Plantscendence
Welcome to Plantscendence, a new podcast hosted by filmmaker Jon Reiss. Join us on a transformative journey as we explore the world of plant medicine and its profound impact on healing, personal growth, and artistic expression.
Within each episode, Jon engages in insightful conversations with a diverse array of experts, practitioners, artists, grief counselors and everyday people who have harnessed the power of plant medicine to heal trauma, navigate loss, unlock creativity, and become more their true selves.
Guests for the ten episode first season include poet and musician Vera Sola, author and pioneer of microdosing Jim Fadiman, actress Gina Gershon, artist and Nganga Chor Boogie, US Army veteran Itzel Barakat, author and teacher Spring Washam, artist Doris La Frenais, plant wisdom practitioner Sitaramaya Sita, grief counselor Larry Carlat and healer and author Tricia Eastman.
Jon Reiss is a critically acclaimed filmmaker, author, and media strategist. He began his film career at the fabled Target Video, where he shot seminal punk bands, including Black Flag, X, Iggy Pop, Throbbing Gristle, and The Cramps. Reiss then filmed and edited a series of videos documenting Mark Pauline’s Survival Research Laboratories. After directing numerous music videos, including, notoriously, Happiness in Slavery for Nine Inch Nails, he directed the feature films Bomb It, Better Living Through Circuitry, and Cleopatra’s Second Husband. Through his company 8 Above Reiss also helps filmmakers navigate the new distribution and marketing landscape.
Plantscendence
#7 Doris La Frenais A Life Transformed
Doris La Frenais’ riveting account of her psychedelic adventures from the 1960s to today. This week, we delve into the remarkable life of Doris La Frenais, a Parisian fashion designer turned spiritual seeker and sonic science somatic healer. Doris recounts her first psychedelic encounter in the 1970s, mistakenly ingesting angel dust at a party in Los Angeles, and then hitchhiking to a hippie commune where she took mushrooms on a moonlit beach. This series of events led Doris to realize that the life she had built in Paris no longer aligned with her spiritual path, and that she must relinquish her lavish lifestyle in pursuit of deeper healing and fulfillment. Four months later, she was living in Los Angeles with her son. Over the next fifty years, her journey would take many unexpected turns, from working with Robert Margouleff helping to produce artists like Stevie Wonder and Devo to navigating a tumultuous path of addiction and recovery. Through candid storytelling, Doris shares riveting accounts of her psychedelic