Byzantine chants, Gregorian chants, icaros, and sacred songs are featured. Robert Tindall talks to us from the from the Takiwasi clinic in Peru, and discusses his new book, "The Shamanic Odyssey: Homer, Tolkien, and the Visionary Experience", as well as "The Jaguar that Roams the Mind", his book about apprenticing with an ayahuasca shaman in South America.

Be sure to check out The Shamanic Odyssey: Homer, Tolkien, and the Visionary Experience and The Jaguar that Roams the Mind: An Amazonian Plant Spirit Odyssey on Amazon.com.

YouTube tracks featured in this Episode: Byzantine chant - Praise the Lord, Icaro for peace, Gregorian Chant - Kyrie Eleison, Gregorian Chant - Dies Irae, Song of the Dwarves, Enigma - Sadeness, TheReal Mix - Hard Dubstep Edit & Gregorian Chant, Icaro - Juan Flores, Gregorian Dubstep - Kozmic Klimax

After the success of PsypressUK 2012, as an advert-free saddle-stitch freebie, which received orders from across the globe, the magazine is returning for 2013. The next edition is tripling in size and will be soft-bound, making it not only an important source of features, articles, research and comment on psychedelics, but also a beautiful object that you’ll wish to keep on your bookshelf. Filled with especially-commissioned illustrations – including a cover design by renowned Cornwall-based artist Lucy Brown - a matt finish and printed on high-quality paper, the magazine will, of course, remain advert-free. With so much extra space dedicated to content it is important to have a high calibre of words and this edition of PsypressUK has a host of excellent writers.

Nicholas Buxton, author of "Tantalus and the Pelican" talks about giving up drinking to go on a spiritual journey exploring modern monasticism. He discusses his visits with monasteries around the world, Christian vs. Buddhist monastic traditions, participating in BBC's documentary "The Monastery", life as an urban priest, and whether or not entheogens mix with spiritual or monastic life.

Be sure to check out Tantalus and the Pelican: Exploring Monastic Spirituality Today on Amazon.com, and The Monastery on Youtube.com

Ramez Naam, author of "More Than Human" and "Nexus", joins us for a discussion about brain computer interfaces, neural prosthesis, brain hacking, transhumanism, nanotechnology, wireless brain-to-brain communication, the technology behind "Nexus", and the future of the human race.

Be sure to check out More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement and Nexus on Amazon.com.

Steve Beyer, author of "Singing to the Plants," sits in for a discussion about Tibetan Buddhism, shamanism, ayahuasca, sorcery, magic darts, ayahuasca tourism, and much more.

Be sure to check out Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon on Amazon.com.

Also check out Steve Beyer's Singing to the Plants Blog and Ayahuasca Pinterest Board.

Spin.com hips us to a delirious new music video from K-X-P that demonstrates the dangers of drunken driving in an altogether too enticing fashion:

The song's driving vibes and playful psychedelic inclinations are well matched by the video above, which begins with a man drunkenly stumbling out onto the street from a local watering hole. He's initially swinging wildly at something only he can see, but soon we can see it too — all of it: the green-skinned mud witch that teases him, the alien camel creature that lumbers past his car, and the hitchhiking polar bear he picks up en route to nowhere in particular. The clip is fantastically surreal and even more so when you learn that it's sourced from a 1986 Finnish drunk driving PSA that was scrapped because it made the offense in question look awesome.

I don't personally know anyone who wants green-skinned mud witches backseat driving for them while they've been drinking, but then again, I have no idea what Finnish culture was like in 1986, so your mileage may vary.

Jamie Lidell shows us how it's done in his visually stunning music video for the track "You Naked". From the press release:

The video sees Lidell performing inside a giant light cube, created using realtime projected graphics triggered by the movement of his microphone stand. The technology was conceived by London-based studio Flat-e, who shot and directed the video without any post-production effects...

Watch for Lidell's new self-titled album on the Warp label, due out February 18.

In attempt to catch up to demand, the Maker's Mark brand is being diluted:

In an interview Monday, Bill Samuels Jr. said he failed to foresee a worldwide surge in demand for premium bourbon when he was still in charge of the brand about six years ago. As a result, Maker's Mark is being diluted to 42 percent alcohol by volume, from 45 percent, so more of the whiskey can be bottled to meet demand. That's a cut from 90 proof to 84 proof....

Samuels and his son, Maker's Mark CEO Rob Samuels, insist consumers won't notice the change when the slightly weaker bourbon hits shelves in the next few weeks. Even Maker's Mark's professional taste testers couldn't tell the difference, Rob Samuels said.

Mmm... more water, less alcohol. Gotcha. How about the price?

And if you're thinking a weaker drink will have a weaker price, "The value of Maker's Mark isn't set by alcohol volume," Bill Samuels said.

We know from case studies that fake weed can cause hallucinations, rapid heartbeat, panic attacks, and overdoses. If that wasn't bad enough, we now have evidence that synthetic cannabinoids also have a major impact on the kidneys.

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) nephrologists have reported for the first time in medical literature cases of acute kidney injury directly linked with synthetic marijuana use. The case studies are reported online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and will appear in the March 2013 print edition of the journal.

The authors report that nephrotoxicity -- the poisonous effect of a substance on the kidneys -- from designer drugs such as SPICE or K2, which mimic the effects of marijuana but are man-made and cannot be detected in routine drug tests, should be considered when a patient presents with acute kidney injury and no other evident cause...

“Cases of acute coronary syndrome associated with synthetic marijuana use have been reported, but our publication is the first to associate use with acute kidney injury,” said study co-author Gaurav Jain, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Nephrology. “Tachycardia and seizures have also been reported with synthetic cannabinoids.”

In the journal, Thornley-Brown and colleagues outlined four different cases of previously healthy young men whose acute kidney injury was linked to ingestion of synthetic marijuana. Three of the patients had acute kidney injury marked by the excretion of an abnormally small volume of urine, known as oliguric acute kidney injury, and the fourth had a decrease in effective blood flow to the kidney, known as prerenal acute kidney injury. Three of the patients underwent a kidney biopsy that showed acute tubular necrosis, which is the death of cells that form the minute canals in the kidney that secrete, reabsorb, collect and transport urine. Left untreated, this can cause the kidneys to shut down. In these four cases, the patients recovered kidney function, and none required dialysis.

So if you've been smoking a bunch of fake weed, and have noticed problems urinating, quit smoking and see a specialist before your kidneys shut down.

In an interview in the Atlantic, Oxford ethicist Brian Earp proposes the idea that MDMA - and in fact, a battery of other substances as well - might have a role to play in keeping marriages together. You know, for the children. An excerpt:

For another example, consider the widespread use of Viagra to treat male impotence, a problem that prevents some couples, especially older couples, from having sex. Lack of sex reduces oxytocin levels, and reduced oxytocin levels can degrade a couple's romantic bond. If a drug-based treatment could help the couple restore a healthy sex life, this could improve their chances of sustaining a well-functioning relationship.

Beate Ditzen and her colleagues at the University of Zurich have shown that oxytocin nasal spray can facilitate positive communication--and reduce stress levels--in romantic couples engaged in an argument. Oxytocin, sometimes called the "love hormone" for its role in sustaining mother-infant and romantic attachment bonds, increased the ratio of positive to negative communication behaviors and facilitated a drop in cortisol levels after the conflict. These factors have been shown to play a major role in predicting long-term relationship survival. While commentators like Ed Yong have recently emphasized that oxytocin can have a "dark side" as well--for example, by promoting in-group favoritism--the key is to figure out which people, which situations, and which ways of administering the hormone will maximize its effectiveness and minimize any troubling side-effects. We're working on some research right now to sort these conditions out.

In earlier decades, MDMA (ecstasy) was sometimes used in couple's therapy to boost empathy and improve emotional communication skills. While this sort of use would be illegal today, there has been a recent resurgence of scientific interest in possible therapeutic uses of MDMA, for example to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. More research is needed, of course, but there is no reason why it should not be carried out, carefully and ethically, with proper social, procedural, and legal safeguards in place.

Seems clear cut to us as well that society might benefit from having this kind of option available in the tool kit. Earp takes it further than we might have considered, however:

Imagine a couple that is thinking about breaking up or getting a divorce, but they have young children who would likely be harmed by their parents' separation. In this situation, there are vulnerable third parties involved, and we have argued that parents have a responsibility--all else being equal--to preserve and enhance their relationships for the sake of their children, at least until the children have matured and can take care of themselves. One way to do this, of course, would be to attend couple's therapy and see if the relationship problems could be meaningfully resolved through "traditional" methods. But what if this strategy isn't working? If love drugs ever become safely and cheaply available; if they could be shown to improve love, commitment, and marital well-being--and thereby lessen the chance (or the need) for divorce; if other interventions had been tried and failed; and if side-effects or other complications could be minimized, then we think that some couples might have an obligation to give them a try. Of course, we aren't suggesting that anyone should be forced to take love drugs--or any drugs--against their will. But we do think that when children are involved, the stakes become higher for finding a workable solution to relationship difficulties between the parents.