About this episode
The episode explores the origins and impact of the Johns Hopkins psychedelic playlist and its implications in therapy.
Vivaldi. Bach. The Beatles. The Johns Hopkins playlist has been the standard soundtrack in psychedelic trials at Johns Hopkins and therapy rooms around the world for more than 25 years. It also skews toward Classical and Christian music. When Sughra Ahmed, a Muslim, enrolled in a psilocybin study that used this playlist, she didn’t love what she heard. So where did this playlist come from exactly? And what can science tell us about what role music plays in a trip? For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.
People in this episode
Guest: Sughra Ahmed
Topics covered
- psychedelics
- music therapy
- psilocybin
- clinical trials
- Johns Hopkins
- soundtrack
Keywords
- psychedelic playlist
- music in therapy
- psilocybin study
- Johns Hopkins
- classical music
- Christian music
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Johns Hopkins
Books & works: Vivaldi, Bach, The Beatles
More episodes of Altered States
- Sex, Psychedelics and Consent (Pt. 2) · December 3, 2025 · 28 min
- Psychedelic Church vs. State of Utah (Pt. 1) · December 3, 2025 · 42 min
- Psychedelics for Anorexia? · November 19, 2025 · 42 min
- In Texas’s Peyote Gardens · November 12, 2025 · 47 min
- Mice on Magic Mushrooms · November 5, 2025 · 25 min
- UPDATE: A Navy SEAL Goes to Mexico to take Ibogaine · October 29, 2025 · 45 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Altered States podcast page.