Church camp

There was a time when psychedelics such as LSD, mushrooms, and mescaline were primarily relegated to those who were wild and weird enough to brave the legal and social throes imposed by the War on Drugs. But those days are ending — if they haven’t already slipped into the past. Today these substances are increasingly embraced for their therapeutic, spiritual, and recreational value, and journalist Michael Pollan has emerged as arguably the most prominent champion of their kaleidoscopic rewards. “It’s for spiritual experience,” he explained to Rolling Stone. “It’s for self-exploration. It’s for setting priorities. It’s for breaking habits. There are all these other ways people are using them. And we have this word ‘recreation’ that we think is negative, but we should go back and think — what is that? Well, re-creation is a very positive thing and people are using them to re-create themselves. And it seems to me that’s as legitimate as any other use.” At 67, and having … [Read more...] about The Never-Ending Psychedelic Trip of Michael Pollan

Ten years ago, most people hadn’t even heard of a podcast. Now, they’re an integral part of the media landscape, and none more so than those about true crime . To rank the best, we polled true-crime aficionados about their favorite shows, then sifted through the top choices. Whether they cover a new case each episode or present a story over the course of a season, these picks each shaped the genre in their own way. Some are the results of deep investigative journalism; others are by amateur sleuths trying to help families find answers. Some focus on bringing publicity to cold cases in underrepresented communities, and some changed the way we think about crime storytelling altogether. Perhaps equally important, they’re all great listening, promising the kind of captivating intrigue that continues to draw generation after generation to true crime: tragedy, mystery, a search for answers, and always the hunger for justice. 25. CounterClock Fans of procedurals will bond with … [Read more...] about The 25 Best True-Crime Podcasts of All Time

TMZ.com A man claiming to be an off-duty Chicago PD officer pinned a 14-year-old boy to the ground with his knee after accusing him of stealing his own son's bike -- and the whole thing was caught on video. The boy's parents tell TMZ the incident happened Friday at a Starbucks in Park Ridge, IL -- just outside of Chicago. They say their son, who is Puerto Rican and an honor student, athlete and member of the local church was at the coffee spot with a group of friends and saw an abandoned bike laying on the sidewalk. TMZ.com We're told the boy -- who also had his own bike with him -- attempted to move the abandoned bike out of the way ... and that's when the alleged off-duty officer pounced. The parents tell us the man grabbed the boy by the wrist, slammed him to the ground and pinned him with his knee -- accusing the 14-year-old of having stolen the bike from his son. We're told the man's son's bike had allegedly recently been stolen from a … [Read more...] about Chicago PD Officer Pins 14-Yr-Old Boy to Ground with Knee, Claims He Stole Bike