In this episode of the Drug Science Podcast, we talk to Simon Doherty, a journalist and content creator with a focus on harm reduction. He explores how reporting on electronic music and rave culture naturally led to his work on harm reduction. He goes on to dissect Talk to Frank and its flaws in providing accurate, evidence-based information. Finally, by comparing the unique landscape of free parties to the regulated club scene, Doherty discusses why and how clubs avoid common sense harm reduction techniques, endangering clubgoers.

Links

• Simon’s TikTok
• Investigating Talk to Frank
• Calling Frank
• The Loop
• Rave Aid Crew
• GHB/GHL
• Ketamine
• Nitazenes

Join us in this episode as we talk to Prof Sara Tai, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Manchester and an NHS consultant clinical psychologist.

Sara’s research is grounded in biopsychosocial frameworks, with a focus on understanding the mechanisms of change that underpin effective psychological therapies. She has extensive experience delivering therapy, and training other clinicians to deliver interventions with individuals, families, and young people across diverse settings, including acute in-patient units, community mental health services, and schools.

For many years, Sara has been at the forefront of research into psychedelic-assisted therapies, working collaboratively with academic and industry partners to explore how psychedelics bring about therapeutic change. She has been instrumental in manualising psychological support models that integrate the core effective components shared across evidence-based psychotherapies, helping to define best practice in this rapidly advancing area. An experienced researcher, clinician, and trainer, Sara has led and collaborated on large-scale randomised controlled trials and has played a central role in training psychedelic therapists worldwide. Her work continues to bridge scientific research and clinical practice, advancing safe, effective, and compassionate approaches to mental health care.

Sara explores her research into the oft-overlooked role of therapy within psychedelic treatments. She discuses how her work has helped to challenge the notion of psychedelic compounds as medicine in themselves, shifting the focus onto the therapeutic approaches alongside them. Ultimately, Sara underscores the need for more transformative psychedelic experiences grounded in peer support, indigenous knowledge, or therapeutic experience in order to facilitate positive outcomes.

Links

Prof Sara Tai

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Method of Levels

In this episode, we speak with Adam Zmith, podcast producer, writer, and author of Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures. He describes his motivation behind writing the book, all before diving into the complex history of poppers. By speaking to the policing and regulation of poppers, Zmith explores broader struggles between the queer community and the government, in addition to the necessity for greater harm reduction for poppers. Despite these struggles, he underscores the ways in which queer culture has been shaped by poppers and how, in return, poppers have been shaped by queer culture.

Links

● Adam Zmith

● Deep Sniff

● Poppers

● The Log Books

● Switchboard

● Sir Thomas Lauder Brunton

● UK Man Consumes Poppers Accidentally

Join us in this episode as Prof Nutt speaks to John, Joanne, and Ryan of the Scottish Ambulance Service in Glasgow. They explore their backgrounds in the Service and how their work exposed them to challenging situations that caused severe detriment to their mental health. After describing the failings of traditional mental health support for emergency workers, they tell their story of travelling to Peru for an ayahuasca retreat, an eye-opening and profoundly heartening experience.

Links

Scottish Ambulance Services

Ayahuasca

Heroic Hearts Project UK

The Shipibo

Scottish Psychedelic Research Group

In this episode of the Drug Science podcast, we speak to Dr Andy Letcher, a religious scholar and author of the book Shroom: the Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom. He explores his complimentary background in science and the humanities, depicting how this combination structured his thinking. Noting the religious potential of psychedelic experiences, Letcher links the spiritual with the psychedelic, explaining what he sought to capture in his book and where it has gone since. Finally, he discusses how his interest in transdisciplinary perspectives on psychedelics has coalesced in the University of Exeter’s psychedelic postgraduate courses.

PSYCH SYMPOSIUM 2025

Links
Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom

Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine, and Culture

Psilocybin

Seeking the Magic Mushroom by R. Gordon Wasson

Psychedelia Britannia: Druids on Drugs

Tune into the latest episode of the Drug Science Podcast, where we talk to Jenny Chapman and Dr. Stephen Naulls, researchers at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) and authors of ‘Psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health: Policy considerations, a briefing for Parliament’ on the state of psychedelic research. They explore the remit of POST in highlighting objective, emerging scientific research, and how psychedelics have come into their focus. With backgrounds in biology and medicine, both Jenny and Stephen stress the interwoven nature of science and policy. Through this intersection, they highlight the policy levers holding psychedelic researchers back and what Parliament and the greater public can take from the POST brief.

Links

Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology

POST report on Psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health: Policy considerations, a briefing for Parliament

Psychedelic drugs to treat eating disorders

Psychedelic drugs to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat anxiety disorders

Psychedelic drugs to treat depression

Psychedelic-assisted therapy in the treatment of addiction

POST Board

Fellowship opportunities

POST All Reports

Knowledge Exchange Unit – KEU

Horizon Scanning

Ketamine

In this episode of the Drug Science Podcast, we speak with Darren Le Baron, an accomplished mycologist and educator. He discusses how his hardships from his upbringing in East London have informed his current work, where he uses horticulture to connect with children at risk of being drawn into crime. He transitions to explore his series Psychedelics in Africa, explaining some of the many links between psychedelics and African culture, both in ancient times and modernity. Throughout, he emphasises the importance of African perspectives and similar indigenous ones, challenging their absence in mainstream psychedelic discourse.

Links

Darren Le Baron

Who is Darren Le Baron

Darren's Instagram

We Are Grow Mushrooms

Psilocybin

About Kilindi Iyi

Psychedelics in Africa: The Untold Story

Ibogaine

Join us in this episode as we speak to Bruce Parry, the creator and star of the BBC series Tribe With Bruce Parry. He explains his sharp career change from a Royal Marine to an advocate for indigenous rights, where he’s developed a humble approach to learning from indigenous tribes, defined by listening and witnessing. He talks about his experiences of psychedelics in these contexts, namely ayahuasca, which have vastly shaped his outlook on life. Through this lens, he lends his opinions on topics like ayahuasca tourism and capitalist culture in the psychedelic space.

Tribe with Bruce Parry

Psilocybin

Ayahuasca