Listen to an edited recording of this event. Download an MP3.

Most medicinal drugs can be tested in the lab or on animals, and their effects measured and observed. But drugs that alter consciousness can only be fully described by human subjects - often reporting wildly different experiences. Can science make sense of these subjective experiences, or are they better conveyed by artists or writers?

Speakers

Susan Blackmore, Visiting Professor at the School of Psychology, University of Plymouth

Geoff Dyer, novelist, essayist and art critic

Mike Jay, author and historian of drugs and science, curator of the 'High Society' exhibition

This event is now fully booked, but due to its popularity, we will be recording it and uploading the audio to this page after the event.