The Wall Street Journal

  • ‘A World Appears’ Review: The Mystery of Consciousness

    Under the influence of psychedelics, many report that plants seem to be alive. Is it wrong to assume we’re the only sentient beings? The International Dictionary of Psychology opined in 1989 that consciousness was “fascinating but elusive” and “nothing worth reading has been written on it.” I disagree. Consciousness isn’t entirely elusive. We grasp it…

  • The New Science of Psychedelics

    Recent studies are finding that drugs such as LSD and psilocybin can help to alleviate depression, anxiety and addiction—and may have profound things to teach us about how the mind works

  • The Omnivorous Michael Pollan

    After transforming our notions about food and health with 2006’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” writer and UC Berkeley journalism professor Michael Pollan followed up with a 2009 manifesto, “In Defense of Food,” which he then distilled to a collection of simple guidelines in “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual” later that year. This month he releases an…

  • Eating Blind

    AFTER READING “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” I went out to dinner at a bistro in Greenwich Village, where I faced some dilemmas of my own. The waiter brought over the menu. Steak? Too much to worry about: hormones, antibiotics, E. coli and mad-cow disease. Tuna? Mercury. Salmon? PCBs. Chicken? Could be one of the brands treated…