Divergent States
Divergent States cuts through psychedelic hype with grounded, curious conversations about what these substances actually do.
Hosted by 3L1T3, founder of r/Psychonaut, the world’s largest psychedelic harm-reduction community, and co-hosted by Bryan, a USMC veteran and advocate for psychedelic healing, the show brings together lived experience, science, and culture without losing its sense of humor.
This isn’t a spiritual podcast.
This isn’t a marketing platform.
No mysticism. No sales pitch. Just real conversations, harm reduction, and honest questions.
We explore how psychedelics shape mental health, creativity, and society, from underground use and peer-support communities to clinical trials, therapy rooms, and shifting public attitudes. Some episodes get serious. Some get weird. All of them are grounded in respect for the people actually taking these substances and living with the outcomes.
Guests include Rick Doblin, Reggie Watts, Leonard Pickard, Anne Wagner, Hamilton Morris, and Rick Strassman.
Divergent States is built on the same principles that made r/Psychonaut work at scale: curiosity without gullibility, openness without losing your footing, and safety without killing the joy.
If you’re looking for guru worship, this isn’t your show.
If you’re looking for thoughtful, funny, and grounded conversations about psychedelics and the lives they touch, welcome to Divergent States.
New episodes every two weeks.
Episodes
33 episodes
Psychedelics Don’t Fix Your Life… Here’s What They Actually Do | Talia Eisenberg
Psychedelics don’t fix your life.They don’t make you a better person. They don’t replace responsibility. And they don’t solve the problems waiting for you when you come back.In this episode, we sit down with Talia Eisenberg from B...
Psilocybin Therapy Works… But Not Like You Think, with Compass Pathways
If one or two psychedelic sessions can produce measurable improvements in treatment-resistant depression, why does modern psychiatry still rely on daily medication?In this episode of Divergent States, we sit down with Dr. Steve ...
Manuela Picq: The People Behind the Coca Leaf - The Many Faces of Coca Part Three
This is the human center of The Many Faces of Coca.By the time coca enters Western conversations, it’s already been abstracted—reduced to policy, drugs, or crime. But for millions of people, coca isn’t any of those things.
Dennis McKenna: The Chemistry Behind the Coca Leaf - The Many Faces of Coca Part Two
The Many Faces of Coca – Part TwoIn Part Two of the Many Faces of Coca series, 3L1T3 and Bryan sit down with renowned ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna to explore the science behind the coca leaf.Part One foc...
Wade Davis: From Sacred Leaf to Global Scapegoat - The Many Faces of Coca Part One
In Part One of The Many Faces of Coca, 3L1T3 and Bryan sit down with Wade Davis to unpack the long history of the coca leaf and how a plant used for over 8,000 years became globally criminalized.This conversation isn’t ab...
ETEREO: What No One Tells You About Iboga Work
Iboga has a reputation.It’s intense. It’s long. It carries real risk. And for some people, it’s life-changing.But what actually happens inside a retreat container? And what does this work look like behind the scenes?In this...
Cesar Marin: Microdosing, Midlife, and Reinvention
What happens when a 25-year career at CNN ends — and a new life begins?In this episode of Divergent States, we talk with Cesar Marin, former CNN producer and founder of Microdosing Over 50, about how psychedelics h...
Shane Mauss: How Psychedelics Actually Change the Mind
What really happens when psychedelics change someone, and why do some people come back grounded while others spiral into ego, conspiracy, or spiritual bypassing?In this long-form conversation, comedian and science-minded psychonaut Sh...
Inside Season Two: Integration, Not Escapism
Season Two of Divergent States is about something simple and surprisingly rare: exploring altered states without losing touch with reality.In this preview episode, 3L1T3 and Bryan share two short moments from upcoming conversation...
Dennis McKenna: Nature, AI, and the Collapse of Separation
Dennis McKenna joins 3L1T3 and Valerie Beltran to discuss the future of psychedelics, indigenous knowledge, and whether we are ready to bring these tools into mainstream culture without repeating the extractive patterns of the past. We explore ...
Betty Aldworth: MAPS, MDMA, and the Battle Over Psychedelic Medicine
In this episode of Divergent States, 3L1T3 sits down with Betty Aldworth, the new co-president of MAPS, as she steps into shared leadership with Ismail Ali following Rick Doblin’s four-decade run.Betty brings decades of e...
David Bronner on Corporate Psychedelics, Mysticism, and the All-One Future
Dr. Bronner’s Cosmic Engagement Officer David Bronner joins Divergent States for a candid, nuts-and-bolts conversation about building an “All One” company culture, pushing for psychedelic policy reform, and rewiring globa...
Joe Moore on the Future of Psychedelics: From Underground to Mainstream
Psychedelics are no longer the fringe—they’re reshaping medicine, culture, and consciousness itself.In this episode of Divergent States, 3L1T3 and Bryan sit down with Joe Moore, co-founder and CEO of Psyc...
What Psychedelics Actually Do to Creativity, with Reggie Watts
Psychedelics are often framed as creativity boosters, but that’s not exactly what’s happening.In this conversation with Reggie Watts, we explore what psychedelics actually do to the creative process, from removing self-judgment to unlock...
How Politics Could Derail Psychedelic Medicine — Again
History shows politics can make or break psychedelic medicine, will we repeat the 1960s backlash, or finally move forward? In this episode of Divergent States, we explore the uneasy intersection of psychedelics and p...
Compass Pathways: Independent Media Talks Psychedelic Medicine
In this episode of Divergent States, we sit down with Kabir Nath, CEO of Compass Pathways, and Dr. Steve Levine, Chief Patient Officer, to talk about the future of psychedelic medicine. From FDA approval and insurance co...
Paul F. Austin: Mastering Microdosing and Unlocking Human Potential
In this episode of Divergent States, host 3L1T3 and co-host Bryan sit down with Paul F. Austin, founder of The Third Wave and the Psychedelic Coaching Institute.We dive deep into microdosing psychedelics, intentional use ...
Amber Capone: The Psychedelics Saving Veterans from PTSD
Amber Capone, co-founder and CEO of Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS), shares the powerful story of how psychedelic therapy - starting with Ibogaine - helped her husband, Navy SEAL Marcus Capone, recover ...
William Leonard Pickard - The Acid King, the Rose, and the Return
What happens when the most hunted man in psychedelic history walks free and joins us for a conversation?In this deeply reflective episode of Divergent States, I sit down with William Leonard Pickard: chemist, philosopher, author...
Dr. Anne Wagner: Can MDMA Fix a Broken Marriage?
In this episode, 3L1T3 sits down with Dr. Anne Wagner, clinical psychologist and founder of Remedy, whose research pushes MDMA therapy beyond the individual — into the space between two people. We explore what happens when coupl...
Kyrsten Sinema: Inside the Psychedelic Fast-Track for Veterans
A former U.S. Senator says the federal government is preparing to fast-track psychedelic medicines, especially for veterans with TBI, PTSD, addiction, and treatment-resistant depression.In this conversation, Kyrst...
Kevin Cranford – Behind the Curtain at MAPS: Culture, Communication & Controversy
This week, we sit down with Kevin Cranford, Communications Officer at MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), to talk about the upcoming Psychedelic Science 2025 conference — what’s new, what’s different, and why it’s shap...
Tom Feegel: Can Psychedelics Heal the Opioid Crisis?
In this powerful new episode of Divergent States, your hosts 3L1T3 and Bryan sit down with Tom Feegel—CEO and Co-Founder of Beond, a pioneering Ibogaine clinic based in Mexico, to discuss the unfiltered realities of healing, addiction recovery,...
Seven Principles of the Psychonaut w/ Valerie Beltran
What does it mean to be a responsible psychonaut?In this episode of Divergent States, we sit down again with Valerie Beltran, licensed therapist, harm reduction expert, and educator with the Zendo Project, to unpac...
Alli Schaper: Microdosing, Mushrooms, and Policy Reform
In this episode of Divergent States, we sit down with Alli Schaper, CEO of Supermush and co-founder of the Microdosing Collective, to explore the evolving world of functional and psychedelic mushrooms. Alli shares ...
