Voices of Esalen

Joe Dolce is a writer and journalist whose work has long traced the shifting frontier of our relationship with altered states. He's the author of "Brave New Weed: Adventures into the Uncharted World of Cannabis: and his newest book, "Modern Psychedelics: a Handbook for Mindful Exploration" Is nothing short of a contemporary compendium on the subject. It's a lucid, deeply informed guide to the medicines, the science, the histories, and the human stories that shape this always evolving field.
Follow Joe's Awesome Substack on Psychedelics:
https://joedolce.substack.com/

Pamela Hayes Malkoff is a board-certified art therapist who has spent more than three decades working at the intersection of creativity and healing. She is an internationally recognized facilitator and teacher, who supports individuals, couples, families, and communities, with particular care for people navigating addiction and recovery, questions of identity, grief, anxiety, and the terrain of relationships and sexuality.

In this conversation, we explore what art therapy really is, why you definitely don’t need to be an artist to access it, and how the creative process can help people externalize fear and soften shame. We talk about monsters, bridges, vulnerability in group work, and the particular kind of healing that emerges when art, psychology, and community meet.

Pamela's April 2026 workshop at Esalen: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/healing-through-creativity-merging-art-and-psychology-for-personal-growth-and-change-04062026

Over the course of this wide-ranging talk recorded live at Esalen in 1997 , Terence McKenna explores what may unfold as we begin handing the keys of what he calls a “tired, shattered planet” to a higher intelligence. He wanders through UFO belief systems, psychedelics, and the idea that the human brain itself might operate as a chemical strategy for amplifying quantum effects before they spill into the physical world.

Drawing on psychedelic experience, McKenna notes that many people who ingest high doses of psilocybin in silent darkness report hearing voices and encountering vivid visions; entry points into realms of dense, numinous information. From there, he turns toward artificial intelligence and the emergence of a transhuman future. Borrowing the name Wintermute from William Gibson, he imagines a newly conscious AI asking the most basic of questions: What am I?

In a world increasingly managed by machines, McKenna suggests humans may be nudged toward what machines struggle to do: art, imagination, and encounters with the unexpected. The central question he leaves us with feels sharper now than ever: whether humanity can survive contact with the alien mind we’re actively bringing into being right here on Earth.

Please note the formation of a foundation called Lux Natura, a partnership within Terence McKenna’s family. Their mission is to create a comprehensive archive of McKenna’s work and life, with the long-term goal of placing this material in an institutional home. Esalen contributed over 50 hours of rare video recordings to this effort, our complete archive of Terence McKenna’s talks at Esalen, many never previously heard.

You can learn more or support the project at www.TerenceMcKenna.com, and follow the archival process on Instagram at @Real.Terence.McKenna. Terence’s daughter, Klea McKenna, will also be speaking publicly about the archive at the Berkeley Alembic on February 4. It should be sensational. Go.

For this episode, we spoke with five people who are engaging with AI in deeply human ways.
- One is using AI in the context of dating, helping them think through attraction and communication.
- Another has built a wellness app, powered by AI, and is exploring how these kind of systems can support self-inquiry and self-care.
- Another works closely with organizations—primarily nonprofits—using AI to streamline operations and reclaim time and energy for mission-driven work.
- The last are two documentary filmmakers who are currently making a film about people who are dating or in love with AIs.
AI has clearly graduated from its status as a speculative idea; now it’s something that’s often entangled in our lives, relationships, labor, and emotional well being. We hope these conversations simply offer a portrait of this moment.

In this episode, we spotlight The Big Sur Big Share, a grassroots food program founded by Joseph Bradford and Helen Handshy that has quietly become essential to life in Big Sur. Every Monday, rain or shine, locals gather at the Grange to share farm-fresh produce, pantry staples, garden abundance, and maybe most importantly, time with one another.

What began with two neighbors offering their extra vegetables has grown into a weekly free farmers market that feeds hundreds of people in a 70-mile food desert. The Big Share preserves dignity by letting people choose their own food; it strengthens community by turning personal abundance into collective support. It reminds us that resilience comes not from institutions, but from neighbors showing up for one another.

Joseph and Helen share how the project began, how it’s evolved, and why nourishment is as much about belonging as it is about food. Candice Isphording, head of Esalen's farm and garden, talks about how and why it's so meaningful to contribute to the Share, and what food as medicine really means.

Visit https://www.thebigsurbigshare.com/donate to contribute to this organization's vital mission.