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 July 2026

Ep34: Ona Praderas on expression, creativity and whimsy in childhood, and her first supported experience in Oaxaca, Mexico

Ona Praderas is an art therapy student (Toronto Art Therapy Institute), embodiment wellness coach, clinic administrator at FlowState Therapy, facilitator at ACER Integration, and board member of the Psychedelic Puppet Show. Previously, she co-led Synthesis Retreats, guiding participants through transformative experiences. Ona holds safe spaces for people to reclaim their bodies, pleasure, and power, and to reconnect with their creativity and inner wisdom. With over a decade of experience integrating movement, breath, creativity, and Gestalt Therapy–Informed Practices into the preparation, facilitation, and integration of psychedelic experiences, she supports personal growth, self-awareness, and empowerment, and proudly serves LGBTQ+ communities and non-traditional relationships. In our conversation, Ona describes her early childhood moving from Spain to Mexico, and finding comfort in the different languages and cultures in which she was immersed. She talks about how art and creativity helped her feel grounded and connected throughout her unfolding, and after some recreational experiences, she walks us through her first supported experience with friends at a retreat in Oaxaca Mexico. Ona also shares about the role that art and expression can play in psychedelic meaning making, and her own experiences of healing and transformation with creativity

Shownotes

Ona’s personal website: https://www.onapraderas.com/

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

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02 July 2026

Ep33: Kenneth Tupper on his foundation-forming first experiences, and the importance of equity in psychedelic regulation

Kenneth Tupper is a Canadian policy consultant, scholar and educator who provides guidance on public health and transformative education, with a particular focus on mental health, substance use and psychedelic research. In our conversation together, Ken takes us through his childhood of embracing science while being surrounded by awe-inspiring nature in the west coast of Canada. He walks us through some of his early experiences with LSD where the seeds were planted for his interest in psychedelics and non-ordinary states of consciousness, as well as planting seeds for some of his more fulfilling and nourishing threads in adulthood, including his passion for playing music and caretaking of his body and health. Ken also shares about how his experiences with psychedelics helped shape his academic and professional choices, and we end the conversation talking a bit about what the present—and future—of Canadian drug policy is grappling with as we aim to work towards the equitable and sustainable unfolding of the legal and regulatory space in Canada.

Shownotes

Ken's website: https://kennethtupper.ca/

Ken's research & publications: https://kennethtupper.ca/publications

Ken's podcast, "Intonicated" - YouTube video channel (also available in audio-only on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.): https://www.youtube.com/@Intonicated-1

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

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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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