Hello!

I’m taking part in another Nerd Nite event in NYC this weekend. Nerd Nite is a series of talks on interesting topics given by some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. I’ll obviously be the dumb one in this crowd.

This time I’ll be talking about the corporatization of psychedelics and how we’re about to be Avatared into a brave new world of God pills and depression cures.

I love Nerd Nite because it combines a number of my favorite things, including, but not limited to, drinking and nerds. This weekend it will take place at Caveat NYC and starts at 7 p.m. I encourage you to attend because it’s the last one of the year and it will be a blast.

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Looking forward to seeing you there!

Nerd Nite NYC Sat Dec 13, 2025 at Caveat NYC with Octopuses, New Psychedelics, and the How the Hallelujah Chorus Relates to Earthrise – with Singing!

Did Handel write the Messiah and its Hallelujah Chorus while tripping on ketamine and dressed as a giant squid? Let’s find out (well, kinda) at the December edition of Nerd Nite NYC which features fun-yet-informative presentations about squid and octopuses, weird new Silicon Valley-led hallucinogens, and the how the Hallelujah Chorus relates to the classic picture of the Earthrise – with actual singing! Tickets here.

Nerd Nite NYC
Saturday December 13, 2025 at 7pm (doors at 6:30pm)
Caveat NYC: 21A Clinton Street (Lower East Side)
$21 | $26 at the door
Tickets here: https://www.caveat.nyc/events/nerd-nite-12-13-2025

Back to the Lectures At-Hand:
*Presentation #1
Ink-Credible Invertebrates: Why We’re Suckers for Cephalopods
by Connor Gibbons

Description: Cephalopods are among the most fascinating animals on the planet and hold the title of “World’s Most Intelligent Invertebrate”. With three hearts, blue blood, and the ability to change color in milliseconds, these animals capture the imagination of all who encounter them. Why search the cosmos for alien life when the most alien creatures we know of are just a boat ride away (or swim if you’re feeling brave). Cephalopods have been a source of everything from superstition, scientific discoveries, and everything in between. They have inspired the tales of the Kraken and lent their neurons to Hodgkin and Huxley’s research on action potentials. Cephalopods have roamed the ocean for hundreds of millions of years, yet they still have enough gas in the tank to keep us awestruck on a daily basis.

Bio: Connor Gibbons is a marine biologist and professional aquarist. He runs a cephalopod culturing facility at Columbia University and was formerly the senior aquarist of fish and invertebrates at the New York Aquarium. Connor loves cephalopods, SCUBA diving, snowboarding, and reading comic books. If you have any good fish facts please send them his way after the talk!

*Presentation #2
K-Holes by Tech Bros: Silicon Valley’s New Synthetic Drug Companies
by John Biggs

Description: It’s the year 2025. Mankind has fallen. Politics is polarized, humanity is on the brink of war and starvation. But, with the help of a few Silicon Valley startups, we might soon be able to take one pill to stop anxiety, simulate religious experiences, and trip through the cosmos without the pesky problem of drug legality and human testing. In short, we’re about to enter a brave new world of synthetic hallucinogens and it’s going to get weird. In this presentation, former TechCrunch and Gizmodo editor John Biggs will explore the weird world of experimental psychedelics including a company that makes legal cocaine and ayahuasca that can be dialed into your specific mood and personality. What we can definitely say about these new pills is that they’ll beat doing a handful of weird mushrooms in a van outside a Dave Matthews Band concert with a dirty man named Porkchop.

*Presentation #3
The Most Important Selfie Ever Taken
by Jeff Vogel

Description: Earthrise, the magnificently humbling first photo of Mother Earth from space changed the world when first seen by humanity on December 24th, 1968. At this stage of human evolution we must bring this photo back into the public arena to help us move beyond tribalism and nationalism. Music will play an important part in this presentation!

Bio: I’m a retired respiratory therapist and have been singing for peace and justice with the New York City Labor Chorus since 1991.