8 Above and award-winning filmmaker and author Jon Reiss are pleased to announce the launch of the groundbreaking podcast Plantscendence. Join Reiss on a transformative journey as he explores the world of psychedelics and the profound impact plant medicines and entheogens have on healing, personal growth, and artistic expression with leading experts, healers, and teachers.
The first three episodes, edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine and featuring music by Ani Matevos and Lucas Strazz, will be released on March 14th on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeart. The following seven episodes will be published weekly.
Within each episode, Reiss engages in insightful conversations with a diverse array of experts, practitioners, artists, grief counselors, and everyday people who have harnessed the power of plant medicine to heal trauma, navigate loss, unlock creativity, and become more of their true selves.
The Plantscendence podcast explores how many individuals have discovered solace, purpose, and deepened connections through the use of these remarkable plants, fungi, and other natural substances. Plantscendence provides a platform for both seasoned enthusiasts and curious newcomers to explore the intersection of plant medicine, spirituality, personal transformation, and healing.
The first three episodes of Plantscendance feature guests Musician Vera Sola, the “father of Microdosing” Jim Fadiman, and U.S. Army veteran and facilitator Itzel Barakat.
Episode 1: Vera Sola (she/hers)
Vera Sola is a poet, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose musicianship arrived as a shot in the dark after a plant medicine ceremony. The result was a sprawling, epic album, Shades, which she performed and arranged entirely alone for a few months in 2017. Her follow-up album, Peacemaker, was released on February 2, 2024, on City Slang Records.
Episode 2: Dr. James Fadiman (he/his)
Dr. James Fadiman is a leading scientific expert on the use of psychedelics for personal exploration, healing, and transformation. Fadiman has been researching and lecturing on the topic for more than fifty years. A former president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, he taught at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, which he helped found in 1975. Dr. Fadiman has written numerous books, including The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide and Your Symphony Of Selves. Dr. Fadiman is widely considered one of the most influential figures in the field and was the first to develop a microdosing protocol for people to safely and purposefully experiment by themselves.
Episode 3: Izel Barakat (she/hers)
Itzel Barakat is a Panamanian-American who served six years in the United States Air Force. After her service, she returned to California and resumed her federal service as a Wildland Firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service. After her first deeply impactful plant medicine journey, she began apprenticing as a facilitator at plant medicine retreats organized by several veteran non-profit organizations. She serves as a veteran liaison and board member of the organization War Horse Creek, which provides equine-assisted coaching for trauma-affected veterans and first responders. Aligned with these organizations, she aims to provide veterans impacted by PTS(D) with unique healing modalities. Barakat is pursuing her master’s degree in clinical psychology to become a Somatic Therapist. Her goal as a therapist is to provide a whole-person approach in assisting veterans, first responders, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other trauma-affected groups.
Additional guests for the remainder of the first season include actress Gina Gershon, artist and Nganga Chor Boogie, artist Doris La Frenais, plant wisdom practitioner Sitaramaya Sita, author, teacher, and healer Spring Washam, grief counselor Larry Carlat, and author and initiated traditional medicine woman Tricia Eastman.
Join Jon Reiss on a journey of Plantscendence.
About Jon Reiss
Jon Reiss is a critically acclaimed filmmaker, author, and media strategist. He began his film career at the notorious Target Video, shooting seminal punk bands, including Black Flag, Iggy Pop, Throbbing Gristle, and The Cramps. Reiss then filmed and edited a series of videos documenting Mark Pauline’s Survival Research Laboratories. After directing numerous music videos, including, notoriously, Happiness in Slavery for Nine Inch Nails, he graduated to directing feature films, including Bomb It, Better Living Through Circuitry, and Cleopatra’s Second Husband. www.jonreiss.com
About 8 Above
A feature film industry consultancy helmed by director Jon Reiss, he advises hundreds of filmmakers and film organizations on distribution and marketing strategies for independent film. www.8above.com
