KETAMINE MEDITATIONS, PSYCHEDELIC JAZZ, AND THE FUTURE OF DRUG REFORM
DoubleBlind magazine's Shelby Hartman on their new guide to tripping
I don’t remember how I first came across DoubleBlind magazine, but when I did, it felt like a revelation. In today’s media landscape, there is nothing quite like it: wild tales from the esoteric fringes next to portraits of wisened indigenous elders, musings from mystics and poets, and deep investigative reporting on drug culture’s shape-shifting faces—all accompanied by lush photography that could have been plucked from the pages of National Geographic… if the art editors were on mescaline. It was nothing short of a full-spectrum exploration of contemporary psychedelic consciousness, each issue like a feast of the subcultural stew that it emerged from.
Eventually I started writing for the magazine and its newsletter, and even served a stint as a contributing editor. DoubleBlind co-founder Shelby Hartman became a good friend, and we’d spend afternoons co-working at her Victorian cottage, taking breaks to do yoga under a lemon tree, or sample some of the many psychoactive products that were constantly showing up on her front porch. While I always admired Shelby’s sharp editorial eye and grueling work ethic—traits made it possible to publish a magazine amidst a dying industry—I also began to see her as something deeper: a psychedelic lore keeper, and a critical node in the mycelial network behind today’s psychedelic renaissance.
This spring, Shelby and her DoubleBlind co-founder Madison Margolin (also a notable psychedelic journalist!) published The DoubleBlind Guide to Psychedelics: A Road Map to Tripping, Microdosing, and Beyond. Ostensibly, it’s a Psychedelics 101-style primer that covers the basics of substances like mushrooms, LSD, DMT, and MDMA, including how to prepare for and integrate the trip, proper dosages, and harm reduction tips. But what makes this book go far beyond a basic guide is their inclusion of indigenous issues, drug policy, psychedelic elders, and headier cultural practices—with their writing on these topics deeply informed by seven years of reporting in the magazine. It’s as if Shelby and Madison wanted to say: if you’re going to do psychedelics in 2026, it’s not enough to know how to microdose a mushroom. You should also know how to be a psychedelic person.
On a recent evening, DoubleBlind hosted a book launch party in the hilly canyon of Topanga in Los Angeles, where a small group of friends and fans sat on cushions in a living room to listen to live sitar and Indian classical music. A few hours before the event, Shelby called me to ask if I’d host a Q&A with her about the new book. “Michelle, I know this is last minute, but I feel like we could do this conversation high, while sliding off our chairs!” Below is an edited version of our rather spontaneous chat—the book is also out now, cop it via Hachette.
