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Chapter 2 Psilocybin

   2022    Medicine
Magic mushrooms, long considered sacred by the Indigenous Mazatec in Mexico, become the subject of scientific studies measuring the intense effects of its Psilocybin and its potential therapeutic use.
In the second episode, we are introduced to Ben, who’s battled with crippling Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) his entire life. When he had his firstborn, Ben’s life became full of panic attacks regarding his son’s safety, and he knew something had to change. Ben signed up for a psilocybin-assisted therapy clinical trial which was testing whether the psychedelic could help people with severe OCD. In the session under the influence of psilocybin, Ben felt decomposed and eventually grew into a tree. While living as a tree, he saw his human self, playing with his child. Though this sounds scary, from Ben’s perspective, it was beautiful. He was one with the universe, seeing himself in the ultimate third-person perspective. Finally, he saw how it could be different if he didn’t let his OCD control him. And several months out, all the symptoms disappeared.
Ben’s story is one of many told in this series, which gives hope that help is right around the corner for the millions who suffer —often in silence— with debilitating mental disorders. But Michael Pollan’s work is showcasing the success stories. Often, even in the most successful trials, psychedelic-assisted therapy only helps up to a third of people enter remission. More frequently, patients are helped —sometimes substantially— but they still suffer with their illnesses and some people aren’t helped at all.
Series: How to Change Your Mind

The Fielder Method

   2022    Culture
To recruit actors for his rehearsals, Nathan opens an acting studio in Los Angeles, teaching 'the Fielder Method', which involves covertly observing and imitating unaware subjects. Feeling insecure about his own performance, Nathan reenacts the class with actors and a fake Nathan as the teacher while the real Nathan plays the role of Thomas, a student. Nathan makes his students immerse themselves in other people's lives while he immerses himself in Thomas's life, even living in Thomas's home.
Nathan returns to Oregon, where his 'son', Adam, is now a teenager. Nathan and Joshua, the actor playing Adam, decide that Adam should lash out due to resentment of his absentee father and develop a drug problem, a situation that mirrors Angela's own past. Adam suffers an overdose and is tended to by emergency responders played by Thomas and another Fielder Method graduate. After he runs away from home, the 15-year-old Adam reverts to a 6-year-old since Nathan plans to relive his son's earlier years.
Series: The Rehearsal

Pretend Daddy

   2022    Culture
Nathan stages a ninth birthday party for Adam, but faces a problem when Remy, one of the child actors who played Adam at age six, becomes attached to Nathan, calling him 'daddy' even after his scenes are over. Remy's mother explains that her son might have trouble understanding the difference between acting and reality. To discover what went wrong, Nathan repeats Remy's scenes with different actors including Liam (a nine-year-old Adam actor), an adult actor, and a mannequin. He then explores what might have happened if Angela had stayed with him and meets with the real Angela, who urges him to forgive himself, as her religious beliefs state.
In an attempt to truly understand the connection between parent and child, Nathan stages a new scenario in which he is Remy's mother Amber and Liam portrays Remy. They re-create the experience of appearing on The Rehearsal and becoming attached to 'pretend daddy' Nathan. After coming to the emotional realization that they should not have done the show, Nathan as Amber seemingly breaks character and tells the fake Remy, 'I'm your daddy.'
Series: The Rehearsal

Communication

   2022    Nature
What If we could talk to animals? For as long as we've shared our lives with pets, we've been seeking better ways to communicate with them. In Washington state, Alexis Devine and her sheepadoodle Bunny think they've found a way of making communication a reality. Alexis went further than most, with a set of communication buttons, each programmed with a pre-recorded word to help humans and animals speak the same language. She has 90 buttons with which to express herself and even seems to combine them into simple sentences. Bunny is paving the way in pet communication.
The undisputed masters of verbal communication are our pet parrots. They have mastered the art of vocal expression. Some parrots have even learned to fool devices designed to recognize human voices.
Series: The Hidden Lives of Pets

Nuclear Now

   2022    Technology
With unprecedented access to the nuclear industry in France, Russia, and the United States, director Oliver Stone delves deep into the groundbreaking technologies that promise a revolution in energy production. But this is not just a story of power and progress; it's a tale of dispelling myths and confronting the fears surrounding nuclear energy. From the passionate voices of those funding their ventures to the illuminating insights of visionaries like Stephen Hawking, 'Nuclear Now' challenges viewers to question their preconceptions.
Join this journey to uncover the truths, understand the risks, and judge the possibilities. Imagine a tomorrow that is brighter than today, where humanity harnesses the primordial power of the atom to ensure a future we can all look forward to. Dive into the debate, and decide for yourself.

To Kill a Tiger

   2022    History
(Click CC for subtitles) Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented. Nominated for Best Documentary Award, the film has an undeniable and unshakable power. It is one of those documentaries where anyone who watches it won’t be the same person by the end as they were when it started.
To Kill a Tiger offers the viewer remarkable access to village life, not just in the modest home where Ranjit’s family make roti on an open fire, but in the fields where they herd goats and collect water from a pump. The camera finds quiet details, like Ranjit’s daughter carefully weaving ribbons into her hair. Women and men insist that the community, not the criminal court, should solve the issue with a forced marriage—to remove the ‘stain on her’. The men become increasingly hostile—to the family, and eventually to the film crew itself.