• Includes conversations with Duncan Trussell, Graham Hancock, Grant Morrison, Hamilton Morris, Erik Davis, Julia Mossbridge, Rupert Sheldrake, and others

• Explores the possibility of human extinction, Simulation Theory, Virtual Reality and lucid dreaming, space migration, DMT research, and advanced robotics

• Delves deep into the relationship between psychedelics and ecological awareness

The precariousness of our global situation has never been clearer. Between war, inequality, destabilizing advances in technology like AI, and biosphere collapse and climate change, humankind is confronted with an almost insurmountable array of challenges. Yet many brilliant experts are working on outside-the-box solutions, looking to challenges of the past, current ground-breaking research, and psychedelic-inspired visions of the future to lead humanity through these crises.

In a series of conversations with leading minds in consciousness studies, psychedelic culture, anthropology, chemistry, and other disciplines, author David Jay Brown elicits answers to some of the most thought-provoking questions about our origins, our present situation, and the future of humanity and the Earth. Brown and these luminaries explore topics as diverse as the possibility of human extinction, the relationship between psychedelics and ecological consciousness, Simulation Theory, Virtual Reality and lucid dreaming, the consciousness-­altering effects of the pandemic, space migration and contact with alien intelligence, and DMT research and advanced robotics.

Whether he’s speaking to podcaster Duncan Trussell about the Singularity, comic book author Grant Morrison about magick and the occult, or neuroscientist Julia Mossbridge about psychic phenomena, Brown’s spirited interview approach helps draw profound insights from these cutting-edge thinkers. What, he asks, are the implications of our understanding of consciousness, particularly altered states—and how might entheogens help raise ecological awareness to impact the future of our species? In this curated collection of interviews, Brown seeks to find out.

David Jay Brown holds a master’s degree in psychobiology from New York University. A former neuroscience researcher at the University of Southern California, he has written for Wired, Discover, and Scientific American. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Dreaming Wide Awake, Women of Visionary Art, and Frontiers of Psychedelic Consciousness. He lives in Santa Cruz, California.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Singing the Midnight Gospel
An Interview with Duncan Trussell

2 Superheroes, Supergods, and Superminds
An Interview with Grant Morrison

3 Exploring the Mind on the Frontiers of Chemistry
An Interview with Hamilton Morris

4 Exploring the Interface between Technological Evolution, Mythopoetic Perspectives, and High Weirdness
An Interview with Erik Davis

5 Transcending Minds and Unconditionally Loving Robots
An Interview with Julia Mossbridge

6 The Quest for the Origin of Life and a Way Forward into Our Collective Future
An Interview with Bruce Damer

7 Neuroscience, Comedy, and Psychonautic Adventures
An Interview with Shane Mauss

8 Radical Creativity, Immersive Art Environments, and Meow Wolf
An Interview with Vince Kadlubek

9 Underground Cultural Forces in the Mainstream
An Interview with George DiCaprio

10 Radical Mysticism and the Secret History of Religions
An Interview with Jeffrey Kripal

11 Exploring What Is Real in Virtual Worlds
An Interview with David Chalmers

12 Going Beyond
An Interview with Rupert Sheldrake

13 Exploring Ancient Civilizations and Supernatural Beings
An Interview with Graham Hancock

14 Psychedelics, Psychic Phenomena, and Encounters with Non-human Entities
An Interview with David Luke

15 Extended State DMT and Alien Information Theory
An Interview with Andrew Gallimore

16 Delving into DMTx
An Interview with Carl Hayden Smith

About the Author