Joanna Kempner is a widely sought-after speaker on topics like gender, sexism, and bias in medicine; migraine and stigma; the political suppression of science; and the social, political, and ethical implications of psychedelic medicine.
Selected Upcoming Talks
Migraine & Inequality
Migraine is the third most common disease in the world, affecting over 1 billion people according to the American Migraine Foundation – but it's incredibly under-resourced, underfunded, and mostly ignored. Might it have something to do with the fact that women are three times more likely than men to suffer from migraine?
September 24, 8-10am,
Washington, DC. Live and Virtual.
PPA Symposium
Free access on Day 1. I’ll be speaking about the “Promise and Peril of Psychedelic Citizen Science,” around 2-ish.
Virtuous Outlaws
A wide-ranging conversation with Dominic Sisti, Penn bioethicist, about ethical and epistemological considerations essential for academics conducting research with communities engaged in the use of illicit drugs. This discussion will explore researchers' responsibilities to respect the autonomy, safety, and knowledge contributions of these communities while ensuring vulnerable populations are not exploited.
October 5, 10-10:30am, Meyerson Hall, University of Pennsylvania
Psychedelic Outlaws
October 7th, 2:15-3:45pm.
Bickford Theater in the Morris Museum, Morristown, NJ.
TheraPsil hosts
Joanna Kempner and Joe McKay, 9/11 first-responder and a board member of Clusterbusters, for a wide-ranging discussion about the improbable story of patients, united by pain and the internet, decided to pioneer a psychedelic drug protocol to treat cluster headache, a neurological disease so painful it's known as the suicide headache.
50% of proceeds will be donated to Clusterbusters. Tickets here.
Brooklyn Psychedelic Society
This year's Synchronicity delves into the dualities of the psychedelic space, not only celebrating its optimism but also addressing the shadow elements that need to be brought to light for true transformation. While psychedelics hold great promise, the path forward requires acknowledging challenges both within ourselves and within the growing sector.
November 6: Chacruna Community Forum, in conversation with Tehseen Noorani and Nick Langlitz. Virtual.
November 7-8: UW Madison Psychedelic Symposium. In Person.
November 12: Psychedelic Association of Canada book club
November 14, American Headache Society
November 15, University of Arizona, Department of Sociology Colloquium.
Selected Past Talks
July 11th: Psychedelic Safety Seminar, with Katherine Cheung and Iain Jordan, moderated by Jules Evans. Register for free here.
September 6: Rutgers Addiction Research Center Symposium Keynote
September 13, Clusterbusters Annual Meeting
June 12th, 4pm Psychedelic Outlaws Book Talk: Psy-Bio Interest Group
Virtual Book Club….
June 9th, 16, 23rd, and 30th are 🔥
Book event w/ Bob Wold & Jim Fadiman on Psychedelics Today live. June 4th, 6-7pm EST.
“Psychedelic Outlaws.” Pain and Psychedelics Association. May 30, 2024.
“Cluster Headache and Stigma,” Elevate Program. Coalition for Headache and Migraine Patients, May 15, 2024.
May 2, 2024: “Whose Knowledge? Cyberbotany and the Quest for Epistemic Justice in Psychedelic Research,” Psychedelic Pasts, Presents, and Futures Workshop, Borghesi-Mellon, University of Wisconsin, 12:30-1:30pm CST
April 25, 2024: with Nancy Campbell, moderated by Shayla Love, Oshan Jarow, and organized by Nicholas Langlitz, Psychedelic Salon, at Psychedelic Assembly.
“The Invisible Endemic: Migraine and the Perpetuation of Inequality.” The Quadrangle, Haverford, PA. March 8, 2024.
“The Social Mycelium.” Pain and Psychedelics Association. Psychedelic Science, Denver, CO, June 22, 2023.
“Psychedelic Outlaws.” First Annual UK/European Clusterbusters Conference. Glasgow, UK. May 7, 2023.
“Evidence, Authority, and Ownership: Emerging Evidence and Epistemological Problems in the Regulation of Psychedelic Medicine.” Center for Health and Wellbeing. Princeton University. March 1st, 2023.
“Role of Citizen Science in Psychedelic Research,” PhilaDelic Conference. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, July 13-15th, 2023.
“Migraine Stigma and Advocacy,” ACT Now Fellows and Advocates Program. Miles for Migraine, annual presentation, 2020-22.
“The Social Life of Psilocybin: Past, Present, & Future.” Keynote Speaker. 2nd Annual Neuroscience Conference on the topic The Neuroscience of Hallucinogens in Treating Depression and PTSD. Montclair State University. October 14th, 2022.
“Psychedelics and Pain,” Panelist at Student Psychedelic Conference. Sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy UK, Drug Science Student Society, and the Southampton Psychedelics Research Society, April 10, 2022.
“Standards without Labs: Drug Development in the Psychedelic Underground.” School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin. March 31, 2022. Watch the talk here.
“A Population Health Approach to Migraine.” Panelist for the Health Equity and Inclusion Course presented during the 2021 American Headache Society annual meeting. Virtual Presentation.
“Women’s Chronic Illness During a Pandemic.” Panelist at Roundtable Discussion in Collaboration with the Bipartisan Women’s Congressional Caucus, August 12th, 2020.
“Patient-Led Research as a Source of Pharmaceutical Innovation,” Presented by Joanna Kempner and John Bailey to the Jefferson Headache Center, Philadelphia, PA, November 7, 2019.
“Psychedelic Healing: A Public Panel.” University of Edinburgh, July 17th, 2019.
“Pain-related Stigma, Prejudice, and Discrimination.” Research Priorities in Ethics and Chronic Pain Management. University of Toronto. Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. May 30, 2019.
“The Daytrippers: Psychedelics, Citizen Scientists, and the Will to Survive.” Keynote Speaker. 36th Qualitative Analysis and Ethnographic Research Conference. May 23, 2019.
“Migraine and Stigma: What Do We Know.” Shut the Door on Stigma: Collaboration to Reframe Migraine Disease. Coalition for Headache and Migraine Patients. Washington, DC, April 23, 2019. Co-Chair and Presenter.
“Citizen Science in the Psychedelic Renaissance: Surviving Pain During Prohibition.” Anthropology and Sociology Senior Class Speaker. Williams College, March 5, 2019.
“Our Bodies, Our Identities: What’s Standing Between Women and Quality Health Care?” Invited Panelist at the United State of Women Summit. May 5th, 2018.