Podcast · Tech & Science

Brainforest Café

by SpectreVision Radio · English · Tech & Science

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.

New episodes: Every two weeks
Typical length: 1 hr 7 min
Latest: 5 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026 · 59 min

The Mushroom That Makes You See "Little People"

For nearly a century, reports of a mysterious psychoactive bolete have puzzled ethnomycologists and anthropologists alike. From the 1930s reports of "mushroom madness" in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, which drew the curiosity of R. Gordon Wasson, Roger Heim, and Albert Hofmann, to modern Yunnan, China, where accidental poisonings from undercooked culinary mushrooms cause people to reliably see visions of tiny, colorfully dressed "little people." In this episode of The Brainforest Café, Dennis McKenna sits down with mycologist and PhD candidate Colin Domnauer (University of Utah) to…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S1 · E70 · 21 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 28 min
The Brain Is a Field Computer, Not a Digital Chip
Dennis McKenna sits down with scholar, lawyer, and philosopher Tam Hunt (UC Santa Barbara’s META Lab) to dive deep into the mysteries of consciousness, psychedelics, and the existential crossroads of artificial intelligence. Tam shares his unconventional journey, from growing up in a 1970s counterculture commune to transformative, high-dose LSD journeys in Waimea Canyon, and how these experiences led him to co-develop the General Resonance Theory (GRT) with Jonathan Schooler. Together, Dennis and Tam explore panpsychism, Whiteheadian process philosophy, the limits of reductionist…
S1 · E69 · 9 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 15 min
Why Ibogaine Triggers a 'Second Childhood' in the Brain - Part 2
Jonathan Dickinson, CEO and co-founder of Ambio Life Sciences and author of Ibogaine and the Bicameral Mind, returns to the Brainforest Café for part two of his conversation with Dr. Dennis McKenna. Where part one followed the personal journey, this one goes into the machinery: what ibogaine is actually doing to the mind and to the cell. - - - Jonathan Dickinson, co-founder and CEO of Ambio Life Sciences and founder of Terragnosis, joins Dr. Dennis McKenna on the Brainforest Café for a conversation about ibogaine, iboga, and the Bwiti tradition of Gabon. A Mexico-licensed psychologist and…
S1 · E68 · 7 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
Ibogaine and the Bicameral Mind - Part 1
Jonathan Dickinson, co-founder and CEO of Ambio Life Sciences and founder of Terragnosis, joins Dr. Dennis McKenna on the Brainforest Café for a conversation about ibogaine, iboga, and the Bwiti tradition of Gabon. - - - Jonathan Dickinson, a Mexico-licensed psychologist and former executive director of the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance, Jonathan helped develop the field's foundational safety guidelines and completed the first Nagoya-compliant export of Tabernanthe iboga root. In part one of a two-part conversation, he traces the path from harm reduction work in Vancouver's Downtown…
S1 · E67 · 24 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
Inside Colombia’s Top Ayahuasca Retreat
What if the future of ayahuasca isn’t in the hype cycle, but in safety, tradition, and real transformation? In this conversation, Sam Believ and Dennis McKenna explore Colombia’s overlooked ayahuasca lineage, the importance of set and setting, and why plant medicine may hold a key to healing both people and culture. - - - Sam Believ is the founder of LaWayra Ayahuasca Retreat and host of the Ayahuasca Podcast. A former offshore engineer turned modern bridge-builder, Sam is dedicated to making traditional Amazonian medicine accessible, safe, and grounded for the modern world. He build…
S1 · E66 · 10 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 14 min
Ibogaine, Kintsugi & the Secret to True Healing
In this conversation, Patricia Eastman and Dennis McKenna explore the deeper meaning of psychedelic healing through the lens of ancestral wisdom, initiation, and nature-based practice. Patricia shares the story behind her book Seeding Consciousness and her vision for Hu Azores, a retreat center in Portugal designed as a healing space that integrates architecture, ritual, and circadian-aware design. The discussion moves beyond symptom treatment and into a bigger question: how psychedelics can support creativity, integration, and a more connected human experience. - - - Patricia Eastman,…
S1 · E65 · 27 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
Ayahuasca, Science, and Shamanism
In 2003, Carlos Tanner woke up in his car underwater, having blacked out behind the wheel and driven into a river. Deep in an opiate addiction, he went to the Amazon to save his own life. What he found there became his life's work. In this episode of the Brainforest Café, Dennis McKenna sits down with Carlos, founder of the Ayahuasca Foundation in Iquitos, Peru, for a wide-ranging conversation on healing, tradition, and what happens when a sacred medicine goes global. Carlos recounts his apprenticeship under the late curandero Don Juan Tangoa Paima, who first took him in, and how that path…
S1 · E64 · 13 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 9 min
Can Plants Replace Animals in Drug Testing?
In this episode of the Brainforest Café, Dennis McKenna sits down with medicinal chemist Matt Metcalf to explore a genuinely strange frontier: testing drugs in pea seedlings and the touch-sensitive Mimosa pudica instead of in mice. Along the way they circle the question that started it all, why the opium poppy spends so much energy making opioids at all, and what those molecules might be doing inside a plant that has no nerves. - - - Matthew Metcalf is a neuroscientist with a background in the medicinal chemistry and pharmacology of opioids and cannabinoids as analgesic drugs. He is an…
S1 · E63 · 29 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 2 min
The Pharmacy Was Always the Pantry
Dennis McKenna sits down with his old friend Dr. Cedric Baker, an ethnopharmacologist and medical herbalist who studies the ethnobotany of food across more than thirty countries. Together they take apart one of modern medicine's most stubborn assumptions: that food and medicine are separate things. From Thai kitchens where every dish is therapeutic, to the world's longevity hotspots, to the ethics of who owns a plant, it's a conversation that will leave you looking at your own plate a little differently. - - - Cedric Barrett Baker is an ethnopharmacologist, food ethnopharmacognoist,…
S1 · E62 · 14 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 13 min
Can Yeast Save Endangered Psychedelics?
As the psychedelic renaissance surges, wild sources are collapsing under demand—peyote takes decades to grow, safrole extraction is destroying Southeast Asian forests, and Sonoran Desert toads are being overharvested. In his book Bioengineering Enlightenment, Prof. Jeffrey Gerst proposes a radical solution: engineer yeast or fast-growing plants to produce psychedelic compounds sustainably. But at what cost? Dennis McKenna warns this could strip these substances from their cultural and ecological roots, veering into biopiracy. Together, they debate biotech vs. tradition, exploring…
S1 · E61 · 1 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 13 min
Inside the Front Lines of Psychedelic Journalism
Dennis McKenna sits down with journalist Mattha Busby to discuss the evolving world of psychedelics, including ayahuasca, ibogaine, 5-MeO-DMT, coca policy, drug reform, and the risks and realities behind psychedelic retreats and clinics. Mattha shares stories from the front lines of psychedelic journalism and reflects on the cultural, scientific, and political forces shaping the future of consciousness research. - - - Mattha Busby is a freelance journalist who has covered drug policy, psychedelics, culture and society for VICE, WIRED, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, LA Times and Esquire. He is…
S1 · E60 · 18 May 2026 · 1 hr 14 min
Terence McKenna, Psychedelics, and the Philosophy of Knowledge
In this rich and thought-provoking conversation, Dennis McKenna speaks with philosopher Mandi Astola about Terence McKenna, psychedelics, epistemology, shamanism, and the nature of knowledge. Together they explore how psychedelic experiences can produce both genuine insight and dangerous overconfidence, why intellectual humility matters, and how science and shamanic ways of knowing can complement each other. The discussion also touches on the “Stoned Ape” theory, the Timewave, the trickster archetype, and the role of psychedelics as tools for understanding reality, consciousness, and human…
S1 · E59 · 4 May 2026 · 1 hr
Dark Fairy Tales, Museum of Curiosities & Spirit-Filled Expeditions
Join Dennis McKenna and Viktor Wynd for a fascinating conversation on dark fairy tales, strange museum curiosities, Papua New Guinea, storytelling, collecting, and the hidden intelligence of nature. Viktor Wynd, writer, artist, and founder of the Museum of Curiosities, shares stories from his travels, his love of folklore, and his perspective on art, books, and the living world. For viewers interested in folklore, ethnobotany, consciousness, rare books, oddities, and the intersection of science, spirit, and wonder. - - - Viktor Wynd is a writer, artist, and the proprietor of the eponymous…
S1 · E58 · 20 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
Decoding the Divine: The Shared LSI Secret of the Greek Kykeon and Vedic Soma
Legal Disclaimer: The following content explores the chemistry and history of psychoactive plants for educational research. No Medical Claims: The Brainforest Café Podcast and Dennis McKenna do not make any claims regarding the health benefits or safety of the substances discussed. Any statements made by the guest regarding physical effects or health outcomes are personal anecdotes and should not be interpreted as medical advice. Safety & Legality: This conversation includes theoretical discussions on chemical synthesis. We do not encourage illegal activities or the handling of potentially…
S1 · E57 · 6 Apr 2026 · 54 min
Herbalism, Citizen Science, and Ancestral Knowledge
Join Dennis McKenna in this insightful conversation with Rebecca Lazarou as they explore the urgent need to preserve ancestral medicinal plant knowledge, the role of ethnopharmacology, and how traditional herbal wisdom can be protected for future generations. Rebecca shares the story behind her PhD research on Cypriot medicinal plants and her mission to document at-risk ethnobotanical knowledge before it disappears. They also discuss citizen science, cultural heritage, biodiversity, and the connection between science and traditional healing. - - - IMPORTANT NOTICE: Due to unforeseen…
S1 · E56 · 23 Mar 2026 · 54 min
Rewiring the Muse to Restore Creative Flow
In this episode of Brainforest Café, Dennis McKenna sits down with award-winning filmmaker Greg Hemmings to discuss the transformative power of storytelling and its ability to catalyze social and environmental change. Greg reveals his personal battle with long COVID and how it led to his Rewiring the Muse project, which uses neuroscience and EEG data to track his recovery. The conversation also explores Greg’s diverse film projects, including the sci-fi series Revival, the scripted feature on homelessness What We Dreamed of Then, and the climate documentary The Berg. It further delves into…
S1 · E55 · 9 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 13 min
Books, Human Creativity and "humble", a Graphic Meditation Tool for Openness
Dennis McKenna and OpticMystic explore humble, a graphic meditation on openness, self-questioning, books, technology, AI, love, and the ongoing mystery of what it means to be human. - - - OpticMystic a.k.a Hugo Amadeu is just a human fascinated by being alive. He intended to be an astrophysicist or an oceanographer but ended up studying graphic design and becoming a freelancer. He worked on DMT: The Spirit Molecule documentary film by Mitch Schultz, ESPD 50 book and later at the McKenna Academy. Currently, he is working with Namae Ntumae at CWays Home performing all sorts of media wizardry.…
S1 · E54 · 23 Feb 2026 · 1 hr 17 min
Remarkable Amazonian plants that shape human consciousness
In this special crossover episode of Plants of the Gods and Brainforest Café, Dennis McKenna and Mark Plotkin explore sacred plant medicines, psychedelic science, and indigenous wisdom, moving from DMT and ayahuasca to virola snuffs, salvia, ibogaine, and beyond. Originally recorded for Mark´s Podcast “Plants of the Gods”, this rich conversation on ethnobotany, shamanic healing, and the future of psychedelic medicine is now being released as a special crossover on both shows. - - - Dr. Mark Plotkin is a renowned ethnobotanist who has spent more than four decades working alongside Indigenous…
S1 · E53 · 9 Feb 2026 · 53 min
Honoring Dennis McKenna’s Lifetime of Enduring Plant Wisdom, Mentorship, and Inspiration to the Next Generation
Ethnobiologist Michael Coe returns to Brainforest Café with a special mission: to turn the spotlight onto Dennis McKenna’s lifelong dedication to ayahuasca, visionary plants, and ethnopharmacology. In this intimate conversation, Michael honors Dennis’ 54 years in the psychedelic space, from early fieldwork in the Amazon to pioneering biochemical and pharmacological research on plant medicines. The discussion explores the importance of mentorship, with Dennis now seeing his primary role as supporting a new generation of ethnobiologists like Michael and their work with indigenous communities…
S1 · E52 · 28 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
Psychedelics, Baltic Traditions & Rethinking Mental Health in Latvia
Discover Una Meistere’s journey from Soviet-era Latvia to becoming a bridge between indigenous plant medicines, psychedelic science, art, and Baltic traditions in this in-depth conversation with ethnobotanist Dennis McKenna. They explore ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms in Latvia, Amanita muscaria, and ancient sauna rituals as a kind of “Latvian ayahuasca,” touching on symbiosis with nature and how psychedelic experiences can help heal our disconnection from the natural world. Una shares how synchronicities led her from journalism to co-founding Arterritory, Spiriterritory, and the NGO…
S1 · E51 · 12 Jan 2026 · 56 min
Pacha Nishi Project, Ayahuasca Cultivation, and Amazonian Restoration
Michael Coe is an ethnobiologist and applied ecologist with a Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation Biology. As an Assistant Professor at Tarleton State University, his teaching and research focuses on the relationships between humans, ecosystems, and traditional knowledge systems. Passionate about biodiversity and the sustainable management of natural resources, Michael brings a dynamic interdisciplinary perspective, helping to integrate contemporary ethnobiology and ecology with traditional ecological practices to inform sustainable use strategies, conservation priorities, and…
S1 · E50 · 5 Jan 2026 · 2 hr 40 min
Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna
Terence McKenna was the stand‑up philosopher of the apocalypse. A cognitive libertarian. The anti‑guru who rejected authority—even his own. Twenty‑five years after his passing, the “Tryptamine Elf King” still haunts the present, reverberating through the sensorium of a new generation. Inspired by Graham St John’s definitive magnum opus, Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna, the inner circle—the family, the friends, and the co‑conspirators who knew the man behind the myth—came together for an extraordinary online conversation. PANELISTS BIOGRAPHIES: Dennis McKenna and…
S1 · E49 · 29 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 7 min
It's Going to Get Weirder: The Terence McKenna Story
Sharon McKenna is the director and producer of the forthcoming feature documentary, “It’s Going to Get Weirder: The Terence McKenna Story.” Sharon is a writer, film director, and journalist whose work has appeared in a range of outlets, from several alternative weeklies to MSNBC digital, among others. Her career spans three-plus decades of network news production, investigative reporting, corporate creative work and screenwriting. Her screenplays have been optioned and won numerous awards, and she has worked as a script reader and consultant for several film production companies. She is a…
S1 · E48 · 25 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 7 min
From Conventional Medicine to Plant Dietas and Spiritual Growth
Nissan started his career as a medical doctor and began his work as a general practitioner in an urban community clinic system. He then specialized in ophthalmology and practiced in a small town for 36 years. He became dissatisfied working strictly on the physical level and received training in Gestalt psychotherapy and had a small private practice. He became interested in the field of Natural Vision Improvement which combined his interest in vision with present moment, embodied presence. A reading from a tarot card reading psychic suggested the need for working in and with the spiritual…
S1 · E47 · 3 Nov 2025 · 49 min
The Faerie Rings, a Magical Tale of Healing and Rebellion.
Zina Brown is the writer and director of The Faerie Rings, an upcoming narrative feature filmabout the promise of visionary plant medicines, and the cruelty of those who would outlawthem.Zina’s unique visual and narrative style has been awarded in film festivals across the world,including the Barcelona International Environmental Film Festival, Kyiv Film Festival inUkraine, Mexico City International Film Festival, Amsterdam International Film Festival, SanAntonio Film Festival, and the Woods Hole Film Festival.He has over 25 years of writing and directing experience, including numerous music…
S1 · E46 · 20 Oct 2025 · 55 min
Entheogen Stewardship Project—Protecting Sacred Plants and Indigenous Wisdom.
Kevin Reed, founder and president of the Entheogen Stewardship Project, a vital new nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting culturally significant plant and animal species sacred to indigenous communities worldwide.Kevin brings a remarkable 45-year journey as a student of psychedelic science and culture to this crucial conservation work. His path began in 1984 under the mentorship of legendary researchers Sasha and Anne Shulgin, followed by profound connections with iconic figures including Wavy Gravy, Jack Herer, Timothy Leary, Rick Strassman, and many others who have shaped the…
S1 · E45 · 6 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 46 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 · E44 · 18 Aug 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 · E43 · 28 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 10 min
Creating Human-Centered, Ethical AI Inspired by Nature
Tony Ācworth 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 author and mycologist Robert Rogers, Tony deepened his reverence for the fungal world and its wisdom. In 2015, he was…
S1 · E42 · 14 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
The Buddhabrot - Unlocking the Mathematical Code of Consciousness
Dr Harry Shirley has a PhD in organic chemistry and research experience at the University of Oxford. His research focussed on the synthesis of biologically active chemicals of marine origin. Having left academia some years ago, he now holds a deep passion for Jungian thought. He recently published his paper “the Buddhabrot and the Unus Mundus” in the International Journal of Jungian Studies, which explores the role of the Mandelbrot set in mind and matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About Brainforest Café

Brainforest Café is a English tech & science podcast from SpectreVision Radio. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: SpectreVision Radio
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Every two weeks
Typical length: 1 hr 7 min
Latest episode: 5 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1719625868

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