Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchPlants of the Gods: Episode 9. Ergot, LSD and the Birth of Western Religions
Season 1 Episode 9
Ergot, LSD and the Birth of Western Religions – Ergot is a fungus that parasitizes rye where - in the Middle Ages - it was sometimes milled into the flour used to make bread. Unfortunately for the un…
Published on 4 years, 7 months ago
Plants of the Gods: Episode 8. Hexing Herbs and the Witches of Medieval Europe
Season 1 Episode 8
Hexing Herbs and the Witches of Medieval Europe – The archetypal image of the witch as an old woman riding a broomstick was not a Hollywood creation. In the Middle Ages, “witches” were often skilled…
Published on 4 years, 7 months ago
Plants of the Gods: Episode 7. The Ethnobotany of Warfare
Season 1 Episode 7
The Ethnobotany of Warfare – Plants have played a fundamental role in warfare, not just as poisons and medicines but as ships, chariots, weapons and wound bandages. This episode traces this history f…
Published on 4 years, 7 months ago
Plants of the Gods: Episode 6. Opium
Season 1 Episode 6
Opium – Perhaps the most ancient of the “Plants of the Gods,” plant remains in Europe clearly indicate that opium was being used by people more than 10,000 years ago. And not only was opium the first…
Published on 4 years, 8 months ago
Plants of the Gods: S1E5. Curare Arrow Poison: Silent Killer of the Amazon Rainforest
Season 1 Episode 5
Curare – Once known as the “flying death of the Amazon,” curare is a mixture of rainforest plants that indigenous peoples smear on the tips of their arrows or blowdarts to give them a deadly effectiv…
Published on 4 years, 8 months ago
Plants of the Gods: Episode 4. Wine
Season 1 Episode 4
Wine – Wine grapes and wine are unquestionably the world’s most valuable medicinal plants: the global annual value of wine is over 300 billion dollars. And the history of wine predates the origin of …
Published on 4 years, 8 months ago
Plants of the Gods: Episode 3 - Coca and Cocaine
Season 1 Episode 3
Coca – not to be confused with coconuts or with cacao, the source of chocolate - is a large bush or small tree native to northwestern South America. Cocaine extracted from the leaves found favor amon…
Published on 4 years, 8 months ago
"Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation” Episode 2 - Hallucinogenic snuffs
Season 1 Episode 2
Hallucinogenic snuffs – though most hallucinogens like magic mushrooms or ayahuasca are taken orally, the indigenous peoples of Amazonia have created two different and highly potent snuffs from Amazo…
Published on 4 years, 9 months ago
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation Episode 1 Ayahuasca
Season 1 Episode 1
Ayahuasca – From Argentina to Australia, from Israel to Indonesia, a once-obscure Amazonian vine, admixed with a few other plants is now celebrated – and even venerated – as a plant of power knowled…
Published on 4 years, 9 months ago
“Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation”
Season 1
“Plants of the Gods” is a new and unique podcast focusing on the hallucinogenic plants and fungi whose impact on world culture and religion – and healing potential - is only now beginning to be appre…
Published on 4 years, 9 months ago