Backstory: Matt Lowe on Psychedelics and Well-Being

Santiago speaks with Matt Lowe about “Psychedelics and Well-Being: An Experiment in Brazil,” coauthored with Patrick Francois and Ieda Matavelli. Matt takes us behind the scenes of the project: how the idea began, what it meant to study psychedelics as economists, and how the team navigated a topic that is making waves in other fields. He also reflects on the importance of building trust with an ayahuasca center, and how that relationship opened the door to a richer research design than the team initially imagined. Join us for the backstory behind this project!The working paper version is available at: https://mattjlowe.github.io/files/Francois%20Lowe%20Matavelli%20(18dec25)%20Psychedelics.pdf