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@ Cabaret Voltaire
The Psychedelic Salon
For our next Psychedelic Salon – more to come soon…
8001| Zürich | Spiegelgasse 1 | Thursday, January 14, 2027 | 6-9 pm
Related
Horizons
Perspectives on psychedelics
New York | The New York Academy of Medicine | Thursday, 14 – Saturday, 17 October 2026
Musée de l’homme:
Drogues – An exhibition about drugs
75016 Paris | 17 Place du Trocadéro | November 11, 2026 – June 6, 2027
Cannabis Health Symposium
Following the reforms of CanG, Germany’s medical cannabis landscape is shifting fast. The Cannabis Health Symposium brings clinicians, industry and patient advocates together in Frankfurt to examine the evidence, the regulatory picture and the practical realities of prescribing and access.
Mainhaus | Frankfutrt | DE | Wednesday, 4 November 2026 | 9 – 17.30 h
good to see
McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy
The hippies were right about consciousness, with Tam Hunt & Dennis McKenna
Together, Dennis and Tam explore panpsychism, Whiteheadian process philosophy, the limits of reductionist neuroscience, plant intelligence, and whether future AI built on electromagnetic “field computing” could become conscious.
good to hear
Remembering Cassandra Wilson
Don’t Explain
“She rose to fame in the 1980s as the voice of the New York jazz avant-garde. Later, however, she developed a highly personal style drawing on folk and blues.2 (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) Cassandra Wilson was born on 5 December 1955 in Jackson, Mississippi. As a girl, she not only sang but also played the piano and guitar. Whilst studying communication sciences, she began performing as a singer with increasing frequency. She started out in New Orleans but moved to New York in the seventies to fulfill he musical destiny. Here’s the New York Times obituary.
Erikah Badu & The Alchemist
Echos, from the album Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment
The collaborative studio album by the American singer Erykah Badu and record producer the Alchemist merges Badu’s use of melodic and atmospheric compositions with the Alchemist’s sampling techniques. It marks Badu’s first project in eleven years, following the mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone (2015). Badu met the Alchemist during her annual Birthday Bash in Dallas, with both having interest in working with each other beforehand. The Alchemist learned about Badu’s production approach by using her instruments into his sample-based beats. The duo recorded and produced the album in the span of over eighteen months in Dallas and Los Angeles.
Control Freaq
Agnes Obel
Live at the Nuits de Fouvièrs – ARTE Concert
Agnes Caroline Tjaarup Obel (1980) grew up in a musical family near Copenhagen and began to play the piano at an early. “The graceful, subtle and deeply introspective music of Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel has held listeners spellbound since the release of her remarkable debut, Philharmonics (2010). Classically trained as a pianist and inspired by artists and composers such as Joni Mitchell, Claude Debussy, PJ Harvey and Erik Satie, the Berlin-based musician has, album after album, crafted an intimate and refined chamber pop that sits somewhere between neoclassical and alternative.” (Montreux Jazz Festival)
Blue Note Records / Deutsche Grammophone
Karol G
Tiny Desk Concert
Carolina Giraldo Navarro (1991), known professionally as Karol G, is a Colombian singer and songwriter and one of the most influential reggaeton and urban pop artists. “She got her start by competing on Colombia’s version of The X Factor and landed her breakthrough hit in 2017 with her Bad Bunny collaboration, “Ahora Me Llamahas”. She has an earthy and sure voice and visible takes pleasure in interpreting songs that have their roots in popular Columbian culture. In 2023, she became the first woman to debut atop the Billboard 200 with an all-Spanish-language album, Mañana Será Bonito.
Interscope Records
Laurie Anderson with Sexmob
From the Air, from the recently released album Let X = X.
Recorded live in Umbria, Italy, during a 2023 tour by Anderson and the jazz band Sex Mob: Steve Bernstein on brass: Kenny Wollesen on drums and percussion, Douglas Wieselman on winds and guitar, Briggan Krauss on saxophone and guitar, and Tony Scherr on bass. Its cover and interior packaging featured paintings by Anderson. The album featured 23 songs, including many favorites from throughout Anderson’s career performed in new arrangements, plus one by Lou Reed and Metallica (Junior Dad).
Nonesuch Records.
goodnews editorial
p.a.t.
Barbara Loop, editor-in-chief of the women’s magazine ‘Annabelle’, has created a podcast series in which she talks to older women, whom she calls ‘Queens”. On 9 September, she interviewed me. Since our talk went live on 21 September, it has become somewhat of a hit, garnering up to 1,000 clicks a day.
Interest in psychedelics seems to be huge; that’s what I mostly talked about. I’m delighted, because it shows that the time has come to actively campaign for psychedelic-assisted therapy (P.A.T.) to become legal in Switzerland.
Legal means that the by now around 90 specialised therapists, doctors, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, and other medical professionals will have the right to work directly with psychedelic substances, also under supervision. Psychedelic medicines such as LSD, psilocybin or ayahuasca (“pharmahuasca”), as well as MDMA, have proven to be safe and effective in treating a range of mental health conditions, just like they are helpful in palliative care.
Eligibility must be thoroughly assessed, but one need not necessarily have undergone a series of failed conventional therapies. This is likely to increase the promising results of P.A.T., as therapists are no longer only dealing with worst cases. It is, of course, hugely rewarding to be able to help someone who could not be helped anywhere else. At the same time, there are many other potential clients in difficult situations for whom less effort may be required to improve their circumstances – and thereby those of our entire society.
It is of the utmost importance that the oversight of P.A.T. remains with the Federal Office of Public Health, the FOPH. Every case must be reported, all treated clients represented (anonymously), along with their diagnosis. After one year and/or upon completion of a P.A.T., a detailed report must be submitted on the steps taken towards recovery and the progress achieved. This will hopefully provide additional confirmation of the effectivity of all P.A.T., whilst the authorities retain control.
Not all therapies involving psychedelics are successful; adverse events do, albeit rarely, occur. These must also be rigorously reported in written form. Health insurance providers should calculate the annual cost of conventional therapies and derive an average figure, on the basis of which a decision can be made as to which costs for a P.A.T. can be covered.
Presently, it is important to raise awareness of these demands, ideas and the methodology of psychedelic therapy itself amongst the public at large, and to explain P.A.T. them in detail so that acceptance increases,.
We’ll keep at it and count on your support!
Warm regards in cooling weather;
Susanne
P.S.WIDE OPEN BOOKS @ Villa Mare, Neumünsterallee 21, 8008 Zürich. New opening hours: Thursday 15-20 h or by appointment. Further events to be announced.
good to read

American Trickster: The Hidden Lives of Carlos Castaneda
Ru Marshall
Twenty years in the making, this book follows the life and time of the secretive faux-anthropologist who pulled off one of the greatest literary hoaxes in modern history. Both an investigation of the techniques employed by the charismatic narcissists and a study of the cult dynamics that still shape American life, American Trickster defies conventional biography. It emerges as a chilling allegory for the Trump era, a trenchant critique of academia’s complicity in distorting and erasing Indigenous culture, and a deep dive into the mechanics of New Age spiritual abuse.
Ingram Publisher Services

Phenomenology of Psychedelic Experiences (New Directions in Philosophy and Cognitive Science)
Danny Forde
The psychedelic experience can open the subject to the essential nature of reality. This is one of the claims this book makes. The authors proposes that the mythopoetic archetypical phenomena encountered during the peak of the psychedelic experience are best comprehended in terms of essences. Finally, Forde argues that the psychedelic experience is a bona fide transformative experience and offers a distinct way of apprehending the Ground of Being.
Palgrave MacMillan

Mendo. How an Unlikely Group of Rebels Turned Cannabis into California’s Cash Crop
Charlie Harris
California’s homegrown weed industry helped launch the solar power industry, and that’s not all. Mendocino county–or Mendo–sits within California’s Emerald Triangle, a sprawling, sparsely populated region that has produced billions of dollars’ worth of weed, and since the 1970s, virtually every inhabitant has either been involved in the pot trade or been a beneficiary of it–including the government.
Counterpoint Press

California
The Family Acid
Roger Steffens is the world’s leading reggae historian, former co-host of the award-winning radio program “Reggae Beat,” and author of So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley. He has been taking photographs since the early 1960s, documenting his unorthodox life and experiences. In 2013, his children Devon and Kate began scanning his slides and negatives and posting them to Instagram, accompanied with stories and historical information related to each photo.
Gingko Press

Whimsical Mushroom Crochet for Beginners.
Oliver Potter
Whimsical Mushroom Crochet for Beginners.
Bring the magic of the forest to life with unique mushroom crochet designs and tutorials. Learn essential crochet techniques, understand pattern reading, master shaping and assembly, and create beautifully finished mushrooms inspired by forests, fairy tales, and fantasy worlds. With clear instructions, beginner-friendly explanations, and practical tips throughout, you’ll build your skills while crafting projects that make wonderful home décor, thoughtful handmade gifts, seasonal displays, keychains, ornaments, and collectible keepsakes.
Independently published
good to discover
The Planet is up to Something
the NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman took a series of photographs capturing the nightside of Earth illuminated by moonlight. After the photographs were released to the public, a Redditor combined several of them to create a dynamic image.
good to know
Every breath you take
science | Brighter | September 1
Each inhale and exhale may leave its own neural signature.
Bipolar disorder
psychoactive | UHN Research | September 2
Repeated infusions of Ketamine reduce symptoms without triggering mania or pychosis
Psilocybin
psychoactive | UHN Research | September 3
Lab study shows rapid neural growth
New Zealand
psychoactive | The Guardian | September 4
Drugs regulator approves use of MDMA to treat severe PTSD
Psilocin
psychoactive | Psy Post | September 5
The other active ingredient in psilocybin mushrooms has a higher tolerability.
Not ecstacy
psychoactive | DoubleBlind | September 7
Don’t trust Trump on your pill!
Cannabis
psychoactive | PsyPost | September 7
Nicotine craving seems to diminish when smoking weed.
Beetlejuice
psychoactive | Science | September 9
First drug use documented around 20000 years ago
Psilocybin
psychoactive | PsyPost | September 10
Chemotherapy-induced nerve damage prevented in new preclinical study.
Better two than one?
psychoactive | BPS Research Digest | September 11
A new study investigates adding a second therapist into PAT sessions.
MDMA
psychoactive | PsyPost | September 14
Couple therapy shows promise for treating PTSD and relationship distress.
The burried feminine
psychoactive | Psychedelic Press | September 15
Psychedelics and mysticism in Iran
Out of Africa
psychoactive | DoubleBlind | September 16
A forgotten history of psychedelics
R.I.P. Wendell Berry
culture | The Conversation | September 17
The American farmer, poet, novelist, and champion of nature won’t be forgotten.
Negative biases
psychoactive | PsyPost | September 20
Both psilocybin and antidepressants change how emotional information is proessed.
Psychedelics in ancient civilizations
psychoactive | The Microdose | September 21
5 questions for journalist Andrew Lawler
Double-blinding psychedelics
psychoactive | HCP live | September 22
Multi-drug approach to psilocybin trial masking
Nuclear fusion propulsion drives
science | Live science | September 28
We’re on the verge of a new era in space travel.
Under water
eco | Futurism | September 29
China sources solar enery in 10 meters depth
good to meet
Plants of the Gods
Part 1 — Ayahuasca and Tobacco Shamanism: an Interview with Ethnobotanist Dr. Glenn Shepard
Transform Drug Policy Foundation
An independent, UK-based charity working nationally and internationally towards a just and effective system of legal regulation for all drugs.
DanceWize
Harm reduction and help for psychedelic, and/or spiritual emergencies at festivals and other peer meetings are a necessity wherever people get together in large numbers.


