What really happens when psychedelics change someone, and why do some people come back grounded while others spiral into ego, conspiracy, or spiritual bypassing?In this long-form conversation, comedian and science-minded psychonaut Shane Mauss joins Divergent States for a deep dive into what psychedelics do to the human mind beneath the mystical language. Drawing on neuroscience, cognitive bias, evolutionary psychology, and lived psychedelic experience, Shane explains how substances like LSD, mushrooms, and...
What really happens when psychedelics change someone, and why do some people come back grounded while others spiral into ego, conspiracy, or spiritual bypassing?
In this long-form conversation, comedian and science-minded psychonaut Shane Mauss joins Divergent States for a deep dive into what psychedelics do to the human mind beneath the mystical language. Drawing on neuroscience, cognitive bias, evolutionary psychology, and lived psychedelic experience, Shane explains how substances like LSD, mushrooms, and DMT increase mental plasticity, loosen rigid categories, and open the brain to new ways of thinking — for better and for worse.
Together, we explore why altered states can lead to creativity, healing, and insight, but also why they can just as easily fuel delusion, conspiracy thinking, and inflated ego. We talk about the placebo effect, Dunning-Kruger, belief formation, and how access to infinite information can make people feel like they know everything while understanding very little. Shane also shares candid stories from inside the psychedelic comedy world, including how Tales From the Trip was secretly launched at Comedy Central, why he’s uneasy about the current psychedelic “gold rush,” and how mainstream acceptance has changed the culture.
This episode isn’t about chasing cosmic secrets or mystical narratives. It’s about how the mind actually works — and how psychedelics can either help us become more open, curious, and flexible, or lock us deeper into fantasy if we don’t know how to think critically about what we experience.
If you care about psychedelics, consciousness, and staying grounded in reality while exploring extraordinary states, this conversation is for you.
Shane's new special comes out 2/18 on ShaneMauss.com!
Special thanks to Drip who did the music, check him out on Spotify and Soundcloud!
00:00 — Season 2 Opening
04:18 — From Stand-Up to Science
07:40 — Creating Psychedelic Theater
11:40 — Why Psychedelic Comedy Was Taboo
14:50 — Tales From the Trip Origin Story
19:20 — Why He Doesn’t Feel Like a Regular Comic
23:40 — Comedy as Tension and Truth
34:00 — George Carlin and Big-Idea Comedy
38:20 — Psychedelics Going Mainstream
41:00 — Skeptical Psychonauts
45:20 — Seeing the Dark Side of the Scene
47:45 — Psychedelics, Categorization, and the Brain
51:30 — The Crunchy-to-Conservative Pipeline
54:00 — Dunning-Kruger and Illusions of Knowledge
57:10 — Why Science Is Counterintuitive
01:02:40 — Why These Conversations Matter
Send us a text
FiresideProject.org
Download the app or text/call 62-FIRESIDE
Zendo Project
Our listeners get 10% off the Zendo Project SIT Program with the code DIVERGENTS10
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Support the show
Special Thanks to our Macrodosers, Super D and Mike on Patreon!
https://linktr.ee/3L1T3Mod
