In today’s episode, we launch Season 4 of Plants of the Gods by delving more deeply into our most popular topic to date: ayahuasca. Also known as “the vine of the soul”, ayahuasca is native to the northwest Amazon and is employed by indigenous shamans for therapeutic and other purposes. This sacred potion has played a fundamental role in the ongoing mainstreaming of hallucinogenic plants into western therapeutic practices. In this episode, Dr. Plotkin recounts the participatory research of his mentor Richard Evans Schultes and how it forever changed Western understanding of ayahuasca, shamanism and the Amazon rainforest.