JOHN BIGGS TALKS SHROOMIES, PSILOCYBIN & THE SEARCH FOR HEALING | COMIC CRUSADERS PODCAST #762

WEPA, Crusaders! John Biggs joins Al Mega on Comic Crusaders Podcast #762, and this conversation takes us somewhere very different as we dig into his new book, Shroomies: How Mushrooms Cracked My Heart Open—and What They Can Teach Us About Healing. Biggs spent years covering technology, startups and Silicon Valley as a journalist, including a long run with TechCrunch, but Shroomies sends the self-described skeptic into the complicated world surrounding psilocybin.

This isn’t a conversation about everybody dropping what they’re doing and eating mushrooms, either. What grabbed me about John’s approach is the collision between his reporter brain and something intensely personal. The book mixes memoir with journalism as he explores his own experiences alongside the scientists, veterans, grieving families, entrepreneurs and others he encountered while reporting on the growing psychedelic movement.

We get into John’s journey from covering gadgets and startups to writing about psychedelics, what happened when his skepticism collided with personal experience, and how difficult it is to separate legitimate research from hype when money, wellness culture and Silicon Valley inevitably enter the conversation. We also talk about depression and grief, the changing public conversation around psilocybin, commercialization, misinformation and what John still questions after spending years reporting on this world.

Shroomies was released by Skyhorse Publishing on September 8, 2026, and clocks in at 288 pages. The timing makes our conversation especially interesting because John isn’t coming in years after publication to repeat stories he’s already told a thousand times. The book is out NOW, and we get to talk about what he found, what surprised him and where the skeptic in him still refuses to shut the hell up.

Hit PLAY and hang with John Biggs and Al Mega as we get into Shroomies, journalism, psychedelics, skepticism, healing, Silicon Valley and what happens when a reporter who has spent his career questioning other people’s claims suddenly has to interrogate his own experiences. This one’s personal, complicated and definitely outside our usual comic-book playground, which is exactly why I wanted to have the damn conversation. The Crusade Never Ends! WEPA!

Shroomies: How Mushrooms Cracked My Heart Open and What They Can Teach Us About Healing is available now from Skyhorse Publishing.

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Website: https://johnbiggsbooks.com
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The Comic Crusaders Podcast is hosted by Al Mega.

This interview is presented for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical, psychiatric, or legal advice. Do not stop or alter prescribed medication without consulting a qualified health-care professional. Psychedelic laws vary by jurisdiction.

The Crusade Never Ends!