John O’Connor, Author of “A Short Strange Trip” An Untold Story of Magic Mushrooms, Madness, and a Search for the Meaning of Life in the Amazon - Ep. 3158
“As psychedelics move into the mainstream media driving clinical research, venture investment, and therapeutic treatment, they are often framed as a scientific breakthrough. But much of the cultural framework behind this movement can be traced back to figures like Terrence McKenna, whose ideas were shaped not by controlled research but by highly personal, perception-altering experiences.In A Short Strange Trip, John revisits the 1971 “Experiment at La Chorrera” and places it in a broader historical and psychological context. He examines how narrative, belief, and altered states of consciousness intersect, and how those early interpretations still echo in today’s conversations arounf mental health, spirituality, and medicine. The result is a grounded, investigative perspective on a movement often discussed in purely optimistic terms.
John’s work has appeared in The New York Times, GQ, Men’s Journal, Financial Times Magazine, Oxford American, and The Boston Globe. His Previous book, The Secret History of Bigfoot, was named best book of 2024 by NPR and the Chicago Tribune and was covered by outlets including The Washington Post and NPR. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and teaches Journalism at Boston College. Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan (the original home of Gibson guitars), he lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife and children.
TAG ALONG ON A TRIP THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING...
MARCH 4, 1971: Deep in the Columbian rain forrest, a motley crew of “psychonauts” prepared for what they believed would be the ultimate experiment. Convinced that a mixture of powerful hallucinogenic plants held the key to unlocking human consciousness, they soon founf themselves entering hyperspace.
The returned journey was...complicated.
PRESENT DAY: Acclaimed journalist John O’Connor is fascinated by this forgotten expedition. What really happened in those jungle depths? Aarmed with decades-old field notes, new interviews, and a healthy dose of curiosity, O’Connor ventures into the same Amazon territory, retracing the psychonauts’ steps through the remote Putumayo in search of a legendary hallucinogen called Ukue’ and the truth about an “experiment” that’s been quietly gathering dust.
Working alongside Indigenous Uitoto people who bore witness to it all, O’Connor explores how humanity’s relationship with psychedelics has shaped everything from ancient religion to modern medicine. But as he journeys deeper into both the rainforrest and the cosmic dimensions these substances reveal, one question keeps nagging at him:
Were the psychonauts on to something truly profound—or just profoundly stoned?
Some stories are worth the trip.
You can find John at his website:
Instagram: https://www.johnmoconnor.com/
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