-
PIHKAL
- A Chemical Love Story
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Petrea Burchard
- Length: 22 hrs and 29 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $20.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Food of the Gods
- The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge : A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution
- By: Terence McKenna
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Terence McKenna hypothesizes that as the North African jungles receded, giving way to savannas and grasslands near the end of the most recent ice age, a branch of our arboreal primate ancestors left the forest canopy and began living in the open areas beyond. There they experimented with new varieties of foods as they adapted, physically and mentally, to the environment. Among the new foods found in this environment were psilocybin-containing mushrooms.
-
-
Not a scientific book
- By Jason on 06-06-19
By: Terence McKenna
-
How to Change Your Mind
- What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third.
-
-
Personal
- By Robert F. Jones on 09-02-18
By: Michael Pollan
-
LSD My Problem Child (4th Edition)
- Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism and Science
- By: Albert Hofmann
- Narrated by: Steven J. Cohen
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of LSD told by a concerned yet hopeful father, organic chemist Albert Hofmann, PhD. He traces LSD's path from a promising psychiatric research medicine to a recreational drug sparking hysteria and prohibition. In LSD: My Problem Child, we follow Dr. Hofmann's trek across Mexico to discover sacred plants related to LSD, and listen in as he corresponds with other notable figures about his remarkable discovery.
By: Albert Hofmann
-
This Is Your Mind on Plants
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Of all the things humans rely on plants for - sustenance, beauty, medicine, fragrance, flavor, fiber - surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm, fiddle with or completely alter, the qualities of our mental experience. Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds. But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug, or our daily use as an addiction, because it is legal and socially acceptable.
-
-
This is a clip show.
- By Jeff W. on 07-07-21
By: Michael Pollan
-
True Hallucinations
- Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradise
- By: Terence McKenna
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This mesmerizing, surreal account of the bizarre adventures of Terence McKenna, his brother Dennis, and a small band of their friends, is a wild ride of exotic experience and scientific inquiry. Exploring the Amazon Basin in search of mythical shamanic hallucinogens, they encounter a host of unusual characters - including a mushroom, a flying saucer, pirate Mantids from outer space, an appearance by James and Nora Joyce in the guise of poultry, and translinguistic matter - and discover the missing link in the development of human consciousness and language.
-
-
A Good background of Terence’s life
- By Ben on 04-04-19
By: Terence McKenna
-
The Immortality Key
- The Secret History of the Religion with No Name
- By: Brian C. Muraresku, Graham Hancock - foreword
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock, Brian C. Muraresku
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A groundbreaking dive into the role psychedelics have played in the origins of Western civilization, and the real-life quest for the Holy Grail that could shake the Church to its foundations.
-
-
Most important book of the now.
- By Balls on 10-02-20
By: Brian C. Muraresku, and others
-
Food of the Gods
- The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge : A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution
- By: Terence McKenna
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Terence McKenna hypothesizes that as the North African jungles receded, giving way to savannas and grasslands near the end of the most recent ice age, a branch of our arboreal primate ancestors left the forest canopy and began living in the open areas beyond. There they experimented with new varieties of foods as they adapted, physically and mentally, to the environment. Among the new foods found in this environment were psilocybin-containing mushrooms.
-
-
Not a scientific book
- By Jason on 06-06-19
By: Terence McKenna
-
How to Change Your Mind
- What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third.
-
-
Personal
- By Robert F. Jones on 09-02-18
By: Michael Pollan
-
LSD My Problem Child (4th Edition)
- Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism and Science
- By: Albert Hofmann
- Narrated by: Steven J. Cohen
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of LSD told by a concerned yet hopeful father, organic chemist Albert Hofmann, PhD. He traces LSD's path from a promising psychiatric research medicine to a recreational drug sparking hysteria and prohibition. In LSD: My Problem Child, we follow Dr. Hofmann's trek across Mexico to discover sacred plants related to LSD, and listen in as he corresponds with other notable figures about his remarkable discovery.
By: Albert Hofmann
-
This Is Your Mind on Plants
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Of all the things humans rely on plants for - sustenance, beauty, medicine, fragrance, flavor, fiber - surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm, fiddle with or completely alter, the qualities of our mental experience. Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds. But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug, or our daily use as an addiction, because it is legal and socially acceptable.
-
-
This is a clip show.
- By Jeff W. on 07-07-21
By: Michael Pollan
-
True Hallucinations
- Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradise
- By: Terence McKenna
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This mesmerizing, surreal account of the bizarre adventures of Terence McKenna, his brother Dennis, and a small band of their friends, is a wild ride of exotic experience and scientific inquiry. Exploring the Amazon Basin in search of mythical shamanic hallucinogens, they encounter a host of unusual characters - including a mushroom, a flying saucer, pirate Mantids from outer space, an appearance by James and Nora Joyce in the guise of poultry, and translinguistic matter - and discover the missing link in the development of human consciousness and language.
-
-
A Good background of Terence’s life
- By Ben on 04-04-19
By: Terence McKenna
-
The Immortality Key
- The Secret History of the Religion with No Name
- By: Brian C. Muraresku, Graham Hancock - foreword
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock, Brian C. Muraresku
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A groundbreaking dive into the role psychedelics have played in the origins of Western civilization, and the real-life quest for the Holy Grail that could shake the Church to its foundations.
-
-
Most important book of the now.
- By Balls on 10-02-20
By: Brian C. Muraresku, and others
-
The Way of the Psychonaut: Volumes 1 and 2
- Encyclopedia for Inner Journeys
- By: Stanislav Grof MD PhD
- Narrated by: Becca S. Tarnas PhD
- Length: 29 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Way of the Psychonaut is one of the most important books ever written about the human psyche and the spiritual quest. The new understandings were made possible thanks to Albert Hofmann’s discovery of LSD - the microscope and telescope of the human psyche - as well as other psychedelic substances. This comprehensive work is a tour de force through the worlds of psychology and psychotherapy, Holotropic Breathwork, maps of the psyche, birth, sex, and death, psychospiritual rebirth, the roots of trauma...
-
-
Eye opening
- By Anonymous User on 09-20-21
-
The Road to Eleusis
- Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries
- By: R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hofmann
- Narrated by: David Bendena
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The secretive Mysteries conducted at Eleusis in Greece for nearly two millennia have long puzzled scholars with strange accounts of initiates experiencing otherworldly journeys. In this groundbreaking work, three experts - a mycologist, a chemist, and a historian - argue persuasively that the sacred potion given to participants in the course of the ritual contained a psychoactive entheogen. The authors then expand the discussion to show that natural psychedelic agents have been used in spiritual rituals across history and cultures.
-
-
Great Thesis!
- By G.M. on 01-22-22
By: R. Gordon Wasson, and others
-
Holotropic Breathwork
- A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy
- By: Stanislav Grof, Christina Grof, Jack Kornfield - foreword
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Holotropic means "moving toward wholeness," from the Greek holos (whole) and trepein (moving in the direction of). The breathwork utilizes the remarkable healing and transformative potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness. These states engender a rich array of experiences with unique healing potential - reliving childhood memories, infancy, birth and prenatal life, and elements from the historical and archetypal realms of the collective unconscious.
-
-
I wish I knew this earlier
- By mark west on 05-18-20
By: Stanislav Grof, and others
-
DMT: The Spirit Molecule
- A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences
- By: Rick Strassman MD
- Narrated by: Drew Graham
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 1990 to 1995 Dr. Rick Strassman conducted U.S. Government-approved and funded clinical research at the University of New Mexico in which he injected 60 volunteers with DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known. His detailed account of those sessions is an extraordinarily riveting inquiry into the nature of the human mind and the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. DMT, a plant-derived chemical found in the psychedelic Amazon brew, ayahuasca, is also manufactured by the human brain. In Strassman's volunteers, it consistently produced near-death and mystical experiences.
-
-
Great book!
- By Dave on 02-16-22
-
The Psychedelic Experience
- A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead
- By: Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, Richard Alpert, and others
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are in the midst of a powerful psychedelic renaissance. After four decades of hibernation, the promise of the psychoactive 60s - that deeper self-awareness, achieved through reality-bending substances and practices, will lead to greater external harmony - is again gaining a major following. The signs are everywhere, from the influence of today's preeminent psychedelic thinker Daniel Pinchbeck, to the renewed interest in the legacy of Terence McKenna, and to the upsurge of collective cultural phenomena like the spectacle of Burning Man.
-
-
A must have in the toolkit..
- By Kuzia on 10-20-17
By: Timothy Leary, and others
-
Sacred Knowledge
- Psychedelics and Religious Experiences
- By: William Richards
- Narrated by: River Kanoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sacred Knowledge is the first well-documented, sophisticated account of the effect of psychedelics on biological processes, human consciousness, and revelatory religious experiences. Based on nearly three decades of legal research with volunteers, William A. Richards argues that, if used responsibly and legally, psychedelics have the potential to assuage suffering and constructively affect the quality of human life.
-
-
Investigation of human consciousness and being
- By Dan Richards on 11-20-17
By: William Richards
-
Visionary
- The Mysterious Origins of Human Consciousness (The Definitive Edition of Supernatural)
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 21 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Less than 50,000 years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change, described by scientists as "the greatest riddle in human history," all the skills and qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as though bestowed on us by hidden powers. In Visionary, Graham Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious "before-and-after moment" and to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to modern human mind.
-
-
Mind blowing
- By NikkiMassaj on 05-01-22
By: Graham Hancock
-
Psychedelic Medicine
- The Healing Powers of LSD, MDMA, Psilocybin, and Ayahuasca
- By: Dr. Richard Louis Miller
- Narrated by: Andy Rick
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Embracing the revival of psychedelic research and the discovery of new therapeutic uses, clinical psychologist Dr. Richard Louis Miller discusses what is happening today in psychedelic medicine - and what will happen in the future - with top researchers and thinkers in this field. Dr. Miller and his contributors cover the tumultuous history of early psychedelic research brought to a halt 50 years ago by the US government as well as offering non-technical summaries of the most recent studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca.
-
-
Transcribed interviews, read out loud...
- By Lota on 11-20-19
-
LSD and the Mind of the Universe
- Diamonds from Heaven
- By: Christopher M. Bache, Ervin Laszlo - foreword
- Narrated by: Christopher M. Bache
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journey alongside professor Bache as he touches the living intelligence of our universe - an intelligence that both embraced and crushed him - and demonstrates how direct experience of the divine can change your perspective on core issues in philosophy and religion. Chronicling his 73 sessions, the author reveals the spiral of death and rebirth that took him through the collective unconscious into the creative intelligence of the universe.
-
-
Profound! Stands Among the Best of All of Time
- By Curtis Barnhart on 03-20-20
By: Christopher M. Bache, and others
-
Chemistry - The Complete College Level Review
- Audio Guide Made Specifically for College Students
- By: Rhoda E. Kaitlin MD, Graham J. Barret
- Narrated by: Baillie Hamilton
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chemistry - The Complete College Level Review is great for students taking the USMLE Step 1, HESI A2, or TEAS exams. This audiobook has been written by experienced professors to produce the most complete, easy, and concise guide to learn everything you need. We have also made the audiobook great for visual learners as well by including diagrams that the narrator will refer to throughout. This audiobook includes practice questions for each subject so the student can understand how to answer certain questions that might appear on tests.
-
-
Great Chemistry Review
- By Raven Henry on 03-31-22
By: Rhoda E. Kaitlin MD, and others
-
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
- Liberation Through Understanding in the Between
- By: Robert Thurman - translator
- Narrated by: Robert Thurman
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead has been renowned for centuries as a cornerstone of Buddhist wisdom and religious thought. More recently, it has become highly influential in the Western world for its psychological insights into the processes of death and dying - and what they can teach us about the ways we live our lives. It has also been found to be helpful in the grieving process by people who have recently lost their loved ones. This authoritative translation preserves the form and spirit of the original and was prepared especially for Western audiences.
-
-
Richard Gere version on DVD way better
- By Dr Purple on 11-18-20
-
Drug Use for Grown-Ups
- Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear
- By: Dr. Carl L. Hart
- Narrated by: Dr. Carl L. Hart
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Drug Use for Grown-Ups, he draws on decades of research and his own personal experience to argue definitively that the criminalization and demonization of drug use - not drugs themselves - have been a tremendous scourge on America, not least in reinforcing this country's enduring structural racism. Dr. Hart did not always have this view. He came of age in one of Miami's most troubled neighborhoods at a time when many ills were being laid at the door of crack cocaine. His initial work as a researcher was aimed at proving that drug use caused bad outcomes.
-
-
Dr Carl Hart should be our drug Czar
- By Steven Gordon on 01-19-21
By: Dr. Carl L. Hart
Publisher's Summary
Alexander (better known as “Sasha”) and Ann Shulgin’s PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story has become a foundational work in the genre and was the first book to fully impart the how-to chemistry, and convey the effects, of many of the entheogenic drugs that are currently being studied and used to heal trauma and deal with death.
An acronym for “Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved”, the book spans autobiography, organic chemistry, politics, ethnobotany, and psychopharmacology, and the cultural impact is likely to be profound for decades to come, as it has already. PiHKAL is divided into two parts, the first of which is a fictionalized autobiographical "novel" - the main fiction is that it is fiction. This first half of the book is The Love Story, about two people named Shura and Alice who fall in love, though one of them is already in love with someone else. This love triangle is a painful ordeal they must go through, and that process unfolds before the listener with grace and great insight into human nature. Shura is a brilliant chemist who has dedicated his career to making psychoactive drugs. In the story, they go through many experiences with the psychedelic compounds that Shura has discovered and has made in his lab, all of which have been bioassayed himself. The listener will find themselves going on this journey with them, experiencing what they experienced, both in their hearts and in the psychedelic journeys they have.
The second half of PiHKAL is called The Chemical Story, and it contains detailed instructions for, and effects of, the synthesis of 179 psychedelic phenethylamines which were mostly discovered by Shulgin himself. For each substance there is information on its synthesis, suggested effective dosage, duration, and detailed commentary on the subjective effects that were experienced. This book appeals to adults of all ages and cultures, and to the psychedelically experienced and inexperienced alike.
More from the same
What listeners say about PIHKAL
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stefan Jernberg
- 01-09-22
Very Insightful
If you only read one chapter, read the last one. But the whole book is very interesting. Highly recommended.
Superbly narrated.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Darby
- 06-25-22
An absolute must read.
A great book, beautifully performed. don't hesitate if you're interested in drugs, chemistry, or a good bit of history of psychedelics.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 05-03-22
Great read, I would recommend to curious people
A very real life lived and written down in the pursuit of the ever expanding dream of human experience explored
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alexander B. Plain
- 04-05-22
Loved it from start to finish
Sweet souls pour themselves out onto the pages for us as we are invited on an adventure unlike any other. I loved listening to the wild tales of alchemy, love, traveling abroad and within, friendships, emotions and entities. Thank you for a wonderful book of wisdom and knowledge but also only of beauty and humanity.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Austin
- 03-30-22
A book that changed history
Shulgin's magnum opus, it sheds light on a period of history lost due to social stigmas. Reading this along with many other books created by related authors paints the picture of a movement in science and culture that changed the world in unimaginable ways. I could say so much about this man and this title but it will never do true justice to what he and and his work have truely done for the world.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nick S.
- 02-24-22
One of a kind, most important!
By far one of the most crucial books for anybody interested in the freedom to explore one’s own consciousness, and the history of pioneers of consciousness exploration. A fascinating and entertaining story of psychedelic substance examinations.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 04-12-22
Only the first half of the book
Both narrators were strong and I loved the story of everything in Pihkal but thrle whole second half going through different drugs and their syntheses, doses and experiences is not included. I understand it may not be so audiobook friendly but I was disappointed in that. Will have to purchase a hard copy or erowid that when needed.