Manoj Doss, PhD, has been known as a force of skepticism in psychedelic science and a critic of psychedelic neuroimaging. But he is also an expert on one often overlooked—but potentially very important—aspect of how psychedelics and other drugs impact people: how they affect memory. We also learn how Manoj became interested in memory research through a rollerblading mishap.

We talk about how psychedelics might increase our sense of familiarity, how this might play a role in people developing odd beliefs, but also how it could be part of their therapeutic mechanism. How might drugs create a sense of “downloads” from the universe, perhaps due to changes in memory processing? We also explore how other drugs impact various memory systems.

For example, we discuss a common non-psychedelic substance that can help you remember what you recently learned better—maybe you can guess what this mysterious drug is.

We also hear more about directions in psychedelic science that Manoj is more optimistic about.

Little announcement: Book Club

Furthure is starting an online book club! The book club will meet every other month over Zoom. I realized I was basically going through withdrawals from not having an English-language book club around me, haha.

We’ll meet at a time that works for both U.S. and European time zones. The first meeting will be on October 26th at 7:30 pm Central European Time / 1:30 pm Eastern / 10:30 am Pacific.

For the first book, we’re going to learn a little bit about Furthure’s namesake by reading The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. This book tells the tale of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters running around the U.S. from coast to coast on a bus called Furthur—which has the same intentional misspelling as the Furthure podcast, minus the extra “e”! The book is a bit of a time capsule, but it also reminds us how different psychedelic culture is today compared to the late 1960s. One event in the book, the Acid Graduation, even took place on Halloween in the 1960s, making it a fitting choice for October.

Look for details on Furthure’s social media!

• Instagram: @furthure707
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And as always, please subscribe and rate the podcast. This helps tremendously with getting the word out to more people about the show!

Lisa Gezon, an anthropologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, joins Furthure to share her experience investigating what many may consider an unlikely cultural group – a psychedelic integration group in America’s Deep South. We discuss how the religious landscape of the region intersects with the kinds of experiences people face during their journeys. Additionally, we explore how psychedelic research has influenced the way people make sense of their psychedelic experiences in the wild. Finally, we touch on some of the potential side effects of psychedelics – from adopting new belief systems to becoming a psychedelic evangelical.

Relevant Papers: https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/anoc.70010 https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2054/9/1/article-p8.xml

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Maria Bǎlǎeț, PhD is a cognitive neuroscientist who has explored how the use of psychedelics “in the wild” might impact both cognition and mental health.

She discusses her experiences with the Great British Intelligence Test and her research on the mental health resilience of psychedelic users during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she uncovered some unexpected results.

We also talk about the influence of public discourse on the effects of psychedelic experiences, particularly highlighting the nocebo effect. Additionally, we explore what effective science communication looks like, what the public can teach scientists about psychedelics, and the discrepancies between what is researched and what is actually relevant to people.

We also touch on a topic that many might find even more surprising than psychedelic-induced states—childbirth as a pleasant, mushroom-like altered state of consciousness. This idea is based on Maria’s recent case report, and she shares where she hopes this line of research will lead.

Interestingly, this conversation evolves into a broader discussion about how set and setting apply to all aspects of life, not just psychedelic use.

Maria’s social media account:

X: @emmsskyyy

Papers we discuss:

• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371598104_Associations_between_the_use_of_psychedelics_and_other_recreational_drugs_with_mental_health_and_resilience_during_the_COVID-19_pandemic
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380509147_Considering_the_nocebo_effect_in_the_psychedelic_discourse
• https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2054/aop/article-10.1556-2054.2025.00362/article-10.1556-2054.2025.00362.xml
• https://osf.io/preprints/osf/g3xau_v1

Book I mention with aspects of a nocebo experience: The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience by Robert Masters and Jean Houston

Nocebo-like temporary effects are described on page 20 of the pdf - https://psychonautdocs.com/docs/thevarieties.pdf

Furthure now has a Patreon page! Check it out if you want to help support the podcast!

• patreon.com/Futhure_HDourron

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• Instagram: furthure707
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There are some unique occupational hazards to being a psychedelic facilitator. One you might not hear much about is getting stabbed by a client while extracting their astral parasites or demons.

This is what happened to Julio Rivera, who shares his story of a client attack during what he describes as a parasite extraction gone wrong.

We also learn more about Julio’s unique method of working with psychedelics, which includes demon extraction, ceremonial daggers, and ultra-high doses of psilocybin.

I also want to be clear about my intentions in sharing stories like this. I am not recommending that people seek out demon extraction or astral parasites; I am merely trying to capture some of the beliefs and frameworks that exist out there. I think it is important to catalog the belief structures and systems of use that emerge in naturalistic use contexts and retreat settings.

Finally, a few small warnings: this episode does get quite graphic. Trigger warnings can often be used in cringe-worthy ways, but if you don’t want to hear the details of someone being stabbed, please skip the first 20 minutes of this episode.

Lastly, I want to emphasize that the dosing parameters described in the later portion are extreme. These are roughly eight times the dosage used in a clinical trial.

Julio's website: https://www.shape-my.life/

Julie Holland, MD is launching a groundbreaking trial on the safety of MDMA in people with schizophrenia—something she has been working toward for nearly 40 years. She shares what first sparked her interest in studying psychedelics and psychosis and discusses her book, Good Chemistry, which explores the science of connection, both through psychedelics, and more everyday experiences.

Learn more about Dr. Julie Holland

https://drholland.com/

Instagram: juliehollandmd

X: BellevueDoc

Furthure now has a Patreon page! Check it out if you want to help support the podcast!

• patreon.com/Futhure_HDourron

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🎶 Music by Gaej - The Forest of Angels 🎶

In this episode, Sophie Jacobs, author of The Intuition Experiment, tells us about her time studying in a Theravada monastery to be a Buddhist nun. We discuss what catalyzed her desire to train in the monastery and her day-to-day life there. Ultimately, Sophie, compelled in part by her creative spark, decided to leave the monastery and wrote a book about her experience there.

Follow Sophie here:

• Instagram: @flowintuit
• Substack: https://flowintuit.substack.com/

Also, we met at a Dharma Gates retreat a while back. Be sure to check them out if you want a meditation retreat for young people (under 35).

• https://www.dharma-gates.org/

Furthure now has a Patreon page! Check it out if you want to help support the podcast!

• patreon.com/Futhure_HDourron

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🎶 Music by Gaej - The Forest of Angels 🎶

Danny Goler is in the process of making a documentary about his discoveries involving DMT and lasers and what this might mean for simulation theory. His work is rapidly gaining interest within the psychedelic community, with figures such as Andrew Gallimore, PhD discussing and critiquing his theories.

At first glance, many might assume these ideas are “crazy.” However, I believe it’s important to understand people’s experiences, especially when they find them deeply meaningful. Dismissing an idea outright without giving it any thought leans towards authoritarian scientism. I’ll be honest—when I first saw the documentary trailer, I actually started laughing. It seemed so outlandish. But then a colleague of mine, also a researcher, said, “What if he’s right? You don’t know.” And you know what? I don’t.

Many people believe in things that don’t entirely make sense. Religion is unverifiable, yet it shapes countless lives. For more secular people, some search for meaning by believing in aliens. This doesn’t make them psychotic. There are functional members of society who also believe in complex, far fetched new religious movements (cough cough, Tom Cruise - scientology).

With that in mind, I’m here with Danny to learn more about his projects, what led him to his beliefs, and how, if at all, these beliefs bring meaning to his life.

I will not be assessing the validity of what he claims, but rather I am trying to understand what he believes and why and what it says about broader psychedelic culture and beliefs.

Danny’s website: https://www.codeofreality.com/

Danny's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dangothoughts

Related Interviews:

Danny Jones Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJp2rASRKMc&t=2899s

Andrew Gallimore Reaction to Danny Jones Podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hz6fab5NiE

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🎶 Music by Gaej - The Forest of Angels 🎶

In this episode, Alex Sieleff, PhD, delves into how we live with death and how psychedelics, along with other altered states of consciousness such as breathwork, can help us make sense of our lives. Alex has conducted fieldwork on the effects of naturalistic psychedelic use on intrinsic motivation and has studied how breathwork can induce mystical experiences.

Follow Alex Sieleff, PhD at curious.existentialist on Instagram

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Want to suggest a guest? Email me at haley.furthure@gmail.com

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🎶 Music by Gaej - The Forest of Angels 🎶