Plants of the Gods: S8E1 Dennis McKenna on the remarkable Amazonian plants that shape human consciousness (part 1)

This is a special joint episode of Plants of the Gods and Brainforest Café . Plants are virtuoso chemists. Some create molecules that closely resemble the neurotransmitters shaping human consciousness — a mystery that fascinates ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna, PhD. In Part One of this episode, Dennis explains why psychoactive plants are powerful tools for understanding the relationship between the brain and the mind, and reflects on the legacy of his late brother, Terence McKenna, whose work pushed the boundaries of psychedelic thought. The brothers' experiences with the plant medicines of Indigenous peoples in the Colombian Amazon would go on to shape Dennis' scientific career in profound ways.

You can listen to Plants of the Gods: S8E1 Dennis McKenna on the remarkable Amazonian plants that shape human consciousness (part 1) online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Plants of the Gods: S8E1 Dennis McKenna on the remarkable Amazonian plants that shape human consciousness (part 1) is an episode from Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast by Mark Plotkin.

This episode is 41:15 long.

This episode was published on Feb 23, 2026.

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