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

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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

The Next Chapter's website, where you can access the film as of June 25, 2026: https://thenextchapterfilm.com/
Scott's personal website: https://www.wise-rabbit.com/
The Michael Pollan book "How to Change your Mind" that Scott references a few times, that opened him to the idea of reengaging with psychedelics after many years: https://michaelpollan.com/books/how-to-change-your-mind/

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport