Some of Britain's biggest scientific breakthroughs came from people willing to experiment on their own minds. This evening asks how psychedelic drugs may have shaped those discoveries, from Humphry Davy's nitrous oxide experiments in the 1790s to the questions surrounding Francis Crick's later work on the brain.
Professor Val Curran hosts a conversation with two leading voices. Professor David Nutt, founder of Drug Science and a leading psychopharmacologist, looks at the scientists and what brain science suggests about the link between drugs and discovery. Mike Jay, cultural historian and author of Psychonauts, turns to the writers, poets and academics, tracing a tradition of self-experimentation that influenced psychology, philosophy and literature.
The evening finishes with an audience Q&A and book signings with David Nutt and Mike Jay. The conversation is also recorded live for the Drug Science podcast, so bring your questions.
