Can Psychedelics Improve Mental Health?

The Joy of Why

Content provided by Quanta Magazine, Steven Strogatz, and Janna Levin. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Quanta Magazine, Steven Strogatz, and Janna Levin or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.

1y ago 13:03

MP3•Episode home

Fetch error

Hmmm there seems to be a problem fetching this series right now. Last successful fetch was on June 26, 2025 13:40 (6d ago)

What now? This series will be checked again in the next day. If you believe it should be working, please verify the publisher's feed link below is valid and includes actual episode links. You can contact support to request the feed be immediately fetched.

During traumatic periods and their aftermath, our brains can fall into habitual ways of thinking that may be helpful in the short run but become maladaptive years later. For the brain to readjust to new situations later in life, it needs to be restored to the malleable state it was in when the habits first formed. That is exactly what Gül Dölen, a neuroscientist and psychiatric researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, is working toward in her lab. What is her surprising tool? Psychedelics.

In this episode, Dölen shares with co-host Janna Levin the surprising potential of psychedelics to change the lives of those grappling with addiction, depression and post-traumatic stress.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn or your favorite podcasting app, or you can stream it from Quanta.

60 episodes

#Science #Biology #Math #Quanta Magazines #Steven Strogatz