Archives
A Peyotera’s Way of Life
For decades, Zulema “Julie” Morales has harvested peyote in Rio Grande City, along the southern border in Texas, the only region in the U.S. where it grows in the wild. Morales recalled that during her childhood she would often ride in a pickup truck with her father and siblings along unpaved, dusty roads in search…
Mind-Bending Possibilities
Physician Sue Sisley has fought for years to study banned drugs as treatments for pain, addiction, and PTSD. She’s navigated a legal and regulatory maze and found creative ways to secure funding for her clinical trials. By suing the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Sisley helped unblock a path for researchers to grow medical-grade cannabis. Now,…
Unlikely Allies / Part 1
Psychedelics and the Texas TripPart 1: Unlikely Allies [ Listen on Texas Public Radio | Apple Podcasts | Spotify ] Episode one, “Unlikely Allies,” of a three-part podcast series, Psychedelics and the Texas Trip, explores the winding road in 2021 that brought a bill — HB 1802 — to fund a clinical trial of psilocybin for…
The Science and the History of the Medicine / Part 2
Psychedelics and the Texas TripPart 2: The Science and the History of the Medicine [ Listen on Texas Public Radio | Apple | Spotify ] Episode two, “The Science and History of the Medicine,” of the three-part series, Psychedelics and the Texas Trip, takes us to San Antonio and Houston, where we dive more deeply…
The Road Ahead / Part 3
Psychedelics and the Texas TripPart 3: The Road Ahead[ Listen on Texas Public Radio | Apple | Spotify ] Episode three “The Road Ahead” of the three-part series, Psychedelics and the Texas Trip, explores ancient traditions of psychedelics as spirit medicines and what’s in store as psychedelics become mainstream. Our trip starts in Rio Grande City, Texas, where Zulema “Julie” Morales shares her…
Unusual Suspects
Marcus Capone served seven combat tours as a Navy SEAL — including missions with SEAL Team Six, the nation’s preeminent counterterrorism unit — before being medically retired in 2013. For years, he struggled to find effective treatments for his traumatic brain injuries, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Capone tried antidepressants, talk therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy,…
Holding On to a Good Story: Making ‘God Save Texas’
New Yorker staff writer Lawrence Wright remembers colleagues asking, “Why do you live in Texas?” when his location shouldn’t have been exceptional. Writers from all over the world contribute to the magazine. The difference, Wright says, is that Texas was perceived as “anti-New York.” Once a left-leaning state, Texas has swung far to the right. It’s one…
Can We Prevent Antibiotic Resistance?
Since 2016, CARB-X has funneled funding and expertise to companies developing life-saving new antibiotics. The nonprofit’s management team includes Erin Duffy, chief of research and development, and Kevin Outterson, founding executive director and a BU School of Law professor. Article by Robin Berghaus for The Brink. Photos by Cydney Scott. Antibiotics have saved countless lives…
Tackling Tooth Decay in Teacapan
Video, article and photography by Robin Berghaus published in BU Today and Bostonia magazine “Cierres la boca,” says Alexandra Antonescu, instructing a pediatric patient to close his mouth around a suction tube. That’s one of the frequently used Spanish phrases that Antonescu learned from a cheat-sheet taped to a wall in the St. Pierre dental…
Myq Takes the Mic
Video, photography and article by Robin Berghaus appeared on BU Today and Bostonia magazine “Not knowing what would happen was nerve-wracking,” says comedian Myq Kaplan on facing the biggest audience of his career. Five million viewers tuned in to Last Comic Standing to see which contestants on NBC’s hit reality show would survive. “My performance…