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From the High Desert

A Cultural History of Art Bell

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Terence McKenna

Terence McKenna

PsychedelicsConsciousnessShamanismTime

Terence McKenna (1946–2000) was an ethnobotanist, mystic, and spellbinding orator renowned for his revolutionary theories on the role of psychedelic plants in human evolution and consciousness, as well as his mathematical model "Timewave Zero." As a mesmerizing guest on late-night radio, he wove together shamanism, quantum physics, and visionary experience into a singular worldview, earning a devoted following through works such as Food of the Gods.

Quantum Physics & Parallel UniversesConsciousness & the Afterlife

Books3

Food of the Gods

Food of the Gods

1992

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The Archaic Revival

The Archaic Revival

1991

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True Hallucinations

True Hallucinations

1993

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Episodes4

1
Episode thumbnail for May 22, 1997: Time Wave Zero - Terence McKenna

May 22, 1997: Time Wave Zero - Terence McKenna

May 22, 1997
3h 0m
Terence McKenna, calling from his remote home on the slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawaii, presents his radical theory of novelty and time to Art Bell in a conversation that leaves the host stunned by its alignment with his own book, The Quickening. McKenna argues that the universe has an inherent preference for novelty ov...
2
Episode thumbnail for March 19, 1998: Consciousness - Terence McKenna

March 19, 1998: Consciousness - Terence McKenna

Mar 19, 1998
2h 50m
Art Bell welcomes Terence McKenna, calling from a remote solar-powered home on Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano via a cutting-edge one-megabyte wireless internet link. McKenna surveys recent scientific milestones including anti-gravitational forces, water on the moon, and quantum teleportation. He and Art consider whether...
3
Episode thumbnail for April 01, 1999: Psychedelic Substances - Terence McKenna

April 01, 1999: Psychedelic Substances - Terence McKenna

Apr 1, 1999
2h 40m
Art Bell welcomes ethnobotanist and philosopher Terence McKenna from his home on the slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawaii for a wide-ranging conversation about psychedelic substances, consciousness, and the nature of time. McKenna argues that cultures selectively stigmatize certain substances while glorifying others, and t...
4
Episode thumbnail for June 16, 1999: Comet Lee - Stewart Best | Goodbye Terence McKenna

June 16, 1999: Comet Lee - Stewart Best | Goodbye Terence McKenna

Jun 16, 1999
3h 25m
Art Bell opens with an emotional conversation with Terence McKenna, who reveals he has been diagnosed with a stage four glioblastoma, the fastest-moving brain tumor known to medicine. McKenna describes his seizure, the gamma knife procedure that destroyed roughly 90% of the tumor, and the doctors' prognosis of six t...