229. When Psychedelic Therapy Imprints Politics Onto Vulnerable Patients | Karen King & Wesley Smith
About this episode
This episode discusses the intersection of psychedelic therapy and politics, exploring the challenges faced by conservatives and skeptics in the psychedelic renaissance.
The psychedelic renaissance is here — money is pouring in, states are legalizing, and a federal executive order has fast-tracked ibogaine research for veterans. But if you’re a conservative, a skeptic, or just politically homeless, is there room for you in this movement? In this episode I welcome back therapist Karen King (last heard in episodes 81 and 97 ) alongside her co-author Wesley Smith, a small-c conservative who stumbled into psychedelics through a paragliding accident. Together they’ve written Sensible Psychedelics: Why the Psychedelic Renaissance Needs Conservatives, Skeptics, and the Politically Homeless . We dig into what Karen witnessed firsthand in the very first therapist training cohort: a week spent dismantling privilege and naming genders rather than discussing consciousness, clinical skills, or facilitation. We talk about why that ideological capture isn’t just annoying — it’s dangerous. When a patient’s mind is cracked wide open in a psychedelic state, a facilitator who imprints their own politics is committing something close to abuse. Wesley shares the veterans angle, where an anti-colonial culture hopes to turn warriors into pacifists. But this isn’t a…
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