In this episode, Kyle Buller speaks with Matt Xavier, DJ, therapist, and author. The conversation took place live at Psychedelic Science.

Matt recalls his early years in the rave culture of 1990s New York. He ran record labels, hosted psychedelic trance events, and lived through the intensity of that scene.

Matt believes music should be treated as medicine. He explains how playlists can align with the stages of a psychedelic journey—onset, climb, peak, and descent. He encourages people to listen with intention and to categorize tracks by emotion, energy, and therapeutic impact.

Instead of relying only on fixed playlists, Matt performs live mixing during sessions. This method keeps him fully engaged and responsive. He calls the approach “psychedelic soundtracking.” In his view, the guide becomes a tuning fork, adjusting the soundscape to match the client’s process.

• The evolution from rave DJ to therapist and author
• How music amplifies psychedelics, and why it matters
• Matching music with each stage of a journey
• Differences between psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine work
• The value of silence, long-form tracks, and harmonic mixing
• Why buying music supports artists and protects creativity from AI
• Practical tips for building playlists and rediscovering a love of listening

Matt highlights the artists who inspire his work, from ambient pioneers to contemporary sound designers. He urges practitioners to support independent musicians by purchasing their music. In his words, keeping human creativity alive is essential for meaningful psychedelic work.

Matt also discusses his new book and the curated four-hour DJ protocol mix he designed for therapy sessions. He explains how this project grew into a collaborative effort and why writing became a spiritual journey for him. Looking ahead, he hopes to create a training program for others interested in weaving music into psychedelic practice.

🎶 Whether you are a therapist, a DJ, or simply a music lover, this episode shows how sound can transform the psychedelic experience.

In this episode, Joe Moore sits down with Dr. Case Newsom, an emergency room physician in Denver and Medical Director for both Zendo Project and Stadium Medical. They explore how psychedelic harm reduction is merging with event medicine at concerts, festivals, and large-scale gatherings.

Dr. Newsom shares his path from osteopathic medical training to bridging emergency medicine with psychedelic peer support. He explains how the Zendo Project has expanded beyond Burning Man, and why collaboration with medical teams matters. The discussion highlights new triage protocols, cultural shifts in Colorado, and the legal challenges that still stand in the way of safer events.

• The role of the Zendo Project: Peer support, harm reduction, and creating grounded spaces in chaotic environments.
• Stadium Medical’s model: Covering Denver’s biggest venues and connecting emergency care with psychedelic peer support.
• Developing medical triage protocols: A simple system that reduces unnecessary ER transports while ensuring sitter and guest safety.
• Colorado as a hub: Why Denver and Red Rocks are central to psychedelic culture and harm reduction innovation.
• Legal and regulatory challenges: The impact of the RAVE Act and limits on drug checking services.
• Research and data collection: Building stronger studies to show venues and first responders the value of harm reduction.
• Future concerns: Ibogaine’s cardiotoxic risks, the rise of AI-designed drugs, and why medical involvement is urgent.
• Ketamine in the ER: How ketamine provides pain relief and can create meaningful patient experiences when used with care.

In this episode, Joe Moore is joined by Kat Murti, Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), the largest youth-led network working to end the war on drugs. SSDP organizes at the campus, local, state, federal, and international levels, with more than 100 chapters across the U.S. and sister organizations worldwide.

Kat shares her personal journey into drug policy reform, from witnessing DEA raids on AIDS patients in the 1990s to fighting for civil liberties as a student at UC Berkeley. She explains how SSDP empowers young people to challenge outdated laws and promote policies rooted in compassion, scientific evidence, and human rights.

• The War on Drugs as a War on Us: Kat’s early realizations about the drug war’s racism, injustice, and destruction of civil liberties.

• Her Path to SSDP: From working on California’s Prop 19 cannabis campaign to serving on SSDP’s board and eventually becoming Executive Director.

• Meta Censorship Campaign: Why Meta’s restrictions on drug education and harm reduction content harm communities, and how SSDP is organizing public pressure to protect freedom of information online.

• Forced Institutionalization & Executive Orders: Kat critiques recent federal moves to expand forced treatment, cuts to naloxone training programs, and the misguided use of tariffs as “solutions” to the overdose crisis.

• The Fight Against DEA Scheduling of DOI & DOC: Why these research chemicals are vital to neuroscience and medicine, how SSDP challenged the DEA in court, and what’s at stake for future research.

• Illogical Drug Policy & Careerism: How prohibition persists due to political incentives, propaganda, and entrenched bureaucratic interests.

• Building a Better Future: Realigning incentive structures, embracing harm reduction, and supporting community-based solutions to drug use.

• The war on drugs is deeply racist, anti-science, and erodes civil liberties.

• Meta’s censorship of harm reduction information actively endangers lives.

• Forced treatment doesn’t work—addressing social conditions and providing safe housing does.

• DOI and DOC, rarely if ever used recreationally, are critical to medical research, and scheduling them would halt decades of progress.

• Real reform means both ending prohibition and creating environments where people feel supported, connected, and empowered.

• Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP): ssdp.org

• Kat Murti on Twitter/X: @KatMurti

• Kat Murti on Instagram: @KittyRevolution

• SSDP Petition against Meta Censorship: ssdp.org