Room for interpretation

Stoned Ape Revisited: What Psychedelics Do (and Don’t) — A Conversation with Dr Jakob Vinther

What do psychedelics actually do? Why do they feel so different from other drugs? And could they be far older than the 1960s counterculture? In this episode, Ask speaks with paleontologist Jakob Vinther (University of Bristol) about the neuroscience behind psychedelic experiences — how they interact with serotonin receptors, why the default mode network matters, and what explains both the intensity and the risks of these states. They discuss why psychedelics don’t behave like stimulants or sedatives, what really causes a “bad trip,” and why set and setting are so crucial. Jakob then lays out a revised, testable version of the Stoned Ape hypothesis: the idea that early humans may have carried psychedelic mushrooms with them as they migrated across the world, making these substances a much older part of the human story than we usually think. A clear, grounded look at the science — and the deep history — of psychedelics.

Staying engaged in a miserable world: An exchange with Poya Pakzad

In this first episode of Room for Interpretation, sociologist and therapist Ask Foldspang Neve speaks with Poya Pakzad — co-founder of Eftertryk, columnist at Information, and author of the daily Gaza Brief — about what it means to stay engaged in a world that feels increasingly unchangeable. They discuss Palestine, activism, burnout, and the erosion of faith in collective action — and ask how we might keep our moral and emotional imagination alive when despair seems more rational than hope.