Dr. Harold Kudler on Veterans, Science, and the Search for Meaning

Our guest on this episode is Dr. Harold Kudler, a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, former co-chair of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Special Committee on PTSD, and member of the American Psychiatric Association's psychedelics workgroup. Our conversation journeys through historical understandings of trauma, military psychiatry, and psychedelic medicine. Along the way, Dr. Harold revisits figures ranging from Charcot, Freud, and W.H.R. Rivers to William James and John Keats, considering the longstanding tension in psychiatric care between science and magic. Throughout, Dr. Harold offers a nuanced perspective that resists easy answers, embracing scientific rigor while acknowledging that healing may involve dimensions of meaning, ritual, relationship, and altered consciousness that medicine does not fully explain.Drawing on decades of work with veterans, Dr. Harold maps historical understandings of PTSD and its treatment. With caution and hope, he explores important questions such as:Can psychedelics help restore meaning and human connection after devastating experiences?Are the visionary aspects of psychedelic experiences side effects—or central to their healing potential?How do clinicians balance evidence-based medicine with the enduring human pull toward transcendence and transformation?This episode is a thoughtful exploration of trauma, longing for mystery, and the enduring question at the heart of both psychotherapy and psychedelic medicine: How do we help people find their way back to a world that feels worth living in?