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How did Magic mushrooms go from a way to enjoy a Grateful Dead concert into a whole modality for healing yourself? And how did psychedelic mushrooms even become part of American culture? You may find the answers to some of those questions in this episode today with John O’Connor, who wrote a book called “A Short Strange Trip” in which he revisits the 1971 experiment at La Chorrera and places it in a broader historical and psychological context. Join us to find out more!
John O’Connor was born and raised in Kalamazoo Michigan. He has an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University. John is an accomplished journalist and a travel writer. Navigating remote regions to investigate why people believe in extraordinary experiences, how myths develop, and determine where skepticism intersects spirituality. John is the author of “The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster” and “A Short, Strange Trip: An Untold Story of Magic Mushrooms, Madness, and a Search for the Meaning of Life in the Amazon”. John is a teacher of nonfiction writing and journalism at Boston College. Watch or listen to the show for tips on exploring the intersection between belief, consciousness, spirituality, and skepticism.
READ: A Short, Strange Trip
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1464218080/
JOHN O’CONNOR BIO
John O’Connor is the author of The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster, an NPR and Chicago Tribune best book of 2024. His articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times, GQ, Men’s Journal, Financial Times magazine, Oxford American, the Boston Globe, and several anthologies. His latest book, A Short, Strange Trip places his journalistic mind on the subject of psychedelics. As psychedelics move into the mainstream, driving clinical research, venture investment, and therapeutic treatment, they are often framed as a scientific breakthrough. But much of the cultural framework behind this movement can be traced back to figures like Terence McKenna, whose ideas were shaped not by controlled research but by highly personal, perception-altering experiences. In A Short, Strange Trip, John revisits the 1971 “Experiment at La Chorrera” and places it in a broader historical and psychological context. He examines how narrative, belief, and altered states of consciousness intersect, and how those early interpretations still echo in today’s conversations around mental health, spirituality, and medicine. The result is a grounded, investigative perspective on a movement often discussed in purely optimistic terms.
LINKS
Web: https://www.johnmoconnor.com/
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