#85 MAHA Summit — Brought to You by Psychedelic Pharma

The crew discusses the FDA's September 14 psychedelic hearing, including Neşe's experience being in attendance, the financial conflicts of interest at the event, and the pseudoscientific beliefs of practitioners who gave testimony. Footnotes: Submit written comment to the FDA by October 5, 2026 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/14/2026-14155/considerations-for-potential-future-therapeutic-use-of-psychedelic-drugs-public-hearing-request-for

Psymposia dives into the recent Rolling Stone article — "Reggie Watts Is a Prominent Ketamine Advocate. Was It His Ex's 'Undoing'?" — and explores how the dynamics at play in that article are pervasive within the psychedelic advocacy scene. Footnotes: Reggie Watts Is a Prominent Ketamine Advocate. Was It His Ex's 'Undoing'? (Rolling Stone): https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/reggie-watts-ketamine-drug-advocate-1235607828/ Ending The Silence Around Psychedelic Therapy Abuse (Mad In America): https://www.madinamerica.com/2021/09/ending-silence-psychedelic-therapy-abuse/ Cover Story: Power Trip (Psymposia): https://www.psymposia.com/powertrip-2/ The Psychedelic Syndicate (Psymposia): https://www.psymposia.com/psychedelic-syndicate-executive-summary-silicon-valley-maps-lykos-mdma-fda-billionaires/index.html

Psymposia interviews YouTube documentarian @Alex-Novell about his experience with Andrew Callaghan and Channel 5, drug legalization, and creating documentary films. Thumbnail terminator image provided by Alex Novell.

Psymposia discusses takeaways from their "Psychedelic Conversion Therapy" series and reflects on the ten year anniversary of their "Coming Out of the Psychedelic Closet" series.

The crew discusses two recent news stories — a recently published New Yorker article on right-wing psychedelia and the news that Resilient Pharmaceuticals resubmitted its MDMA for PTSD application without the new Phase 3 study that was requested during its 2024 rejection. We have an interview Zenab Ahmed, who wrote the story "Israel's Rave Music Drowns Out the Sound of its Victims" for Current Affairs. And we wrap up the episode wraps up with a second interview with Jane Migliara Brigham and Artemis T. Douglas from The Needle, discussing their story "How a Hate Group Funded and Controlled Research from McMaster University." Footnotes: "How a Hate Group Funded and Controlled Research from McMaster University" (The Needle): https://theneedlenews.com/2026/08/how-a-hate-group-funded-and-controlled-research-from-mcmaster-university/ "Israel's Rave Music Drowns Out the Sound of its Victims" (Current Affairs): https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/israels-rave-music-drowns-out-the-sound-of-its-victims "Two Years After Rejection, Resilient Quietly Refiles MDMA for PTSD Application" (Psychedelia Alpha): https://psychedelicalpha.com/news/two-years-after-rejection-resilient-quietly-refiles-mdma-for-ptsd-application/ "Are Psychedelics Right-Wing Now?" (The New Yorker): https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/are-psychedelics-right-wing-now