My Psychedelic Roots

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Podcast by Amy Bartlett

My Psychedelic Roots

My Psychedelic Roots shares stories from people from a broad swath of lived experience to explore their psychedelic beginnings, or roots: what motivated them to start using psychedelics, what those early experiences were like, and how those roots have impacted their understanding of themselves and the world around them. My goal in these conversations is to give voice to the unique, transpersonal and human side of psychedelics and non-ordinary states of consciousness--- allowing guests to talk about their personal stories, not just their professional ones. I hope that listeners of the podcast will have an opportunity to gain insight into the lived reality of psychedelic experiencing (both the shadow and the light), hear about how people found their way into the psychedelic space, and to have an opportunity to get curious about the resonance, contrasts and connections between the podcast guests experience and their own psychedelic roots.

Latest episodes

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15 June 2026

Ep32: Scott Wright on a harrowing first encounter, rekindling curiosity much later in life, and learning to connect with others and himself

Scott Wright is a filmmaker and producer who is on the cusp of premiering his new film The Next Chapter - Psychedelics, Healing, and the Second Half of Life: a documentary following adults over 55 as they have a shared psychedelic experience in a facilitated group setting. Through intimate, story-driven portraits, his film looks beyond the science to the human experience pf psychedelic experiencing — what it means to reflect, heal, and begin again in the later years of life. In our conversation together, Scott shares about what led him to make this film, and the rich and varied life that led him to his first supported psychedelic experience in his late 60s. Scott spent 25 years of his life on the radio, rising from his high-school station in suburban Chicago to become America’s most-listened-to DJ throughout the 1980s on Z-100 in New York and his nationally syndicated show “Hitline USA” (listeners knew him as “Shadow Steele” or simply “The Shadow”). He turned later in his career to film, and his latest offering was inspired by his transformative psilocybin experience in Mexico over three years ago. In our conversation, we hear about his spiritual experiences with music, his harrowing and unexpected first experience with LSD when he was 16, and staying away from psychedelics until he picked up Michael Pollan’s book in 2018 and rekindled his curiosity about the healing potential of these experiences—eventually leading to his profound experience of connection and compassion, and transforming into what he calls “Scott 2.0”

Shownotes

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

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06 June 2026

Ep31: Ariel Fuenzalida on his childhood of tumult, finding flow and presence, and coming to the threshold of what is

Ariel Fuenzalida is an Adjunct Professor for the Classics and Religious Studies Department and core faculty of the Psychedelics & Consciousness Studies M.A. Program at the University of Ottawa, while also teaching for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University. With apologies for the temporary rough audio in the introduction to this episode, in our conversation together, Ariel and I wend our way through his tumultuous childhood: from his experiences as a child growing up in Chile and losing contact with his mother for a year during the political unrest, escaping to Canada with his family, and finding grounding and community in what became eventually their new home. As he came to settle in Canada, Ariel talks about his early experiences of presence, flow and wonder that he accessed in his early years, and the influences and motivations that eventually brought him to his first psychedelic experience with friends as a curious and maybe a little naïve university student at a Chinese restaurant in Ottawa.

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

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15 May 2026

Ep30: Matthew Skinta on a life of groundlessness, mindful presence, and finding home wherever you are

Dr. Matthew Skinta is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Affiliated Faculty of Women and Gender Studies at Roosevelt University in Chicago, USA. He has had a recurring role as Visiting Professor of Ethics of Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness in the Master's program in Psychedelics and Consciousness Studies at the University of Ottawa and has provided many invited lectures and workshops on culturally competent psychedelic-assisted therapy, from Harvard and Yale to the MAPS Psychedelic Science conference. He is also a peer-reviewed trainer of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, a certified Functional Analytic Psychotherapy trainer, and a certified teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training. As we will also hear in our conversation, Matthew also does global work on the adaptation and advancement of cognitive behavior therapies for work with sexual orientation and gender diverse people, a passion born out of his own experiences growing up queer and experiencing a childhood full of contrasts, challenges and changes that provided very little grounding as he literally made his way through the world, moving around as a military kid. As we explore this chaotic context of childhood, we learn about Matthew’s deep connection to mindfulness and meditation that he cultivated in early adulthood, and which continues to be an important spiritual anchor as he continues to access home and interconnection in himself and with the world around him. We also talk about how his spirituality has deepened since his first psychedelic experience at a supported retreat in the Netherlands a few years ago, and learn about the beautiful experience of connection and witnessing he had there. It was a lovely to have the chance to sit down and hear his story, and also to get to enjoy some time with Matthew’s wisdom, gentle spirit and compassionate heart.

Shownotes

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

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01 May 2026

Ep29: Deva Arani on early challenges, embodiment, self-trust & compassion

Deva Arani’s life and work explores what it means to integrate profound experiences into our lives. A teacher of yoga and meditation for over two decades, she has walked the intertwined paths of somatic healing, contemplative practice, and sacred plant medicine—learning that insight alone is not what transforms us, but the way we come back into the body, into relationship, and into presence. She is the author of Integration Alchemy: The Real Ceremony Is Your Life, a book devoted to the art of integration-- and The Mother Ache, which explores healing early relational wounds through compassion, embodiment, and feminine wisdom. In our conversation together, we hear about Arani’s complex and painful childhood, and the embodied connections to nature and her body that helped resource her as she navigated these confusing foundational experiences. We also learn about her deep mediation experiences of non-duality and self-compassion, all of which set the stage for her first psychedelic encounter with ayahuasca in Peru many years ago.

Shownotes

Arani's personal webiste: www.devaarani.com

Integration Alchemy: The Real Ceremony Is Your Life --- link: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Integration-Alchemy/Deva-Arani/9781591813675

The Mother Ache: Healing The Wounded Daughter Within --- link: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Mother-Ache/Deva-Arani/9781591813750

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

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15 April 2026

Ep28: Pam Kryskow on learning to ground in complexity, and embracing the abundance of the world around her

Dr. Pamela Kryskow is a medical doctor, advocate, practitioner and life-loving human. She serves as the medical lead of the non-profit “Roots To Thrive” Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Program in BC, volunteers as a founding board member of the Psychedelic Association of Canada, and serves as the Medical Chair of the Vancouver Island University Post Graduate Certificate in Psychedelic Medicine Assisted Therapy. Prior to studying to become a doctor, she was a City of Coquitlam Firefighter for 8 years and provincial forestry firefighter for 4 seasons. Pam is someone who thrives in complexity, abundance and the ‘and’ of the human experience. Wending our way through her roots, in our conversation we explore her childhood moving all over North America with her professional-hocky-playing father and family, and the resilience and groundedness she cultivated in that unique childhood context. We explore her evolving relationship with religion and spirituality, from her Catholic roots to her deepening relationship with nature. And we dive into what she calls her ‘meandering’ life path, and talk about what she is learning about herself, her truth and the world around her, all while her roots continue to nourish and ground her unfolding.

Shownotes

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

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03 April 2026

Ep27: Bradford Martins on his feral childhood, and reconnecting with a sense of community and home

Bradford Martins, MD, PhD is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist based at a psychiatric clinic in New Haven, Connecticut where he supports folks navigating substance use disorders, including through implementing community-based models for the prevention and treatment. Dr. Martins is also an Assistant Professor Adjunct at Yale University conducting research in both the Bassir Nia Lab to study the therapeutic potential of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) for alcohol use disorder, and the ENACT Lab to study the therapeutic effect of psilocybin on OCD, while also working towards greater equity and accessibility in the psychedelic space. We hear about the origins of that community and equity focus in Brad’s psychedelics roots, exploring his experience growing up as a self-proclaimed 'feral child' in the woods of Arkansas, later leading him to his first psychedelic experience where he deeply reconnected to the land he grew up on while in community with friends and fellow ‘Children of the Forest’.

Shownotes

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

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