#14: Ken Jordan: The Case for Optimism

Welcome back to The Trip Report Podcast, a production of Beckley Waves, a Psychedelic Venture Studio.Today, I am speaking with Ken Jordan, co-founder and Editorial Director of Lucid News, an AP-style journalistic platform covering all aspects of the psychedelic field.Ken is a longtime journalist, writer, and media entrepreneur. In 2007, Ken co-founded The Evolver and Reality Sandwich, digital media platforms dedicated to the emerging consciousness movement. And in 2020, he and his co-founder, journalist Ann Harrison, founded Lucid News to cover the psychedelics field.My goal for this conversation is to get a snapshot of the moment, as difficult as that may be, with the help of someone who has been in the weeds as much as I have for the last four years.Like other guests on The Trip Report, Ken and I regularly connect to swap ideas, share insights, and discuss the evolution of the psychedelic movement. A theme of this conversation is the growing pains the field is undergoing, the challenges of macroeconomic headwinds, and the relatively slow progress of policy reform and clinical trials compared to the amount of hype and optimism of 18-24 months ago.In this conversation, we talk about:* The early days of the psychedelic “sector” * Ken’s perspective as a longtime media entrepreneur with an interest and focus on psychedelics and consciousness * The major inflection point that was the MAPS Psychedelic Science 2023 conference, an overwhelming convergence of the many factions and siloed psychedelic communities  * “The wild idea,” as Ken says, “that the money right now is in a really active gray market. That's making chocolates you can buy in every cannabis bodega in New York.”* Ken’s optimism about the authorities’ loosening of concern about psychedelics* The lack of organized opposition against decriminalization and legalization efforts* The key differences between the psychedelic renaissance of the 1960s and todayAnd now, without further ado, I bring you my conversation with Ken Jordan.Listen to the episode on Substack, Spotify, Google or Apple.Credits:* Hosted by Zach Haigney * Produced by Zach Haigney, Erin Greenhouse, and Katelin Jabbari* Find us at thetripreport.com* Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube* Theme music by MANCHO Sounds, Mixed and Mastered by Rollin Weary This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetripreport.com