In 1957, a vice president at JPMorgan became an outspoken evangelist for psychedelic mushrooms

How Western psychedelics research fell to the wayside

Psychedelics' modern era began when LSD was discovered in the 1930s. By the 1950s, clinical trials were underway. US user experimentation outside of medical settings (and high-profile violence, like the Manson murders) inspired negative attitudes toward psychedelics, leading to use restrictions that prohibited companies from patenting psychedelic compounds. This strangled psychedelics' profitability until the 1990s when the government loosened its grip and psychedelics research began seeing a resurgence.

The 'definitive' history of magic mushrooms

Where did magic mushrooms come from, and how did they get their magical reputation? This article explains the history of the psychedelic fungi from pre-history to now. The earliest concrete evidence of psychedelic mushroom use is 12,000-year-old murals in Northern Australia that portray mushroom iconography. Considering how many species seek out and consume psychoactive substances, such as Siberian reindeer, it's possible human use of these psychedelic mushrooms may predate these murals.

A psychedelic hamburger led one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, to testify against the group's leader.

'Brave New World' author Aldous Huxley turned to LSD on his deathbed

As "Brave New World" author Aldous Huxley lay dying of cancer in 1963, he asked his wife Laura to dose him with the hallucinogen LSD. A month later, Laura Huxley wrote a letter detailing the author's final trip, which she notes ended "so slowly, so gently, like a piece of music just finishing in a sempre piu piano dolcemente."

An account of unethical behavior by psychedelic guides

Ethical guidelines and protections have a gossamer grasp in the underground psychedelics movement. This 34-minute podcast episode delves into patterns of deception and abuse by movement leaders through one source's deeply personal tale. This episode, which involves descriptions of sexual violence, is one of many in New York Magazine's Power Trip series, a nine-part investigation into the darker side of the psychedelic renaissance.

A theory about Pink Floyd and 'The Wizard of Oz' was popularized by a 19-year-old

Pink Floyd’s seminal album “Dark Side of the Moon” eerily synchronizes with “The Wizard of Oz,” offering a psychedelic soundtrack for the movie. Journalist Charlie Savage popularized the phenomenon when he was 19. He’d go on to write for the Boston Globe and New York Times winning a Pulitzer Prize.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

How JPMorgan Chase became America's biggest bank

From the railroad and steel consolidations brokered by John Pierpont Morgan on Wall Street more than a century ago, to the repeal of Glass-Steagall, the financial crisis, and Jamie Dimon’s leadership, J.P. Morgan Chase has been at the center of finance for more than a century.

‘Super Mario Bros.’ was influenced by ‘Alice in Wonderland’

In 1985’s “Super Mario Bros.,” Mario and Luigi grow larger—becoming “Super Mario Bros.”—if they ingested mushrooms. “...if you think of stories like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and other types of fairy tales, mushrooms always seem to have a mysterious power, and so we thought the mushroom would be a good symbol for why they get it and get big,” Miyamoto told NPR in 2015.

Gonzo Journalism places the author at the center of the events

Some may describe Gonzo as a more daring style of subjective reporting than New Journalism, as it prioritizes the personal experience and opinions of the writer. Gonzo pieces also tend to feature hyperbole, comedy and taboo subjects.

Watch Mike Wallace's fascinating interview with Salvador Dalí

In 1958, Salvador Dalí spoke in a TV interview with legendary journalist Mike Wallace about genius, the subconscious, weakness, old age, luxury, religion, and dreams, among a range of other topics. During this candid conversation, Dalí challenged American audiences to consider death and mortality. Watch the discussion here.

The Beatles' visit with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi helped inspire Western interest in Eastern spirituality

The Fab Four met with the guru—the creator of Transcendental Meditation—in 1968 in Rishikesh, India. The band's George Harrison and his wife had been interested in Indian culture for several years, but the meeting with Maharishi signified a meeting of Western popular culture with Eastern spirituality that would inspire the rising hippie movement.

David Ogilvy once worked for the man who created the Gallup Poll

In 1938, when Ogilvy came to the United States, he started working for George Gallup’s Audience Research Institute in New Jersey. He took his learnings with him through the rest of his career, including during World War II, when Ogilvy worked with the Intelligence Service at the British Embassy in Washington.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

A Wall Street Journal podcast examines allegations inside the WEF

In this episode of "The Journal," WSJ reporter Shalini Ramachandran investigates claims from current and former employees that the organization behind Davos fostered a toxic workplace, sparked by an anonymous whistleblower letter in 2025 and internal accounts.

The ‘three-martini lunch’ was popularized on Madison Avenue

Advertising executives working on Madison Avenue in the 1960s and ’70s popularized the so-called “three-martini lunch” between businesspeople during the work week. Admen of the time supposedly believed alcohol brought more creativity to the second half of their workday. This article explains why three-martini lunches are no longer commonplace.

Gypsy Boots was a proto-hippie and health food entrepreneur

The Southern Californian was an eccentric businessman who opened several health food businesses, wrote books on healthy living, and frequently appeared on late-night television, including 28 appearances on “The Steve Allen Show.” He’d also attend Los Angeles area football games and chant “Don’t panic, go organic.”

Read how Vanguard's founder used the S&P 500 to revolutionize retail investing

John Bogle, the founder of The Vanguard Group, created a fund that tracked the S&P 500 in 1976. That fund created an unprecedented opportunity for individual retail investors, brought down fees across the board, and popularized the belief that passive, low-cost index fund investments would outperform actively managed portfolios long-term.

Get the inside story of the duck hunt that birthed the Federal Reserve

Pseudo-duck hunters, private train cars in Hoboken, and a thrilling work week over Thanksgiving 1910—all and more are featured in the wild story of how a group of fed-up bankers and lawmakers tried to create an enduring central bank for the US. Records of the meeting managed to remain hidden for decades.

The Wall Street Journal compiled the best parts of Warren Buffett's annual letters

Over the years, Buffett has quoted Yogi Berra and Mae West, as well as country songs and the Bible. Many turn to his letters as a source of inspiration and wisdom.

JJ Schildkraut theorized depression is linked to brain chemical imbalances—in 1965

Schildkraut was one of the first to put forward this idea, which stemmed from lab animal research. A decade later, researchers published the first landmark paper on fluoxetine—better known by trade name Prozac—which increases serotonin levels in the brain.

Catching up with hobby icon Sy Berger

In 1952 baseball card company Topps printed two series of cards. The first series sold well, but the late-season series, numbered 311-407 and included Mickey Mantle, didn’t. Read the first-hand account of how Topps couldn't’ even give the late-season series cards away and dumped an estimated 500 cases into the Atlantic Ocean in 1959. Decades later, it created a scarcity that drove the price of that Mantle card to $12.6 million.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

A look at the biography of Sam Bankman-Fried by author Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis released a book, "Going Infinite," on the day the subject of the book began his high-profile fraud trial. The book delves into the life of Sam Bankman-Fried, a young billionaire in the cryptocurrency world. Find out what the bestselling author discovered over two years and 100 interviews with Bankman-Fried.

Photographer William Mumler claimed to photograph ghosts

Spirit photographer William Mumler rose to prominence during the spiritualist movement in the United States. His photographs engrossed and bewildered both believers and nonbelievers. Though Mumler was tried for fraud, his methods were never discovered.

'Follow your enthusiasm. It's something I've always believed in. Find those parts of your life you enjoy the most. Do what you enjoy doing.'

- "Muppets" creator Jim Henson (1936-1990)

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

William HH Murray spurred American interest in rustic retreats

Murray's 1869 self-help book, "Adventures in the Wilderness; or, Camp-Life in the Adirondacks," encouraged urban residents to embrace outdoor activities, depicting upstate New York as an unsullied paradise free from the chaos of city life.

How a government chemist founded the FDA—by poisoning people

The Poison Squad tells the story of government chemist Dr. Harvey Wiley who, determined to banish these dangerous substances from dinner tables, took on the powerful food manufacturers and their allies.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.