Mangu.TV Podcast

We are excited to host Grace Blest-Hopley on this episode of the Mangu.tv podcast. Dr Grace Blest-Hopley is a neuroscientist with over a decade of research into cannabinoids and psychedelics, and the founder of Hystelica — the world's first research organisation dedicated to understanding female biology for safer, more effective psychedelic use, delivering both original research and education in the field. She holds a PhD in Neuroscience from King's College London, and now serves as Chief Scientific Officer at NWPharmaTech and Research Director at Heroic Hearts Project, where she leads work supporting military veterans living with trauma. Grace has spoken internationally as part of her advocacy for women's representation in psychedelic science.   Grace discusses her upbringing on a Staffordshire farm, her connection to horses, and how experiences in India led her to study neuroscience. She and Giancarlo explore the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids, the challenges of cannabis research, and findings from neuroimaging studies of long-term users, particularly those who started young.Their conversation also covers the rise of psychedelic-assisted therapy, the importance of preparation and integration, and Grace’s work with the Heroic Hearts Project, where she witnessed the benefits of Ayahuasca ceremonies with the Shipibo people. Grace explains how psychedelics may create a window of increased neuroplasticity, offering opportunities to rewire the brain. She also discusses her research into women’s health, examining how hormonal fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle can influence psychedelic experiences and their therapeutic potential.

We are delighted to host Marieke McKenna on this episode of the Mangu.tv podcast. Marieke McKenna (London, 1994) is a Scottish-Dutch philosopher, historian, artistic researcher, and performance artist. Her work explores metaphysics, phenomenology, consciousness studies, spirituality, ecology, and philosophies of nature through interdisciplinary research and embodied practice. She is an expert on cross-cultural perspectives on dreaming and other altered states of consciousness.For the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, she led the research project History of Lucid Dreaming Research, the first oral-historical examination of the emergence of lucid dreaming as an object of scientific inquiry. In collaboration with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, the project combined oral history, philosophy, and cross-cultural anthropological research into how different cultures and traditions understand dreaming, with hands-on experience in neuroscience sleep laboratories conducting EEG and fMRI research on the dreaming brain.Outside academia, Marieke, who is based in The Netherlands, is an award-winning artist and curator, with performances and lectures at institutions including the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum. She is the host of her own national radio show on NPO Radio 2, for which she selects music from across the globe, and has taught at various universities, conservatoires, and institutes, including Advaya and the Embassy of the Free Mind.Giancarlo and Marieke discuss idealism, interconnectedness, and how dreamwork nurtures healing and belonging. They speak about lucid dreaming in therapy, indigenous perspectives, and technology’s encroachment into “inner space,” debating AI, advertising in dreams, collective consciousness, telepathy, quantum theory, and the mind’s creative potential.

We are delighted to host Tree Carr on this episode of the Mangu.tv podcast series.Tree is a published author and TEDx speaker working in Transpersonal Psychology, with a focus on dreams, death, altered states, and psychedelic integration. She is a graduate of Alef Trust in their programme with Dr. David Luke, and has studied at MetaIntegral Academy in California with Dr. Sean Esbjörn-Hargens. She is a CPD Crossfields Institute Certified Death Doula, with further studies at Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture with Dr. Jack Hunter and Arthur Findlay College of Psychic Sciences.  Tree teaches courses on dreamwork and quantum dreaming at The College of Psychic Studies, as well as lectures and workshops with The Psychedelic Society UK. Tree also leads international retreats exploring dreams and consciousness.Tree shares the story of her upbringing on a commune in Georgia, away from mainstream culture. She speaks about a near-death experience at four, which opened her to psychic and lucid states, and an interest in esoteric studies and plant medicines in her teens. Tree speaks about her twenties onwards, in London, with an evolving spiritual practice, and how profound experiences around death led her to seek mentorship and step into spiritual service at forty. Giancarlo and Tree speak about death and consciousness. Tree shares stories of her work as a death doula and integrating dreaming and death work, as well as her passion for teaching Quantum Dreaming, a field she has explored for over a decade.

We are excited to host Monika Aimie Greenfield on this episode of the Mangu.tv podcast.Monika is a Women’s Empowerment Coach, Somatic Therapist & Feminine Embodiment Guide. She works with women around the world to overcome wounds around their self-worth and come home to their full power and potential, through childhood trauma resolution, somatic healing and embodied belief and behaviour change.Monika takes a woman-centred lens to transformation and, in her work, explores themes of self-worth, childhood trauma, embodiment, and the female experience. She is an ACC Accredited Coach, Wild Feminine Facilitator®️ and has completed professional training with world-renowned trauma expert, Dr Gabor Maté, in his revolutionary approach to trauma healing, Compassionate Inquiry®️. This modality is woven into her practice, alongside transformational coaching, self-esteem development, and feminine embodiment, to create truly transformational experiences for women seeking to reclaim their full power, agency and expression.Monika shares the story of her upbringing in London, and speaks about key moments during her childhood that influenced the work she does today: her father's emigration to Australia and the loss of her brother. Monika discusses the various practices and years of self-discovery that she endured, as well as the route and training that led her to somatic therapy, coaching, and working with women.Giancarlo and Monika explore the intersection of psychotherapy and coaching, discussing healing, empowerment, self-actualisation, and the interplay between career ambition and the pursuit of purpose for mental well-being.

We are delighted to host Benjamin Phelan on this episode of the ⁠mangu.tv⁠ podcast series. Benjamin Phelan is state-licensed in psychedelic-assisted therapy and has been in practice for the past twelve years, working with people from all walks of life. In addition to studies in psychology at Oberlin College, the University of Colorado and Naropa University, he has travelled extensively throughout Asia and South America studying non-Western approaches to mental health and spirituality. His approach combines transpersonal and depth psychology with Eastern and indigenous philosophies. He served as a writer for the documentary “Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicines” and created the content for the AyaGuide personal development app.Benjamin speaks about his upbringing in Boulder, Colorado, at a time of the Beat poets, Nixon administration and the growing use of psychedelics for cultural change. He shares his first experience with psychedelics and speaks about how it opened up the language of non-human things. He talks about his rediscovery of psychedelics later in life, and how it led him to leave the corporate world and devote his life fully to the exploration of consciousness. Giancarlo and Ben discuss the ego and the soul. They talk about the value of therapy and guidance with psychedelics. Ben shares the importance of a daily practice to give a ‘leg up’ to the richness of the interior world. He speaks about scientists' ability to measure enhanced brain states, found during meditation, prayer and altered states.

We are delighted to host Rose Uzunova on this episode of the Mangu.tv podcast series. Rose is currently chief community officer at the Psychedelic Science of Funders Collaborative PCFC, where she cultivates a network of informed, connected philanthropists to drive systemic change in psychedelic science. Previously, she spent over 15 years in finance, including roles on Wall Street, before transitioning into philanthropy and impact-driven community building. As an unreasonable mentor, she merges her financial acumen with heart-centred leadership, fostering collaboration and innovation in global, social and scientific initiatives. Her background combines strategic vision, fundraising capacity and a deep interest in advancing psychedelic research through community funding and advocacy.Rose reflects on her childhood in communist Bulgaria, filled with arts and self-discovery. She speaks about her transition to a more academic environment, and her decision to move to Wisconsin, which gave her better social, academic and professional opportunities. Rose discusses her time in finance with top firms like Morgan Stanley and BlackRock, before her interests shifted towards spiritual healing and psychedelics. She shares her first experience with Ayahuasca and her journey with The Medicine of the Four Directions. Giancarlo and Rose speak about the use of psychedelic medicine and the need for therapy and careful integration. They highlight the importance of creating safe spaces for psychedelic use, ensuring thorough medical history assessments, follow-ups, and integration support. Rose shares her life's purpose, to be a channel for dharmic work for the benefit of all beings’ happiness and freedom from suffering.

We are excited to invite Mathia Milani back for another episode on the Mangu.tv podcast series. Mathia Milani is one of the founders of Tierra Iris, a living ecosystem rooted in Ibiza and expanding beyond it. What began as an experiment in regenerative farming has grown into an ongoing practice of community living — where land, relationships, and shared responsibility are learned through daily life. Tierra Iris brings together creative and conscious people to explore what it truly means to live and work together: navigating care, conflict, commitment, and reciprocity in alignment with natural cycles. It is both a home and a learning field — imperfect, alive, and continuously evolving. In addition, he is developing a retreat centre in Tuscany called Madre Selva.Mathia speaks about experimental living, sharing some of the challenging moments he experienced during the process of creating and growing Tierra Iris. Giancarlo and Mathia discuss the impact of community living, sharing their own experiences of spaces in Ibiza,  and the benefits of these places for growth and development. Mathia shares his plans for his new project, Madre Selva, a retreat centre in Tuscany and speaks about the space and the practices they intend to share from there.

We are delighted to host Dr Ansgar Rougemont-Bücking on this episode of the mangu.tv podcast. Ansgar is a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, researcher, and author specialising in addiction, traumatic dissociation, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. His integrative, transdisciplinary work combines neuroscience, depth psychology, and cultural analysis to examine how unresolved trauma shapes individual and collective behaviour. In his book Vampirocene: How Structural Traumatic Dissociation Is Leading Society into a Spiral of Violence (2023), he proposes the concept of a collective Stockholm syndrome to explain the normalisation of neglect and structural violence. He describes three contemporary traumatic archetypes: the vampire (narcissistic self-exaggeration), the zombie (dehumanisation), and the werewolf (rage born from fear and deprivation). Rougemont-Bücking calls for a "culture of conscience" to move beyond the dynamics of division and oppression characteristic of the Vampirocene toward a more empathetic, caring Anthropocene.Ansgar speaks about his upbringing in Germany and how it influenced his decision to work with psychotherapy and psychedelics. He shares his academic journey, from studying medicine to specialising in neurology and psychiatry. Ansgar speaks about a challenging moment in his life, and his subsequent discovery of holotropic breathwork & psychedelics. He discusses some of the inspiration behind his book, including authors and studies on traumatic dissociation, as well as three traumatic archetypes.

We are delighted to host Nicolas Ronco on this episode of the Mangu.tv podcast series. Nicolas is a global entrepreneur and wellness visionary, with over 25 years of experience spanning wellness, hospitality, technology and media. Founder of YeloSpa, he pioneered an urban sanctuary concept, combining sleep therapy, reflexology, and design, establishing a global benchmark for modern wellness with locations in New York, São Paulo, and San Joan. Previously, he held leadership roles at Time Warner, Trader Classified Media, and Make Music Inc., driving innovation and generating significant revenue growth.  Nicolas has also advised top brands through Groups of Humans and Hope.Tech. Vice Chair of the Immersion Initiative at the Global Wellness Institute, he champions holistic wellbeing worldwide. Educated in Paris and New York, and fluent in three languages, he continues to guide global wellness ventures with cultural and business insights.Nicolas shares the story of his upbringing in Tunisia, with Jewish & Italian heritage and his education in Paris. He speaks about a mystical experience that happened to him whilst living in New York, following a visit to Guru Mai’s ashram, and the impact it had on his life. He shares his first experience with psychedelics later on in life, in Alto Paraiso. Nico talks about his relationships, his struggles with prostate cancer and the benefits he gained from psychedelics. Giancarlo and Nico discuss attachment styles, reincarnation, and altered states of consciousness.

We are excited to host Raffaello Manacorda on this episode of the Mangu.tv podcast series. Raffaello is an international Tantra teacher and practitioner with over 15 years of experience. He has undergone intensive training in various styles of Yoga. After completing a Master’s degree in Philosophy, Raffaello spent more than twelve years living in alternative communities, experimenting with radically alternative lifestyles. During this period, he encountered Tantra, which developed into a lifelong practice. He serves as lead faculty at the International School of Temple Arts (ISTA) and teaches and lectures worldwide. Raffaello is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Wisdom Studies at Ubiquity University in California. He is also the co-creator of the ISTA Practitioner Training, a program for coaches and practitioners in the field of conscious sexuality. Raffaello discusses conscious sexuality, from his perspective, breaking down the three parts within us from a scientific, political and spiritual framework as well as sharing his perspective on unconscious sexuality.  He looks at the origins, necessity and problematic nature of polarity in sexuality. Giancarlo and Raffaello discuss to what extent conscious sexuality can be a transpersonal practice. They speak about some of the most controversial sexual practices, and polarities of non-consensual enlightenment vs. a hyper-individualised society and cult of consent. Furthermore, at which point an individual is a set of habits, beliefs and preconceptions, with experiences informed by discomfort and ego, etc. They share a need for a happy medium, over the tendency to lean towards extremes.