EP24: A grounded childhood, connecting with the past as a meaningful experience of the present

Erika Dyck is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan. Her work focuses on 20th century medical history, including the history of psychedelics, psychiatry, eugenics and population control. Erika grew up not far from the Weyburn, Saskatchewan, the birthplace of the word ‘psychedelic’, and where a lot of psychedelic research was happening in Canada in the early days. And yet, Erika’s roots were very much outside of that world. In our conversation, we wend our way through her relatively secular upbringing, her desire to leave rural Saskatchewan and experience the world, and we talk about some of her early exposures that led her to become interested in the field of psychedelic studies. We also dive into one of her more recent and deeply meaningful psychedelic experiences which she had in communion with others and with the natural world-- allowing her to connect not just to the geography but also the history and communities that continue to shape both her research and her own lived experience.

Shownotes

• A link to learn more about Erika's books on the history of psychedelics: https://research-groups.usask.ca/history-medicine//publications.php
• Or check out her most recent publication "Psychedelics: A Visual Odyssey": https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262547666/psychedelics/
• Hear more about Erika's work by watching her TEDx talk "Just Say Know" about psychedelic drug history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc7Blc1w1ho

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport