The writer Michael Pollan is with us to talk about his new book on psychedelics. It’s about their potential to heal mental illnesses, and to explore the subject, Pollan took a few trips himself.

Writer Michael Pollan has spent his career exploring the ways nature and culture intersect, especially through food. His latest book takes a psychedelic turn though. Pollan says we have this drive to change our consciousness, and he wanted to understand why it is that mind-altering drugs have been used for thousands of years. Thursday, Pollan joins us to talk about the history, myth, and science of psychedelics. And yes, in his usual immersive journalism style, he had a few trips himself.

Michael Pollan writes about food, culture, and nature. His new book is called How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence [Indie bookstores|Amazon|Audible]