‘People pay to be told lies’: the rise and fall of the world’s first ayahuasca multinational
Podcast: The Audio Long ReadRating: Explicit Published On: Fri Sep 12 2025
Description: Alberto Varela claimed he wanted to use sacred plant medicine to free people’s minds. But as the organisation grew, his followers discovered a darker reality. By Sam Edwards. Read by Sid Sagar. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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