Brainforest Café

Ethnobiologist Michael Coe returns to Brainforest Café with a special
mission: to turn the spotlight onto Dennis McKenna’s lifelong dedication
to ayahuasca, visionary plants, and ethnopharmacology. In this intimate
conversation, Michael honors Dennis’ 54 years in the psychedelic space,
from early fieldwork in the Amazon to pioneering biochemical and
pharmacological research on plant medicines.
The discussion explores the importance of mentorship, with Dennis now
seeing his primary role as supporting a new generation of
ethnobiologists like Michael and their work with indigenous communities
and threatened medicinal plant traditions. Together, they discuss
standing on the shoulders of giants, the challenges of academia and
funding, and why following what “puts fire in your belly” matters more
than chasing titles.

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Michael Coe is an ethnobiologist and applied ecologist with a Ph.D. in
Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation Biology. As an Assistant Professor
at Tarleton State University, his teaching and research focuses on the
relationships between humans, ecosystems, and traditional knowledge
systems. Passionate about biodiversity and the sustainable management of natural resources, Michael brings a dynamic interdisciplinary perspective, helping to integrate contemporary ethnobiology and ecology with traditional ecological practices to inform sustainable use
strategies, conservation priorities, and global medicine security.
Michael is the principal investigator (PI) for the COE LAB where they
are conducting hypothesis driven research in ethnobiology and harvest
impact assessments on medicinal plants that serve as a primary source of
healthcare for over 80% of the world's population. Michael is also the
Director for Research and Education for the Pacha Nishi project, a
Shipibo-Konibo led effort in the Peruvian Amazon basin seeking to
restore 20ha. of degraded land in an agroforestry setting with a primary
goal to inform sustainable ayahuasca production in the area as locally
sourced sustainably grown medicine.
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Discover Una Meistere’s journey from Soviet-era Latvia to becoming a
bridge between indigenous plant medicines, psychedelic science, art, and
Baltic traditions in this in-depth conversation with ethnobotanist
Dennis McKenna. They explore ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms in Latvia, Amanita muscaria, and ancient sauna rituals as a kind of “Latvian
ayahuasca,” touching on symbiosis with nature and how psychedelic
experiences can help heal our disconnection from the natural world.
​
Una shares how synchronicities led her from journalism to co-founding
Arterritory, Spiriterritory, and the NGO Veseliba Latvija, and to
organizing the first psychedelic science conferences in Latvia together
with the University of Latvia. The discussion dives into stigma, legal
grey zones, human rights to psychedelic-assisted therapies, and the
Baltic region’s emerging role in the global psychedelic renaissance.
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Michael Coe is an ethnobiologist and applied ecologist with a Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation Biology. As an Assistant Professor at Tarleton State University, his teaching and research focuses on the relationships between humans, ecosystems, and traditional knowledge systems. Passionate about biodiversity and the sustainable management of natural resources, Michael brings a dynamic interdisciplinary perspective, helping to integrate contemporary ethnobiology and ecology with traditional ecological practices to inform sustainable use strategies, conservation priorities, and global medicine security.  Michael is the principal investigator (PI) for the COE LAB where they are conducting hypothesis driven research in ethnobiology and harvest impact assessments on medicinal plants that serve as a primary source of healthcare for over 80% of the world's population. Michael is also the Director for Research and Education for the Pacha Nishi project, a Shipibo-Konibo led effort in the Peruvian Amazon basin seeking to restore 20ha. of degraded land in an agroforestry setting with a primary goal to inform sustainable ayahuasca production in the area as locally sourced sustainably grown medicine.

Michael Coe is an ethnobiologist and applied ecologist with a Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation Biology. As an Assistant Professor at Tarleton State University, his teaching and research focuses on the relationships between humans, ecosystems, and traditional knowledge systems. Passionate about biodiversity and the sustainable management of natural resources, Michael brings a dynamic interdisciplinary perspective, helping to integrate contemporary ethnobiology and ecology with traditional ecological practices to inform sustainable use strategies, conservation priorities, and global medicine security.  Michael is the principal investigator (PI) for the COE LAB where they are conducting hypothesis driven research in ethnobiology and harvest impact assessments on medicinal plants that serve as a primary source of healthcare for over 80% of the world's population. Michael is also the Director for Research and Education for the Pacha Nishi project, a Shipibo-Konibo led effort in the Peruvian Amazon basin seeking to restore 20ha. of degraded land in an agroforestry setting with a primary goal to inform sustainable ayahuasca production in the area as locally sourced sustainably grown medicine.


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Terence McKenna was the stand‑up philosopher of the apocalypse. A cognitive libertarian. The anti‑guru who rejected authority—even his own. Twenty‑five years after his passing, the “Tryptamine Elf King” still haunts the present, reverberating through the sensorium of a new generation.

Inspired by Graham St John’s definitive magnum opus, Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna, the inner circle—the family, the friends, and the co‑conspirators who knew the man behind the myth—came together for an extraordinary online conversation.

PANELISTS BIOGRAPHIES:

Dennis McKenna and his brother Terence first came to S. America in 1971. Their unexpected adventures in pursuit of exotic psychedelics led to some surprising discoveries recounted in Terence’s book, True Hallucinations, and Dennis’ 2012 memoir, The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss. In 1981, Dennis returned to Peru, this time as a graduate student, and began his scientific investigations of ayahuasca. In 2019 he founded the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy.

Graham St John, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist and historian of transformational events, movements, and figures. His new book Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna (MIT Press, Oct 7, 2025) is the latest among his ten books, which also include Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT (North Atlantic Books 2015). Graham is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield, UK.

Tama Starr is an acclaimed author and former president of Artkraft Strauss, the historic company behind Times Square's iconic signs and the New Year’s Eve Ball. A pioneering psychedelic yogi, she is connected to Terence McKenna’s circle and recorded one of his earliest talks. Starr’s work spans literature, business, and psychedelic culture.

R.U. Sirius is a cultural icon best known as founder and editor-in-chief of the influential 1990s cyberdelic magazine Mondo 2000. He authored multiple books including collaborations with Timothy Leary and is also a lyricist and vocalist, currently active with the album The Smarter Kings of Deliria by R.U. Sirius & Phriendz.

Dr. Bruce Damer is an astrobiologist and Chief Scientist at the BIOTA Institute, UC Santa Cruz, known for co-authoring a leading origin-of-life hypothesis. He also pioneers psychedelic insight research through the Center for MINDS and has designed innovative spacecraft concepts for NASA. Damer collaborated with Terence McKenna on early virtual worlds and explores humanity’s cosmic future.

Dan Levy, New York-based since 1988, edited Terence McKenna’s key books: The Archaic Revival, True Hallucinations, and The Invisible Landscape (2nd ed.). An early WELL member, he built pioneering websites for McKenna, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, and more. He taught programming to kids and serves on The Jazz Gallery board.

Lorenzo Hagerty is a former Navy officer turned cyber-lawyer and storyteller, known for founding the Psychedelic Salon podcast. With decades at the crossroads of technology, culture, and consciousness, he explores AI's connection to Terence McKenna’s TimeWave theory through his fiction and public talks.


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