When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of …
In winter 2015, a door unexpectedly opened on a group of pigs. Where a moment before the room had been filled with the sound of grunts, squeals, and squeaks, the author and his wife were greeted by an expectant silence as sixty healthy-looking pigs turned toward the door, sat down on their behinds—and coughed. The surprisingly human sound of sixty coughing pigs has stayed with us to this day.…