You're listening to shortwave from NPR.

Hi, everybody.

Emily Kwong here with NPR Science Correspondent, John Hamilton.

Hi, John.

Hi, Emily.

So, as NPR's neuroscience reporter, you're always reporting on the most interesting things.

So, what do you got for us today?

What I've got for you today is psychedelic drugs.

Not literally, of course.

But I want to talk about how these drugs are getting a second look, you know, as a way

to treat psychiatric problems like depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, even PTSD.

In the past decade, it has become a very hot topic in brain science.

Yes, it is a very hot topic.

In fact, John, our first shortwave episode was about using psilocybin as a treatment for

smoking cessation.

So, I'm glad you're bringing this topic back to the podcast.

What are some of the drugs we'll be talking about today?

A lot of familiar names.

You mentioned psilocybin.

There's also ketamine, mescaline, eye-bogane, ecstasy, even LSD in some cases.

And those are all drugs that can cause hallucinations or out-of-body experiences, right?

Right.

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