Why tech bros worship psychedelics (and think you should too)

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2025

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

America is a deeply spiritual nation. Over 70% of us say that we feel spiritual in some way. But – at the same time – we're getting less religious. So for people who are spiritual-but-not-religious – what's replacing organized religion? What do they believe – and where does that show up in their day-to-day lives? In our new series called Losing My Religion, It's Been a Minute is going to find out.

This week, we're getting into psychedelics. That's an umbrella that includes the drugs LSD, magic mushrooms, peyote, and often ketamine and MDMA too, among others. And some of these drugs have a history of spiritual practice spanning millennia. But there's a new group that's really taking on the psychedelic mantle: tech bros and CEOS. Brittany is joined by Maxim Tvorun-Dunn, PhD candidate at the University of Tokyo, and Emma Goldberg, business reporter at the New York Times, to discuss what it means that these drugs are getting championed – and sometimes financially backed – by the tech elite, and how might that affect our culture's relationship to psychedelics as spiritual tools.

Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content. Join NPR+ today.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, I'm Morgan Sung, host of Close All Tabs from KQED, part of the NPR network, where every week we reveal how the online world collides with everyday life.
0:09.0	You don't know what's true or not, because you don't know if AI was involved in it.
0:14.0	And I think we will see it to a streamer president, maybe within our lifetimes.
0:18.1	You can find Close All Tabs wherever you listen to podcasts.
0:22.4	A warning.
0:23.1	This segment contains mentions of drug use.
0:28.5	Hello, hello.
0:29.9	I'm Brittany Luce and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR.
0:33.3	A show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident.
0:46.9	America is a deeply spiritual nation.
0:51.0	Over 70% of us say that we feel spiritual in some way, but at the same time, we're also
0:57.6	getting less religious. When asked to check a box next to their religious affiliation,
1:05.7	28% of Americans check the box labeled, none. The nuns, as they're sometimes called, are now the
1:14.0	biggest religious group in the United States. And 22% identify as spiritual but not religious,
1:22.1	otherwise known as SBNRs. But for SBNRs, what's replacing organized religion? What do they believe? And where does that
1:31.1	belief show up in all our lives? Well, on our new series called Losing My Religion, we're going to find out.
1:40.0	Today, we're getting into psychedelics. That's an umbrella term that includes LSD, magic mushrooms, peyote, and often ketamine and
1:49.2	MDMA-2, among others.
1:51.8	And more people are taking psychedelics now than ever before.
1:55.5	Ever heard the phrase spirit journey?
1:58.3	The trips people have on these substances are often described in spiritual terms,
2:02.5	and some of these psychedelics have a history of spiritual practice spanning millennia.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.