# #423 - Mark A. Michaels | Uncontrolled Experiments, Psychedelic Therapy, and AI

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grimerica-outlawed-1380394/423-mark-a-michaels-uncontrolled-experiments-psychedelic-therapy-and-ai
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grimerica-outlawed-1380394/423-mark-a-michaels-uncontrolled-experiments-psychedelic-therapy-and-ai.md
Podcast: [Grimerica Outlawed](https://stenobird.com/podcast/grimerica-outlawed-1380394)
Published: 2026-08-15T16:48:58+00:00
Episode link: https://gpc2012.libsyn.com/423-mark-a-michaels-uncontrolled-experiments-psychedelic-therapy-and-ai
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/gpc2012/423_-_01_Start.mp3?dest-id=539813
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grimerica-outlawed-1380394/episodes/423-mark-a-michaels-uncontrolled-experiments-psychedelic-therapy-and-ai
Duration seconds: 2536

## Resource

A wide-ranging conversation about identity, therapy, psychedelics, and artificial intelligence. He shares how his own origin story shaped his understanding of narrative agency, self-knowledge, and the limits of expert systems. The discussion also digs into the promise and risks of combining EMDR, ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin, and AI in therapeutic work. MARK A. MICHAELS , a writer and conceptual artist. Mark's work examines fundamental paradigm dilemmas in both traditional psychotherapy and contemporary psychedelic therapy. In his forthcoming preprint, BINARIES, MULTITUDES, AND BEYOND , Mark focuses the lens on his own journey and uses narrative analysis and critique to explore how authority, expertise, and healing are currently defined. https://markamichaels.com/about/ Key topics In this episode, Mark Michaels explains why he calls himself an "uncontrolled experiment" and how being conceived through artificial insemination shaped his worldview. The conversation covers the secrecy and social shame around sperm donation, infertility, and the long-term effects of not knowing one's biological origins. Mark describes the eight-year process of uncovering his biological father through research and DNA testing, and how that discovery changed his sense of self. He connects that origin story to his interest in identity, narrative agency, psychotherapy, and the promises and limits of science. Mark discusses his early exposure to therapy as a child and his teenage experimentation with LSD, including an early bad trip and later renewed interest in psychedelics. The episode centers on his recent treatment program combining EMDR, ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin, and AI-assisted reflection after a severe post-divorce mental health crisis. Mark argues that ketamine-assisted EMDR can accelera…

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