Psychologist Dr. Rick Barnett and Zach Rhoads discuss the psychedelic movement. They touch on: - How psychedelics work in therapy and in general use - Drug safety - Medicalization versus Legalization (or decriminalization) of psychedelics - "Drug exceptionalism" (as coined by Dr. Carl Hart) - Vermont stakeholders - Personal experience with drug use…

Today’s guest is Dr. Christopher Chabris. We talked about his new book (with Daniel Simons), “Nobody’s Fool.” Chris is a cognitive scientist. His research in this field focuses on attention, decision-making, collective intelligence, cognitive ability, and behavioral genetics. Outside of the his academic community, he is a known chess master, and be…

Welcome to episode 82! I t's been a while (sorry!) Today I spoke with Sarah Ward M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, LLP. We discussed strategies that she has developed-- for both children and adults-- to sharpen their executive functioning skills to enhance learning and life. Examples of the skills that Sarah works with people …

Welcome to episode 81! Today I spoke with journalist, podcaster, and author David McRaney about his new book, "How Minds Change". We discussed his interviews with and research on cult members, conspiracy theorists, and political activists, from Westboro Baptist Church picketers to LGBTQ campaigners in California – that ultimately challenges us to q…

Nathan Maynard is a student voice advocate and author of The Washington Post best-selling book, "Hacking School Discipline" about proactive and restorative practice (as opposed to reactive and punitive) in schools. Nathan previously worked as an administrator at Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indianapolis, as the Dean of Culture. He also is the …

In this episode, Dr. Mark Goulston explains the best way to get through to absolutely ANYONE, in a way that enables them to open up about their deepest concerns. Mark Goulston is a Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches executive coach and author or co-author of nine books with his book, “Just Listen,” being translated into 28 languages and becoming the to…

I presented an expert testimony in an Oklahoma legislative meeting. The session was held due to opposition of new statewide opioid prescribing limitations. You can see the full hearing here https://okhouse.gov/Video/Default.aspx?fbclid=IwAR11cWEcwm6J4-vDbClEJ2IyQMCb7_lTZCgKC1tts0E7g37vpIEcbW9H1wU - - - - - - - - - - ***SUPPORT THE SOCIAL EXCHANGE**…

In this interview, Stanton Peele discusses his memoir, "A Scientific Life on the Edge: My Lonely Quest to Change How We See Addiction." More importantly, Peele recounts his life story, both in this interview and in his memoir. Beginning with his General Theory of Addiction that he put forth in his 1975 book "Love and Addiction", followed by a discu…

Today's guest is Shaun Shelly -- back for a second conversation. We discuss the so-called "Opioid Crisis", why that concept needs to be re-framed, and how we can go about doing so. **More about Shaun: Shaun is dedicated to the understanding of drug use, the rights of people who use drugs, and effective drug policy. He is the Policy, Advocacy and Hu…

Zach Rhoads speaks with Maia Szalavitz about her new book, "Undoing Drugs", which traces the history of Harm Reduction from the movement's genesis to the way it affects mainstream thoughts, beliefs, policies, and behavior.

Dr. Erec Smith is a professor of rhetoric and composition at York College and former Chair of the York YWCA Racial and Social Justice Committee. Today, he and I talk about racism in America, and what he believes are the best ways to make this country a fair, diverse, and thriving one. Smith appreciates much of the sentiment behind Critical Race The…

Todd is a documentary film maker and his most recent film, "The Last Stop" is today's conversation topic. The Last Stop is a film about the Élan School, which was a controversial school / treatment facility for so-called juvenile delinquents which existed in the deep woods of Maine. That’s ExisTED, past-tense, because the Élan school was closed dow…

Welcome to episode 75! Today's guest is Desh Amila. Desh is the founder of "This Is 42"-- a platform for highly regarded educators and content creators such as Coleman Hughes, Michael Shermer, Sam Harris, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and more. He is also the producer of the films "Islam and the Future of Tolerance" (Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz), and more r…

This episode originally aired as an episode of the "LPP PODCAST" which you can find here: https://open.spotify.com/show/66wpvu8aMI8NWYgZvBr5uz Today's guest is Maia Szalavitz, who co-wrote (With Bruce Perry) "The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog" and the NYT best-seller, "Unbroken Brain" Her forthcoming book is, "Undoing Drugs" - - - - - - - - - - Check…

Curt Jaimngal is the co-creator (with Desh Amila) of the documentary film, "Better Left Unsaid". The film shines a light salient cultural issues that are difficult to discuss in a balanced way (at least publicly): namely, the radical arms of both left and right wing politics. "Better Left Unsaid" explores leftist social justice theory and how it tu…

Today’s guest is Shaun Shelly (see bio below). Shaun is a drug policy educator (to say the least) from South Africa. We discussed a range of topics, including (but not limited to): Drug use The war on drugs Mental health Societal deficits and potential solutions Logical fallacies and cognitive biases First-principles thinking/problem-solving in psy…

Aaron Burroughs grew up singing gospel music for a black church in Ann Arbor Michigan. He moved to Verrmont as an adult and started a band (an entire style of music) inspired by his gospel roots as well as his love and admiration for musicians like Prince, Whitney Houston, Parliament and more. Or, you might say he started an entirely new genre of m…

Brian Cuban tells Zach about his history with addiction, which included drugs and alcohol as well as a dysfunctional relationship with diet, exercise, and body image. Cuban explains that while most people who suffer body dysmorphic disorder are female, most people don't realize just how many men feel shame about their body image---- to the extent t…

I interviewed Dr. Carl Hart about his book, "Drug Use For Grown-Ups", when it first hit shelves (Jan. 2021). This originally appeared on the weekly Life Process Program podcast (LPP is an harm reduction oriented addiction program I work for), but it's worth sharing with you now. Many of you won't have listened to the original podcast and I think it…

Eric White is the creator and host of theEWpodcast. He doesn't podcast just to be a "sage on the stage" but to have valuable conversations with people who interest him and can bring value to a greater audience. He and I have that in common. Eric and I talk about his backstory-- including a bout of depression and recovery from it-- then discuss what…

Honoring children-- that's Jeanine Fitzgerald's MO. In this interview, she explains what it takes to be a positive influence in the life of each child-- each person -- that she interacts with. Jeanine's child-first philosophy is evident in all of her work: Her book, "The Dance of Interaction"; her frequent keynote speeches (which she delivers inter…

Zach speaks with Peter Gray about how American schools are failing kids, and how to reverse the tide! Peter Gray, Ph.D. is a research professor at Boston College, is author of: Free to Learn (Basic Books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKX5BBG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Psychology (Worth Publishers, a college textbook now in its 8th…

Today I spoke with my friend and fellow podcaster, Eric White. Eric is a deep thinker and a compassionate human-- skills he shares with the world via his podcast, "theEWpodcast". We talked about Eric's past traumas and how he uses those experiences and memories to build a meaningful life now and into the future. We also talked about his basis for p…

Zach speaks with Damon L. Jacobs about harm reduction as it relates to vaping, drugs, PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis) for HIV prevention, and COVID-19. (DAMON'S BIO IS BELOW) - - - - - - - - - - **ABOUT DAMON L. JACOBS** Damon L. Jacobs is a New York-based Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a tireless HIV prevention advocate who focuses his…

Biologist, philosopher, author, and Stoic, Dr. Massimo Pigliucci discusses the wisdom behind living a stoic lifestyle. - - - - - - - - - - Welcome to episode 67! Today, Dr. Massimo Pigliucci tells Zach how he discovered stoicism and why he began practicing. They also discuss the history of stoicism as well as its practical applications, especially …

We wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR! In the spirit of overcoming difficult times, I'm sharing an interview that I conducted with a man named Michael Galipeau (AKA Mikey G)-- the interview was a segment of the LPP Podcast (which you should check out on YouTube or audio podcast) Mikey was raised in a state-run institution which was traumatic in and of itsel…

William B Irvine speaks with Zach Rhoads about his philosophy of life, stoicism, and he offers exercises for stoic practice (as per his popular books "A Guide to the Good Life", "The Stoic Challenge," and others). Some relevant discussion topics from todays' episode: - William's stumbling across (and landing on) Stoicism by way of Buddhism and a ph…

This is my answer to a question that popped up in The Social Exchange Facebook group (The link to the group is here ) It was a good question that got me thinking about to make headway on important issues that many of us are so incredibly divided on. I've been talking about recording my responses to FB questions in podcast form for a long time now, …

Jessie Dunleavy is an author and drug policy reform advocate whose son Paul died of an accidental drug overdose. She went on to write a memoir about Paul's life from her perspective called, “Cover My Dreams In Ink”. Today, Jessie and I talked about the memoir and the myriad topics included in its pages: - Parenting - The public school system - Spec…

Welcome to The Social Exchange Podcast! Today's guest is Dr. Jeffrey Singer. Dr. Singer shared his thoughts and professional opinions about America's COVID response-- the good, the bad, the upsetting, and the hopeful-- and what he believes are the most sensible and holistic approaches moving forward. He also discussed ideas for drug policy, includi…

Welcome to episode 63! Today Zach interviews Astrophysicist, Author and Podcaster, Dr. Brian Keating. Dr. Keating wrote the book, "Losing The Nobel Prize", in which he recounts his designing and directing a Nobel-worthy physics experiment called BICEP. He talks about why he and his team fell short of winning the prize (although the experiment itsel…

The Social Exchange is brought to you by the online Life Process Program-- an online addiction program that can be self-help or coach-led (your choice)... both versions cost less than a monthly co-pay for a therapist or outpatient program. To learn more, visit http://lifeprocessprogram.com - - - - - - - - - - In this episode, Zach speaks with Brock…

Intro: 0:00 - 9:32 Phone Call 9:32 - End. - - - - - - - - - - After my first conversation with Anthony Magnabosco (Episode 61), I decided to do a follow-up so that I could talk more about Street Epistemology strategy and his plans to scale this movement! Here's our phone conversation from the other night, which we agreed is worth publishing. Happy …

Welcome to season 5! In the spirit of engaging my guests in rich, reflective conversations, I'm kicking off the new season by interviewing a man who is-- in my not-always-humble opinion-- a king of such meaningful conversations; conversations about-- well, "meaning". His name is Anthony Magnabosco and he is a practitioner of a conversation-style ca…

Welcome to season 5 of TSE! Check out the 5 min. clip here for details about the new season and new format (and get ready for tomorrow's interview with Anthony Magnabosco)! - - - - - - - - - - Relevant show notes: Subscribe to the LPP Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lpp-podcast/id1494188367 Subscribe to Life Process Program YouTube C…

Welcome to The Social Exchange! As you may know, we are currently preparing for a new and improved season of The Social Exchange Podcast, and the fun starts on October 1st. Of course, we can't leave you on hold for a whole month, so we are sharing this episode of the LPP Podcast.... And that's because-- come October-- we will no longer be publishin…

Welcome to episode 60! Today's guest is Alexander Gould. Gould is an actor who began his career at two years old! He played the voice of Nemo in Disney's Finding Nemo in 2003, and later played Shane Botwin in the Showtime series Weeds. Now, at age 26, Gould is one of the lead volunteers for a political movement called Unity2020-- a presidential cam…

0:00 - 6:12 News about a new season of the podcast / housekeeping 6:12 - 12:55 Introduction and background about today's show / guest. 12:56 Show starts here! - - - - - - - - - - Welcome to episode 59! Today's episode is a discussion about race with my new friend Bridgett Mack. I learned about Bridgett after watching her viral Facebook video called…

Welcome to episode 58! In today's episode, I spoke with Tamler Sommers about his book, "Why Honor Matters." Tamler is the co-host of the Very Bad Wizards Podcast (check it out-- it's actually one of my favorite shows). He is also a philosophy professor at the Univeristy of Houston and he is, of course, the author of the aforementioned (and excellen…

Welcome to The Social Exchange Podcast Today’s guest is Kevin Franciotti. Kevin is a board member of The Psychedelics in Recovery: Outreach and Services -- PROS-- which is a research initiative of Project New Day Foundation, a non-profit that helps people overcome addiction through the responsible and legal use of psychedelics. A large part of Kevi…

Welcome to episode 56! Today's guest is Daniel Garrett. Daniel belongs to a demographic that has not been widely represented on this podcast. Hailing from rural Northwest Tennessee, Daniel is in his mid-20s, he is bisexual, he is below the poverty line, he’s experienced traumatic events and difficult family circumstances growing up, he has done sex…

Welcome to episode 55! Today's guest is the founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine and NYT best-selling author, Dr. Michael Shermer. Dr. Shermer and I discussed his new book, Giving The Devil HIs Due. Some salient talking points: - Free Speech-- why it is the most precious right and why it must be upheld always. - Schenck v. United States supreme c…

Welcome to episode 54! There are two guests on today’s show. My first guest is Tessie Castillo. Tessie is a journalist and an author from Raleigh North Carolina. Her new book is called "Crimson Letters, Voices From Death Row." In 2014, Tessie volunteered to teach a writing class to death row inmates at North Carolina’s Central Prison. She treasured…

Kate Nicholson is a civil rights attorney. In the mid-90's-- due to complications from surgery-- she became unable to walk, stand, or even sit. She was in excruciating pain each day and couldn't leave her home; she remained isolated in bed for 15 years. In this interview, Kate explains how, despite being isolated, she was able to create a purposefu…

My guest today, Marjorie Israel, discusses her reaction to-- and her experience with-- being on lockdown in rural Normandy France! NOTE: I conducted this interview on March 21-- since then, President Macron has issued more strict social distancing policies, which you can see here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tamarathiessen/2020/03/24/paris-france-…

What's it like to be in a nation-wide lockdown in France? Here's one man's perspective. His name is Andre Pampel. Andre described his experience being in a nation-wide lockdown in France, as the country tries to to get a handle on the COVID-19 pandemic. - - - - - - - - - - SUPPORT THE SHOW: Donate $2.00 or more via Patreon: http://patreon.com/theso…

What is it like to be in a nation-wide lock-down in Italy? My guest today, Nunzio Paulo De Martino, describes his experience. Consider supporting Nunzio's Italian tour business, Don Nunzio Limos: https://donnunziolimos.com/ - - - - - - - - - - Support the podcast (and receive exclusive content and rewards) by donating $2.00 or more to our Patreon p…

In this new segment, I am speaking with people all over the world about their experiences in nation-wide lockdown. Today I spoke with Amy Avital, a resident of Israel. She shared her experience being on government-enforced quarantine and offered a sober but calming perspective.

Welcome to episode 52! Today’s guest is Dr. Rick Barnett. Rick and I discussed psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy -- and the hopeful future of this practice in the United States and— specific to today’s episode— the state of Vermont. Rick has been accepted to the Class of 2020 at the California Institute for Integral Studies in their Certificate in…

In this episode, Zach speaks with Patrick Doyle. Patrick has been working with both Families and Individuals suffering from substance use disorders, depression, and other behavioral health issues for thirty years. He earned a Masters of Social Work degree in 1986 from Boston College, and is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Massachus…