In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, host Paul F. Austin welcomes cultural historian and acclaimed author Mike Jay.

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-316/?ref=278

Together they explore the untold history of nitrous oxide, psychedelic experimentation in the Romantic era, and the deeper cultural and philosophical roots of psychedelic science.

Mike shares insights from his latest book, Free Radicals, highlighting how figures like Humphry Davy and William James helped shape psychedelic thought long before the 1960s. The conversation weaves through ancient San Pedro rituals, colonial attempts to suppress peyote use, and the divergent paths of modern psychedelic medicine.

From poetic self-experimentation to medicalized models, Mike unpacks the historical tensions between grassroots healing and institutional control—and what this means for the future of psychedelic culture.

Mike Jay is a British author and cultural historian who has written widely on the history of drugs, consciousness, and medical science. His books include Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic, Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind, and Free Radicals: How a Group of Romantic Experimenters Gave Birth to Psychedelic Science. Mike contributes regularly to The London Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, and The Wall Street Journal.

Highlights:

How early scientists used nitrous oxide for inner exploration
Romantic poets as the original psychedelic self-experimenters
Parallels between Humphry Davy and Alexander Shulgin
What William James learned from nitrous, not mescaline
Colonial suppression of peyote and indigenous resilience
The enduring symbolism of San Pedro in Andean ritual
How the counterculture reinterpreted Native practices
Why modern psychedelic medicine may be repeating history
The role of finance in shaping current therapy models
Looking ahead: divergent futures of psychedelic healing

Episode links:

Episode sponsors:

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