage Cancer Patients With Anxiety
  http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00302744?order=1
• Stefanie Symon
  http://us.macmillan.com/thesubtlebody

Music:

• Return:
  Moody Blues w/ “Legend of a Mind”
  On “In Search of the Lost Chord”
  
• After Griffiths:
  Chris Bocast w/ “The Dry Lake”
  On “Through the Airlock”
  BMI Records
  
• Aldoux Huxley Clip:
  “The Spoken Word: British Writers”
  British Library
  
• After Syman: Moody Blues w/ “Legend of a Mind”
  Panda Bear w/ “Bros”
  On “Person Pitch”
  
• After McKenna:
  DJ Photek w/ “Axiom”
  On “Modus Operandi”
  
• After Grob:
  Blue States w/ “Spit and Soar”
  On “Nothing Changes Under the Sun”
  
• Close:
  Deer Hoof w/ Desaparecere
  On “Milkman”

Distribution dates: week of 06/06/2010 - hour 1 click HERE for timings and cues

Listen!

................................................................

Questions and comments can be addressed to: ttbook@wpr.org

Wisconsin Public Radio is a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension.

Page design and management by Jim Fleming at Wisconsin Public Radio and Sarah Fleming.

© 2010 WHA Radio and the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All rights reserved.