Shows
The Future of InsurancePaul VanderMarck, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, SageSure Paul VanderMarck is the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer of SageSure, leading the development of its proprietary technology platform and adopting new technologies to continue to advance the user experience. Previously, Paul was a managing director at boutique investment bank Financial Technology Partners, where he worked with a wide range of high-growth businesses across the insurtech landscape on capital raising and mergers and acquisitions. He previously spent 25 years as Chief Product Officer and as a member of the leadership team that grew Risk Management Solutions (RMS) from a startup into a $300 million revenue business while creating an...2025-04-2929 minThe Future of InsurancePaul VanderMarck, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, SageSure Paul VanderMarck is the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer of SageSure, leading the development of its proprietary technology platform and adopting new technologies to continue to advance the user experience. Previously, Paul was a managing director at boutique investment bank Financial Technology Partners, where he worked with a wide range of high-growth businesses across the insurtech landscape on capital raising and mergers and acquisitions. He previously spent 25 years as Chief Product Officer and as a member of the leadership team that grew Risk Management Solutions (RMS) from a startup into a $300 million revenue business while creating an...2025-04-2929 min
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcastPlants of the Gods: Episode 9. Ergot, LSD and the Birth of Western ReligionsErgot, LSD and the Birth of Western Religions – Ergot is a fungus that parasitizes rye where - in the Middle Ages - it was sometimes milled into the flour used to make bread. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting folks who ate the bread, ergot is rich in powerful alkaloids that can cause a range of symptoms, from visions to gangrene to death. Some historians have postulated that consumption of ergotized bread may have cause the bizarre behaviors that resulted in the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts in the late 17th century. When employed correctly, ergot offers many beneficial cu...2021-01-2730 minThe Plants of the Gods podcastPlants of the Gods: Episode 9. Ergot, LSD and the Birth of Western ReligionsErgot, LSD and the Birth of Western Religions – Ergot is a fungus that parasitizes rye where - in the Middle Ages - it was sometimes milled into the flour used to make bread. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting folks who ate the bread, ergot is rich in powerful alkaloids that can cause a range of symptoms, from visions to gangrene to death. Some historians have postulated that consumption of ergotized bread may have cause the bizarre behaviors that resulted in the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts in the late 17th century. When employed correctly, ergot offers many beneficial cu...2021-01-2730 min
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcastPlants of the Gods: Episode 8. Hexing Herbs and the Witches of Medieval EuropeHexing Herbs and the Witches of Medieval Europe – The archetypal image of the witch as an old woman riding a broomstick was not a Hollywood creation. In the Middle Ages, “witches” were often skilled herbalists. Some used powerful plants of the Solanaceae family - plants like henbane and mandrake - that are rich in hallucinogenic compounds known as tropane alkaloids that can induce sensations of flying - to achieve altered states. And these plants were then rubbed on broomsticks that were applied to vaginal membranes, so they did fly through the hallucinogenic landscapes of their mind... Sources: ...2021-01-2037 minThe Plants of the Gods podcastPlants of the Gods: Episode 8. Hexing Herbs and the Witches of Medieval EuropeHexing Herbs and the Witches of Medieval Europe – The archetypal image of the witch as an old woman riding a broomstick was not a Hollywood creation. In the Middle Ages, “witches” were often skilled herbalists. Some used powerful plants of the Solanaceae family - plants like henbane and mandrake - that are rich in hallucinogenic compounds known as tropane alkaloids that can induce sensations of flying - to achieve altered states. And these plants were then rubbed on broomsticks that were applied to vaginal membranes, so they did fly through the hallucinogenic landscapes of their mind... Sources: ...2021-01-2037 min
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcastPlants of the Gods: S1E5. Curare Arrow Poison: Silent Killer of the Amazon RainforestCurare – Once known as the “flying death of the Amazon,” curare is a mixture of rainforest plants that indigenous peoples smear on the tips of their arrows or blowdarts to give them a deadly effectiveness. In the hands of western physicians, however, curare has been converted into a life-sustaining medication, a muscle relaxant in abdominal surgery. Sources: Balick, Michael J., and Paul Alan Cox. Plants, People, and Culture the Science of Ethnobotany. CRC Press, 2020. Marks, Geoffrey, and William K. Beatty. The Medical Garden: Illustrated. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. Plotkin, Mark J. Amazon: What Ever...2020-12-3042 minThe Plants of the Gods podcastPlants of the Gods: S1E5. Curare Arrow Poison: Silent Killer of the Amazon RainforestCurare – Once known as the “flying death of the Amazon,” curare is a mixture of rainforest plants that indigenous peoples smear on the tips of their arrows or blowdarts to give them a deadly effectiveness. In the hands of western physicians, however, curare has been converted into a life-sustaining medication, a muscle relaxant in abdominal surgery. Sources: Balick, Michael J., and Paul Alan Cox. Plants, People, and Culture the Science of Ethnobotany. CRC Press, 2020. Marks, Geoffrey, and William K. Beatty. The Medical Garden: Illustrated. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. Plotkin, Mark J. Amazon: What Ever...2020-12-3042 min