Altered Mates

Two mates navigating altered states

About the show

Altered Mates is a podcast where two mates, each fascinated by altered states, meet to discuss the psychedelic experience and its implications for society, culture, health, science, and philosophy.

Alejandro is novelist and a teacher of english and psychology. Tobias is an academic and a lecturer in social work and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

Our conversations are always grounded in our own direct experiences with a range of ‘altered’ states of consciousness.

Hero of the podcast, William James, suggests that, “Our normal waking consciousness… is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different… No account of the universe in its totality can be final which leaves these other forms of consciousness quite disregarded.”

You could say that we are trying to construct a better account of our universe, and we are taking James’ advice to heart, by seriously regarding those “other” forms of consciousness.

Through our research and our subsequent discussions, we seek to find, update, and/or create, working models of the mind, and of reality, that help us to make sense of our world.

We endeavour to integrate our own psychedelic experiences through the power of conversation. But we also seek to integrate the revelations of “the” psychedelic experience, and come to terms with the implications, from cultural, philosophical, and spiritual perspectives.

Having said all that, we’re also just two normal blokes who enjoy each other’s company. And our fancy Socratic dialogues are filtered through our own unique brand of Australian banter. After all, we’re just two mates trying to enjoy our limited time on this planet, and to create a more meaningful life for ourselves and our community while we’re here.

Altered Mates on social media

Episodes

  • Episode 22: Ayahuasca and The Fear

    March 19th, 2025  |  1 hr 3 mins
    ayahuasca

    Wherein we continue our discussion on some of our most profound and significant personal experiences with ayahuasca over the past ten years, and specifically, Alejandro's most recent and most terrifying.

  • Episode 21: On Ayahuasca

    February 26th, 2025  |  1 hr 24 mins
    ayahuasca

    Wherein we discuss some of our most profound and significant personal experiences with ayahuasca over the past ten years.

  • Episode 20: Surrender!

    October 9th, 2024  |  1 hr 29 mins
    ayahuasca, mushrooms

    Break the loop, de-armour the ego, surrender to the medicine, and follow your Daimon…

  • Episode 19: A Glimpse of Eternity

    September 25th, 2024  |  59 mins 27 secs
    ayahuasca, tobacco

    This episode of the podcast features Alejandro reading two chapters from his debut novel, A Glimpse of Eternity—published in 2022, and based on his own transformational journey to South America in 2016.

  • Episode 18: Coming out of the psychedelic closet

    September 11th, 2024  |  46 mins 49 secs
    ayahuasca

    In this episode of the podcast, the Altered Mates each take a turn in reading a personal essay. Both essays amount to a “coming out” of the psychedelic closet, not just to our friends and families, but to the wider community.

  • Episode 17: The Big Lez Show — Choomah Island 2

    August 28th, 2024  |  1 hr 40 mins
    mushrooms

    In this episode we discuss "Choomah Island 2", the season three finale of Australian animated series, The Big Lez Show

  • Episode 16: On “Cracked: Why Psychiatry is Doing More Harm Than Good”

    August 14th, 2024  |  1 hr 21 mins
    psychiatry

    In this episode we use James Davies’ book “Cracked: Why Psychiatry is Doing More Harm Than Good” as a launch pad to discuss some of the glaring issues with psychiatry its sugar-daddy; the pharmaceutical industry.

  • Episode 15: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    July 24th, 2024  |  57 mins 48 secs
    psychiatry, schizophrenia

    In this episode, we use the film adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as a launching point to discuss ideas related to psychiatry, psychiatric wards, and more broadly, the conflict between the individual and the establishment in society.

  • Episode 14: Reflection & Intention

    July 3rd, 2024  |  1 hr 2 mins
    ayahuasca, embodiment

    This episode provided an opportunity for Alejandro to "hold space..." while Tobias reflected on the year of 2023 and considered his intentions for an upcoming ayahuasca ceremony.

  • Episode 13: Confrontation with the Unconscious: Part Two — Psychosis in Jung’s Psychology

    June 12th, 2024  |  1 hr 19 mins
    carl jung, psychosis, schizophrenia, scott hill

    Alternative episode title: "Me, Myself, Irene, and a bunch of Hobgoblins in A Midsummer Night’s Dream…"
    In this episode, we conclude our two-part discussion on Scott Hill’s book, Confrontation with the Unconscious. Chapter 8, the subject of this episode, concerns itself with an exploration of psychosis in Jungian Psychology.

  • Episode 12: Confrontation with the Unconscious: Part One — Psychedelic Experience and Psychosis

    May 22nd, 2024  |  1 hr 41 mins
    carl jung, psychosis, schizophrenia, scott hill

    In this episode we discuss a chapter from Scott Hill’s book, Confrontation with the Unconscious. It was our intention to cover two chapters, but in the end we managed to get through only Chapter 7: “Psychedelic Experience and Psychosis”.

  • Episode 11: Giving LSD to kids! (…to treat severe childhood schizophrenia)

    May 1st, 2024  |  55 mins 42 secs
    lsd, psychosis, schizophrenia

    Gary Fisher -- "Treatment of Childhood Schizophrenia Utilizing LSD and Psilocybin"

  • Episode 10: Czech, mate! Psychedelic Research in Communist Czechoslovakia

    April 10th, 2024  |  51 mins 8 secs
    czechoslovakia, psychosis, schizophrenia

    From experimental psychosis to resolving traumatic pasts: Psychedelic Research in Communist Czechoslovakia, 1954‑1974

  • Episode 9: From Pepe Silvia to Geshinka: the curious domains of psychosis

    March 20th, 2024  |  1 hr 15 mins
    psychosis, schizophrenia

    In this episode we explore the mainstream medical understanding of the domains of schizophrenia and psychosis.

  • Episode 8: Monsters & Masculinity: delving further into the Jungian Shadow

    February 28th, 2024  |  45 mins 10 secs
    carl jung, the shadow

    In this episode we continue our exploration of the Jungian Shadow in our lives and in literature. The two texts covered in this episode are “A Monster Calls” and “Fight Club”.

  • Episode 7: Jung, The Shadow, and A Wizard of Earthsea

    February 7th, 2024  |  1 hr 11 mins
    carl jung, the shadow

    In this episode we unpack Jung’s concept of The Shadow and consider its manifestation in the classic work of fantasy fiction “A Wizard of Earthsea”, written by Ursula Le Guin.