Experiential journalist Rak Razam talks with independent researcher, author and lecturer Jan Irvin from Gnostic Media about his forthcoming documentary on Gordon Wasson, influential New York banker and the godfather of the modern psychedelic movement. According to the historical record Wasson, an amateur mycologist, first 'discovered' 'magic' mushrooms via Maria Sabina in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1955, the account of which was published in the seminal LIFE magazine on May 13, 1957.
Irvin, however, has uncovered documentary evidence which points to the possibility of a secret history of the mushroom in the elite power structures of the West and to the life and times of Gordon Wasson himself. What would it mean to history if the mushroom's true story, at the foundations of world religions, came to light? Does Wasson's entrenched position within the power elites of the banking and establishment world reflect an ongoing fixation with the mushroom and other mind-altering sacraments within their own ranks and in their approach to controlling the illumination of the masses? The sacred and the profane are all revealed in this in-depth, lively discussion that shakes the foundations of psychedelic history.
Originally aired on: May 12, 2012
