Plants of the Gods: S8E6 Richard Evans Schultes' Legacy — Where Science Meets the Sacred

Vanilla is one of the world's most beloved flavors, but its history is far more complex than most people realize. In this episode of Plants of the Gods, we trace vanilla's journey from its origins in Mexico to its rise as a global commodity. Learn why European powers struggled to cultivate vanilla outside its native habitat, how a 12-year-old enslaved boy named Edmund Albius solved the mystery of its pollination in 1841, and how his discovery transformed the global vanilla industry. We also explore vanilla's role in products ranging from Coca-Cola to tobacco, the rise of synthetic vanillin, and conclude with the orchid that helped confirm one of Charles Darwin's most famous evolutionary predictions!

Vanilla is anything but plain. In fact, this orchid might be one of the sexiest plant in the rainforest. In this episode, Dr. Mark Plotkin traces the ethnobotanical history of vanilla, first used by pre-Columbian cultures in Central America as a component of revered beverages and to perfume sacred temples. An organism of astonishing complexity, vanilla's cured seed pods contain over 250 distinct flavor and fragrance components. Today it's widely used in pharmaceuticals as a flavoring and masking agent, and you'll find it in about half of all dessert products worldwide. By the end of this episode, you'll never take vanilla for granted again!    Show notes:   Abreu-Runkel, Rosa. Vanilla: A Global History. Reaktion Books, Credo Reference, 2025.  Ecott, Tim. Vanilla: Travels in Search of the Ice Cream Orchid. Grove Press, 2018.  Hobhouse, Henry. Seeds of Wealth: Four Plants That Made Men Rich. Macmillan, 2012.  Jennings, Eric Thomas. Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean. Yale University Press, 2025.  Rain, Patricia. 2004. Vanilla. Penguin Tarcher, 2004.   Rosengarten, Fred. 1973. The Book of Spices. Pyramid Books, 1973 .

How do Indigenous knowledge and Western science come together in the study of nature and plant medicine? Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, a chemical biologist and author of The Spirit of the Rainforest, joins Dr. Mark Plotkin to explore ethnobotany, animal self-medication, and the idea that plants and ecosystems may hold forms of intelligence that science is only beginning to understand.   In this episode, Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza shares stories about learning from her grandmother, navigating life between two worlds, and why Indigenous knowledge and scientific research don't have to be in conflict. Show notes: The Spirit of the Rainforest book

Wade Davis, celebrated author and anthropologist, joins Mark Plotkin for a personal reflection on the life and legacy of legendary ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes. Davis traces Schultes' journey from his transformative encounter with peyote to his decades-long odyssey through the Amazon, where he documented Indigenous sacred plant traditions. Together, they explore how Schultes's discoveries — including his collaborations with mycologist Gordon Wasson and chemist Albert Hoffman — helped ignite the psychedelic era, and how his mentorship of Davis inspired the acclaimed book One River.   Show notes:  The Amazonian Travels of Richard Evans Schultes   

Mark Plotkin sits down with Wade Davis — author of One River, Lost Amazon, and dozens more — for a deep dive into one of South America's most misunderstood and miraculous plants. Drawing on their shared history working alongside the legendary Richard Evans Schultes, the two ethnobotanists trace coca from its origins as a sacred, nutritionally rich plant used across Andean and Amazonian cultures to its unjust criminalization driven more by ideology and racism rather than science. Davis also breaks down the differences between the coca leaf, cocaine, and mambe, reflects on lessons from cannabis legalization, and makes a compelling case for why the world should finally embrace coca's extraordinary potential.   Show notes:  "The Secret History of Coca" by Wade Davis for Rolling Stone Magazine: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/coca-leaves-war-on-drugs-cocaine-1235310539/    Books by Wade Davis: https://daviswade.com/books 

In this episode, we're bringing you the second half of our conversation with Dr. Pamela Kryskow.     A co-leader of the largest study on microdosing, she shares what researchers are beginning to understand about how psychedelic plants could treat conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease and chronic pain to existential distress.  But, with so much potential for these plant medicines, there's also the potential for misuse and misinformation. We delve into some of the ways psychedelics could be ethically integrated into patient care, and, what the hospital of the future might look like.    Recommended reading:  The world's largest microdosing study with results published in Nature Scientific Reports and Psychopharmacology | Microdose.me    Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats A Guide to the History, Identification, and Use of Psychoactive Fungi by Paul Stamets    Fantastic Fungi film by Louie Schwartzberg    Have a Good Trip by Eugenia Bone 

How can psylocibin be used to help patients work through traumas that once seemed untreatable? Dr. Pamela Kryskow, a self-described "fungi person" and a scientist, is helping to answer this question and others about the health potential of plant medicines. Dr. Kryskow is a founding board member of the Psychedelic Association of Canada and the medical chair of the Vancouver Island University Post Graduate Certificate in Psychedelic Medicine assisted Therapy.  She is also the medical lead for the Roots To Thrive Program.      In this episode, Dr. Kryskow discusses her research on psychedelics and PTSD, differing patient experiences in synthetic versus whole mushrooms, and medical and therapeutic uses of ketamine.    Show notes:  Roots to Thrive is Canada's first multidisciplinary, non-profit healthcare practice offering evidence-informed, multi-week group therapy programs, including psychedelic-assisted therapy (if prescribed by licensed medical professional) https://rootstothrive.com/   

This is a special joint episode of Plants of the Gods and Brainforest Café.  Host Dr. Mark Plotkin continues his conversation with ethnopharmacologist Dr. Dennis McKenna. They reflect on the origins and impact of the ESPD conferences, launched in 1967, and how these landmark gatherings helped shape the field of ethnopharmacology.   The discussion also explores the enduring legacy of Richard Evans Schultes and his profound influence on ethnobotany. Dennis emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary research and the respectful integration of Indigenous knowledge into modern medicine—an approach that remains vital to the future of psychedelic science.   Show notes:   McKenna Academy https://mckenna.academy/mka-podcast/   ESPD Books: https://mckenna.academy/mka-programs/espd55/#espdbooks  

This is a special joint episode of Plants of the Gods and Brainforest Café.  Plants are virtuoso chemists. Some create molecules that closely resemble the neurotransmitters shaping human consciousness — a mystery that fascinates ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna, PhD.  In Part One of this episode, Dennis explains why psychoactive plants are powerful tools for understanding the relationship between the brain and the mind, and reflects on the legacy of his late brother, Terence McKenna, whose work pushed the boundaries of psychedelic thought. The brothers' experiences with the plant medicines of Indigenous peoples in the Colombian Amazon would go on to shape Dennis' scientific career in profound ways.

Season 8 kicks off February 23 with an interview featuring Dennis McKenna, PhD — a renowned ethnopharmacologist who has spent more than 40 years researching the therapeutic potential of Amazonian plant medicines. Stay tuned for the full interview!