Transformative psychedelic experiences, healing through plant medicines, and UFO disclosure are all among the topics that will be explored in a new podcast from award-winning directors and veteran podcasting husband-and-wife duo Tanya Dahl and Cody Blue, the son of Rock legend Dee Snider.
American interest in psychedelics and alternative therapies has increased significantly in recent decades, primarily regarding the use of psychoactive plants that have long been staples in the traditional spiritual practices of many cultures.
Such substances, formally known as entheogens, are defined as “a psychoactive, hallucinogenic substance or preparation (such as psilocybin or ayahuasca) especially when derived from plants or fungi and used in religious, spiritual, or ritualistic contexts.” Given the interest they have generated, several recent scientific studies have explored the safety and overall effects of ayahuasca and psilocybin, as well as the potential therapeutic benefits of their use.
Over the last decade, amid the recent rise in interest in the use of psychedelic entheogens, husband-and-wife duo Tanya Dahl and Cody Blue are among the many who have undertaken personal explorations into their use, immersing themselves in the world of entheogenic plants and their medicinal or therapeutic properties.
Dahl, a media executive, director, and creative director, has produced documentaries and digital media and directed more than 20 national commercials, including campaigns for Timex and Star Wars. An internationally recognized director and screenwriter, Blue has received close to 50 awards, including honors at Academy Award-qualifying festivals like Palm Springs, Austin, and Seattle International Film Festivals.
Apart from their professional successes, Blue underwent a personal journey of healing through his experiences with plant medicines, which he says helped him overcome past issues with depression, anxiety, and ADHD. The couple’s experiences together culminated in the launch of an investigative talk show, Awakened Underground, in 2022, where they engaged with scientists, spiritual practitioners, celebrities, and others who shared their positive healing experiences with psychedelics.
Now, Blue and Dahl have launched a new podcast, Acid for Squares, where the couple shares the personal experiences and transformative insights they gleaned from entheogenic plant medicines, which they say challenge conventional understandings of consciousness and reality.
“For nearly a decade, we’ve immersed ourselves in the world of psychedelic plant medicines, working under the guidance of shamans from diverse traditions,” Dahl and Blue told The Debrief prior to the podcast’s launch.
The couple says that their participation in sacred ceremonies helped them recover from both emotional traumas and physical injuries and have also had a transformative effect on their friends and family members.
“These experiences have fostered a deep sense of gratitude and responsibility within us,” Dahl and Blue told The Debrief, adding that their ongoing studies and personal experiences compelled them “to share their profound healing potential with the world.”
In their 2022 podcast Awakened Underground, Blue and Dahl focused mainly on the tangible benefits that can result from the use of psychedelic plant medicines.
“However, we quickly realized that the true nature of these experiences goes far beyond healing,” the couple told The Debrief in an email, calling their revelatory personal experiences “nothing short of extraordinary” and formative in their recognition of “the vast potential of the human spirit, and the spiritual essence of reality itself.”
Among the most profound experiences the couple describes are their encounters with what shamans call doctorcitos, or “spirit doctors,” whom many participants in healing ceremonies have reported meeting.
“Initially, we questioned whether these were mere hallucinations, but as these encounters continued—affecting not just us, but our loved ones and many others—we came to accept this as an uncomfortable, yet profound truth,” Dahl and Blue said.
Blue is the youngest son of rock legend and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, who also appears in the second episode of Acid for Squares along with his wife Suzette, Blue’s mother. Together, they recount unusual experiences their family had following the tragic murder of Snider’s brother-in-law.
“We’re thrilled to be the inaugural interview on the Acid For Squares podcast,” Dee Snider told The Debrief. “These unexplainable events shattered our understanding of reality and forever altered our worldview.”
“We’re eager to share this powerful story with the world,” Snider added.
For Suzette Snider, the family’s personal experiences were eye-opening on multiple levels. She told The Debrief in an email that the experiences she and her family had “catalyzed our spiritual journey.”
“Acid For Squares is the culmination of that journey, and I can’t imagine a more fitting way to launch this program than by sharing the event that changed our lives forever,” she said.
For Dahl and Blue, their message is an outgrowth of such experiences, which has become clearer with time. Fundamentally, the couple believes that conversations involving phenomenal experiences are not just important, but may even be crucial in helping us broaden our understanding of reality, consciousness, and the current course of humanity.
“We believe this is the most crucial conversation of our time,” Dahl and Blue told The Debrief.
“Acid For Squares was born out of a desire to create a safe space for exploring supernatural phenomena and the tools that initiate altered states of consciousness—always with the goal of healing, peace, and spiritual enlightenment.”
The new podcast, featured on the fwd. network, is now available on all major podcast platforms. You can also find them on social media @acidforsquares.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.