#  The Social Life of Psychedelics | Psychedelics, Sociopolitics, and Cultural Transformation 

 



    ![A group of mushrooms, with a purple-red color to the lighting](/sites/g/files/omnuum4936/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2026-01/amadeus%20psych%20talks.png?itok=YjGNURBj) 

 



 

####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **February 11, 2026** 

 06:00PM - 08:00PM EST 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **Thompson Room (Barker Center 110)**  

 [12 Quincy Street  
Barker Center  
Cambridge, MA 02138  
United States



 ](<https://www.google.com/maps?q=US MA Cambridge 02138 12 Quincy Street Barker Center>) 



 

 



 

### [Psychedelics in Society &amp; Culture](https://mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/psychedelics-society-and-culture) | Initiative-Supported Event

#### About the Event

Neuroscientist Leor Roseman &amp; Cultural Historian Mike Jay will discuss the various roles that psychedelics play in cultural history and the sociopolitical dynamics that make drugs matter.

#### *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**](mailto:hharte@g.harvard.edu) **with any questions.**

#### About the Speakers

[**Mike Jay**](https://mikejay.net/) is an author and cultural historian who has written widely on the cultural history of science, medicine and the mind. His books include [*Free Radicals*](https://mikejay.net/books/free-radicals/)*,* [*Influencing Machine*](https://mikejay.net/books/the-influencing-machine/), and [*Psychonauts*](https://mikejay.net/books/psychonauts/). He writes regularly for the *London Review of Books*, the *Literary Review*, and *New York Review of Books*.

[**Leor Roseman**](https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/psychedelics/?team=leor-roseman) is a Senior Lecturer and Psychedelic Researcher at the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter. He is fascinated by the ways psychedelics modify consciousness from a biopsychosocial perspective. His interdisciplinary research covers neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology, anthropology, and conflict resolution, using a wide array of research methods such as fMRI, quantitative, qualitative, microphenomenology, ethnographic, and participatory research.



 

     ![Poster for 2/11/26 Social Life of Psychedelics talk](/sites/g/files/omnuum4936/files/styles/hwp_2_3__480x720/public/2026-01/flyer-2-1.png?itok=4FtYV9sf) 

 



 

  

 

     ![Social Life of Psychedelics series poster](/sites/g/files/omnuum4936/files/styles/hwp_2_3__480x720/public/2026-01/series%20info-1.png?h=cba7f6d9&itok=-Z52ucDT) 

 



 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Psychedelics in Society and Culture ](/event-series/psychedelics-society-and-culture)
- [ Public ](/event-type/public)
 
 

 Share on:- [     Facebook ](#)
- [     Twitter ](#)
- [     Linkedin ](#)
 


 Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/node/1619171/event-feed.ics)  Copy link link