High at work: why so many people are microdosing

Host Isabel Berwick investigates claims that microdosing improves performance at work. It’s well known that in Silicon Valley some executives have taken to ingesting very small amounts of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, in the belief that it increases concentration and productivity. But there are also soft-touch versions, known as nootropics or ‘smart drugs’, which include legal mushroom varieties and are said to have similar effects. Isabel and her team try them out at Shroom Town Cafe, a pop-up in central London, and she speaks to Jakobien van der Weijden, co-founder of the Microdosing Institute in the Netherlands. Want more?How safe is your psychedelic trip? https://www.ft.com/content/c5cc0077-3966-4c65-9320-d0a0860740afThe secret to making your brain work better: https://www.ft.com/content/08078211-638b-4326-ac2e-92ae2cdf65c9How Silicon Valley rediscovered LSD: https://www.ft.com/content/0a5a4404-7c8e-11e7-ab01-a13271d1ee9cFT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. You can sign up for the newsletter with one click, hereWe love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at [email protected] or Isabel directly at [email protected]. Follow @isabelberwick on Twitter Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What this episode covers

Host Isabel Berwick investigates claims that microdosing improves performance at work. It’s well known that in Silicon Valley some executives have taken to ingesting very small amounts of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, in the belief that it increases concentration and productivity. But there are also soft-touch versions, known as nootropics or ‘smart drugs’, which include legal mushroom varieties and are said to have similar effects. Isabel and her team try them out at Shroom Town Cafe, a pop-up in central London, and she speaks to Jakobien van der Weijden, co-founder of the Microdosing Institute in the Netherlands. Want more?How safe is your psychedelic trip? https://www.ft.com/content/c5cc0077-3966-4c65-9320-d0a0860740afThe secret to making your brain work better: https://www.ft.com/content/08078211-638b-4326-ac2e-92ae2cdf65c9How Silicon Valley rediscovered LSD: https://www.ft.com/content/0a5a4404-7c8e-11e7-ab01-a13271d1ee9cFT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. You can sign up for the newsletter with one click, hereWe love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at [email protected] or Isabel directly at [email protected]. Follow @isabelberwick on Twitter Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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