The Life Stylist

Can a natural drug get you off drugs?

Co-founder of Ambio Life Sciences and one of the leading voices on ibogaine, Jonathan has spent over 15 years inside the clinical, traditional, and research sides of this medicine.

Being handed a Zoloft prescription after a nine-item questionnaire became his first real entry into altered states, a lens on the world that also left him feeling trapped. Harm reduction research in Vancouver and the NAOMI heroin trial pulled him into drug policy, where ibogaine became the bridge between that world and psychedelics.

My own history with opiate withdrawal and Effexor comes in, along with the paradox at the center of this field: a psychoactive substance that helps people put down other substances. You'll hear about Jonathan's first Bwiti initiation in Gabon, the Stanford research on Navy SEALs, and why the real work happens in the weeks after the ceremony.

You'll learn:

[0:00] Introduction
[4:18] The literature that pulled Jonathan toward altered states
[11:10] Effexor samples my Century City psychiatrist left in the bushes
[19:41] Harm reduction and prescribing heroin to stabilize addicts
[24:13] A spiritual experience as the seed of Alcoholics Anonymous
[34:56] Reconciling the paradox of using drugs to get off drugs
[43:48] Agency and reconnection ibogaine gives beyond withdrawal
[51:05] Years of low ibogaine doses and a helicopter sound on the beach
[1:01:30] Bwiti initiation in Gabon with 72 grams of iboga
[1:16:13] Initiation as a door rather than a qualification
[1:22:27] What iboga is and where it grows in Gabon
[1:36:02] Semi-synthetic ibogaine and the voacangine supply chain
[1:41:49] A Fang Nganga told in a vision to plant iboga trees
[1:51:25] How substances keep us attached by enabling flow states
[2:10:26] The Stanford study that shook the regulatory world
[2:20:27] Whether the executive order opens the floodgates for other psychedelics

Resources Mentioned:

Read: Writing on Drugs by Sadie Plant | Book
Ibogaine | Wikipedia
Iboga | Wikipedia
The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI): Profile of Participants in North America’s First Trial of Heroin-Assisted Treatment by Oviedo-Joekes et al. | Article
Blessings of the Forest | Website
Bufo Toad | Wikipedia
Paul F. Austin | Website
Dock Phillip Ellis Jr., LSD No Hitter | Wikipedia
Read: Tryptamine Palace: 5-MeO-DMT and the Sonoran Desert Toad by James Oroc | Book
In Waves and War | IMDb

Full show notes at lukestorey.com/ibogaine

Find more from Jonathan:

Jonathan Dickinson | Website | Instagram
Ambio Life Sciences | Website | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube
Read: Ibogaine and the Bicameral Mind: The Transformational Potential of the World's Most Complex Psychedelic Medicine by Jonathan Dickinson | Book

Find more from Luke:

Luke Storey | Website | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | LinkedIn

My new book, A Horse Named Lonesome, launches November 17, 2026. Pre-order now at ahorsenamedlonesome.com and get bonuses: access to my Inner Circle Book Club, an exclusive Lonesome Conversations six-part miniseries, and an ebook transcript of the series.

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In this Lonesome Conversation, Joel and I explore his reframe that "aloneness can become all oneness" — that you can learn to connect with the earth and sun so deeply you're never truly alone, even in solitude. He shares the story of a teacher who spent 18 years alone doing shamanic practice, and makes the case that intentional solitude, far from something to fear, can be an actual lifeline. A grounding look at why most of us lack the tools to be alone well, and how they can be learned.
About Joel
Joel Schafer is a personal empowerment mentor and shamanic dreaming arts teacher. Through online courses, one-on-one mentoring, and in-person workshops, Joel trains people in a highly effective way to reclaim vital energy and attention utilizing the Toltec knowledge base. These are powerful, non-linear redistribution techniques that guide and support students in discovering clear purpose, increasing awareness, getting grounded, reclaiming focus, & accessing strong intent. Joel is also an excellent listener and mirror, offering practical but magical solutions to life's challenges.

Lonesome Conversations Limited Series
Lonesome Conversations is a special series from The Life Stylist, built around my new book, A Horse Named Lonesome (out November 17, 2026). Loneliness is something almost everyone goes through, and almost nobody talks about honestly. So I sat down with psychologists, philosophers, trauma therapists, teachers, and friends to find the truth about loneliness, and how we heal from it. Each episode is its own conversation, but together they walk the same ground the book maps out. (Pre-order your copy at ahorsenamedlonesome.com) You'll find new episodes alongside our regular show over the coming months.

This conversation with Ross Rosenberg goes straight into the heart of my recovery story—from childhood trauma, shame, addiction, and compulsive behavior to the lifelong process of learning how to genuinely love and accept myself.
We explore loneliness as an underlying driver of addiction, why our attempts to fill that void often create even more separation, and how healing can transform suffering into empathy, purpose, and service. I also get into the deeper story behind A Horse Named Lonesome and the roadmap back to connection woven throughout the book.

We’ve been ingesting microplastics, and no one is talking about it.

That result is what first got David Roberts, co-founder and managing partner of Mara Labs, interested in microplastics.

Most broccoli supplements don't contain what their labels claim. One doctor even teared up in front of him at a conference when they realized what they'd been recommending for years. The GLP-1 side effect story is even uglier than the headlines suggest, with nearly 4,000 lawsuits and up to 40% of lost weight coming from muscle.

Where do microplastics accumulate? Why is your dryer lint a warning sign? What do fenugreek and beta-glucan do in the gut? And what’s the two-step pathway that mobilizes plastic out of your cells and into your stool?

If you've ever wondered whether the supplements you're taking are actually reaching your cells, this one will change how you shop.

For the next week, The Life Stylist listeners can get an exclusive 25% off all Mara Labs products when you go to mara-labs.com/luke and use code LUKE at checkout. After that, code LUKE will still get you 15% off.

You'll learn:

[0:00] Introduction
[5:34] The companies selling sugar also promote the weight-loss solution
[19:36] Glucoraphanin grew breast cancer cells while sulforaphane killed them
[31:39] A patent-pending carrier molecule that smuggles compounds through the gut barrier
[38:47] Zeroing in on microplastics after an independent researcher's sulforaphane study
[54:22] Three biggest bang-for-your-buck steps to reduce microplastic exposure
[1:09:00] Microplastics accumulating in the brain and testes
[1:13:20] Hidden microplastic sources from black takeout containers to pyramid tea bags
[1:29:48] Fillers and flow agents can make up more than half of a capsule
[1:38:04] The two-step detox strategy behind MicroPlastX
[1:49:24] Mobilizing microplastics differs from detox protocols that trigger the detox flu
[1:56:49] Inflammation markers dropping about 30% in 24 hours and acne clearing in two weeks

Resources Mentioned:

Luv & Yum Pancakes | Website
Solea Bakes Pancakes | Website
Berberine | Wikipedia
Berberine treats atherosclerosis via a vitamin-like effect down-regulating Choline-TMA-TMAO production pathway in gut microbiota by Ma et al. | Article
Glucoraphanin | Wikipedia
NRF2 | Wikipedia
The Sprouting Company | Website
Resveratrol | Wikipedia
Fenugreek | Wikipedia
Beta-Glucan | Wikipedia

Full show notes at lukestorey.com/mara3

Find more from David:

David Roberts - Mara Labs | Website | Instagram | Facebook | X | TikTok | YouTube

Find more from Luke:

Luke Storey | Website | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | LinkedIn

My new book, A Horse Named Lonesome, launches November 17, 2026. Pre-order now at ahorsenamedlonesome.com and get bonuses: access to my Inner Circle Book Club, an exclusive Lonesome Conversations six-part miniseries, and an ebook transcript of the series.

The Life Stylist is Brought To You By:

QUANTUM UPGRADE | Visit lukestorey.com/quantumupgrade and use code LUKE15 to start your 15-day free trial.

BIOPTIMIZERS | Visit bioptimizers.com/luke and use code LUKE15 to save 15% off sitewide.

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In this Lonesome Conversation, Cal and I discuss a kind of loneliness that has nothing to do with being alone — the "island in your own home" feeling that comes from not sharing what you're struggling with, even with a partner who'd drop everything for you. Cal is disarmingly honest about how pride and shame, usually around money, keep him from letting his wife in, and how every time he finally does, he's met with a grace that shocks him. A tender look at how the wall we feel between us and the people we love is one we quietly build ourselves.
About Cal
Cal is a former trader turned seeker of truth and human potential and the host of The Great Unlearn—a podcast inviting listeners to question old narratives and reconnect with what’s real.
After leaving behind a successful career in finance, Cal stepped into a more intentional life—one centered around curiosity, self-inquiry, and personal freedom. Through The Great Unlearn, he holds space for meaningful conversations with entrepreneurs, rebels, and mystics who challenge the status quo and offer new ways of seeing the world.
He’s also the founder of Unlearn Ventures—an incubator, fund, and venture studio supporting bold, conscious projects that expand possibility and prioritize people over profit.

Lonesome Conversations Limited Series
Lonesome Conversations is a special series from The Life Stylist, built around my new book, A Horse Named Lonesome (out November 17, 2026). Loneliness is something almost everyone goes through, and almost nobody talks about honestly. So I sat down with psychologists, philosophers, trauma therapists, teachers, and friends to find the truth about loneliness, and how we heal from it. Each episode is its own conversation, but together they walk the same ground the book maps out. (Pre-order your copy at ahorsenamedlonesome.com) You'll find new episodes alongside our regular show over the coming months.