The Social Life of Psychedelics | Psychedelic Journalism

Psychedelics in Society & Culture | Initiative-Supported Event

Speakers: Shayla Love, Jane C. Hu, Rachel Nuwer, and Josh Hardman

About the Event

Mainstream media once framed psychedelics as dangerous, deviant, or socially corrosive. But now, in the “psychedelic renaissance,” these drugs are presented as medical interventions for mental health problems, tools for brain research, or biotech innovation. Journalism influences public attitudes towards drugs, making psychedelics seem exceptional or fueling hype. Reporting can amplify clinical findings or generate expectations of efficacy or risk. But critical journalism has also called attention to scientific bias, clinical misconduct, or profit incentives. As psychedelics move towards regulatory approval, this critical mindset is vital. Writers Shayla Love (The New Yorker), Jane C. Hu (The Microdose), Rachel Nuwer (The New York Times), and Josh Hardman (Psychedelic Alpha) discuss the stakes and responsibilities, of psychedelic journalism.

About the Speakers

Josh Hardman is the founder and editor of Psychedelic Alpha, an independent media and consultancy firm devoted to the psychedelics industry—from business and drug development through to policy reform and scientific research. Using data-driven reporting, analysis and commentary, Hardman strives to empower individuals with the knowledge, network and nuance to make an impact within the emerging field of psychedelic medicine and beyond. Hardman has authored hundreds of analyses on topics broadly related to psychedelic business, policy and research, such as commercialisation, IP and regulation. He has spoken about psychedelic drug development and industry at conferences worldwide and acted as an expert witness to bodies such as the European Parliament and the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Jane C. Hu is an independent journalist and writer living in Seattle, WA. The thread that ties her work together is people: the things we make, the places we touch, the strange things we do. She is a contributor to Slate’s Future Tense, and her work has appeared in publications like High Country News, WIRED, Outside, Smithsonian and National Geographic. She also write a newsletter called "Hu Cares," which you can find here: jane.substack.com

Shayla Love is a Brooklyn-based journalist. She writes about science, health, and the mind and likes to consider how history, culture, and philosophy interact with present-day research. She is pulled to the places where disciplines overlap and, above all, how they affect the human experience.

Rachel Nuwer is an award-winning freelance journalist who reports about science, travel, food and adventure for the New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, and more. Her multi-award winning first book, Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking, was published in 2018 with Da Capo Press. Her second book, I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World, was published in June 2023 with Bloomsbury.

This event is part of the Social Life of Psychedelics talk series.

What do psychedelics reveal about the people and culture who work with them? 

Psychedelics shape society, politics, religions, law, music, or medicine. They gain their power not just from their psychopharmacology, but from the many ways that people use them: to influence others, form relationships and identities, negotiate hierarchies, imagine futures, and create transformative social worlds. This talk series will use psychedelics as a probe to consider the assumptions, desires, and imaginations of cultural ecosystems.

Social Life of Psychedelics talks will take place every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the spring 2026 semester in the Thompson Room (Barker Center 110). Contact Amadeus Harte with any questions.