Psychonaut!
The Hamilton Morris Podcast review
Rating – 
I first heard about Hamilton Morris many years ago. So long in fact, I can’t actually remember where it was. I do remember that it was a multi part documentary entitled “Nzambi”, about the history and authenticity of so-called “zombie powder”. You know, the stuff in horror films that once blown in your face will turn you into a shambling, mindless automaton.
From there, I dove into his YouTube channel, and marveled not only at his enthusiasm for strong psychedelics, but his deep knowledge of chemistry. When I recently found out about his podcast, I obviously subscribed, and eagerly delved into this new chapter of his online presence. It’s also been a while since I reviewed a science podcast, so I figured a change is as good as a rest right?
So what’s it about?
For years now, Hamilton has been the face of the more esoteric study of little known substances for Vice. He travels the world trying some truly remarkable concoctions, from flora, fauna, and laboratory. This is never glorified though. Hearing the stories behind how these chemicals work is truly magical, something that Hamilton knows, as you can tell when he talks to the chemists who synthesize and study them.
This podcast is similar to his TV and video investigations, but seems to be more skewed to actual scientific analysis. He interviews scientists, botanists, researchers, and activists and meets them on their own ground. There is no “dumbing down” here. This is just a discussion between people equally passionate about the subject, enjoying the chance to be themselves.
Is it any good?
This is an extremely interesting podcast. If all you’re into is stories and footage of people taking psychedelics and getting silly, then this isn’t for you. Check out the countless YouTube channels for that. This is a rather heavy going show that is mostly chemistry based.
I’ll be honest here. I don’t profess to understand the in-depth chemistry discussion. There is an awful lot of jargon being thrown around, but there is enough nonprofessional speak that you can understand the gist of the conversation. When you get to the interviews with political campaigners then the language is a lot easier to grasp, even at the expense of annoyance at the hypocrisy and blinkered views of the government.
For those of you who have an aversion to “vocal fry”, then you may not be able to handle Hamilton’s quiescent, croaky tones. Also, the sound quality isn’t always great. A lot of the interviews early on seem to be recorded from Zoom calls, where Hamilton just has a mic by his PC speakers. This doesn’t detract from the information here though, at least, not for me.
Final thoughts
From a pharmacological point of view, Hamilton Morris is a true pioneer of shedding light on this fascinating area of science. Where once you would have to try and follow the excitable ramblings of Sasha Shulgin, or the religiosity of Terence McKenna or Tim Leary, Morris is a great way to dive into the subject (even if you don’t understand a lot of the technical stuff).
As I said earlier, he also has a series on YouTube called Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia, which is similar, and I would probably recommend over this as a starting point.
You can get The Hamilton Morris Podcast here:
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods