The Gray Area with Sean Illing
Society & Culture:Philosophy
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, MDMA (also known as molly or ecstasy) was dismissed as a club drug and became the target of anti-drug propaganda. Today, it’s on the brink of being legalized for use in clinical therapy to treat conditions like PTSD. How did that happen? And what have we learned about the therapeutic potential of MDMA? Sean discusses all this with Rachel Nuwer, author of I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World. They talk about why they’re excited by the research underway and what it might mean for everyone's well-being.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Rachel Nuwer (@RachelNuwer), journalist and author of I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World
References:
“The extraordinary therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs, explained,” by Sean Illing (Vox; March 8, 2019)
How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, by Michael Pollan
“Rolling under the Sea: Scientists Gave Octopuses Ecstasy to Study Social Behavior,” by Rachel Nuwer (Scientific American, December 1, 2018)
Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
This episode was made by:
Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Scott Gottlieb on how, and when, to end social distancing
Toby Ord on existential risk, Donald Trump, and thinking in probabilities
Elizabeth Warren has a plan for this, too
What social solidarity demands of us in a pandemic
Coronavirus has pushed US-China relations to their worst point since Mao
Is the cure worse than the disease?
An economic crisis like we’ve never seen
"The virus is more patient than people are"
A master class in organizing
Weeds 2020: The coronavirus election
Dan Pfeiffer on Joe Biden, beating Trump, and saving democracy
Are you a "political hobbyist?" If so, you're the problem.
What would a Sanders or Biden presidency look like?
Rebecca Solnit on Harvey Weinstein, feminism, and social change
Weeds 2020: The Bernie electability debate
Tracy K. Smith changed how I read poetry
Barbara Ehrenreich on UBI, class conflict, and collective joy
What Donald Trump got right about white America
Ta-Nehisi Coates on my “cold, atheist book”
If God is dead, then … socialism?
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Today, Explained
Re/Code Decode
The Vergecast
Explain It to Me
Shutdown Fullcast