Name: Breaking the Cycle: Undoing the Addictive Roots of Nuclear Madness with Dr. Howard Kornfeld and Roge
Start: 2025-11-21T19:00:00-08:00
Location: The Alembic

Breaking the Cycle: Undoing the Addictive Roots of Nuclear Madness with Dr. Howard Kornfeld and Roge

As the world faces the possibility of a new nuclear arms race, this event revisits one of humanity’s greatest existential threats through the lens of consciousness, activism, and the psychology and treatment of addiction.
Dr. Howard Kornfeld and Dr. Roger Walsh will trace a lineage of thought that connects medicine, psychiatry, and recovery movements to the addictive dimensions of power and the ultimate quest for peace. By drawing from the insights of thinkers such Gregory Bateson, Robert Lifton, and Joanna Macy, you'll join us in continuing California’s legacy of challenging the status quo, exploring the potential of psychedelics as a potential tool in the necessary transformation, and imagining a more conscious, compassionate world free of nuclear escalation.
Tickets are available on a sliding scale (use the slider tool) from $5-$50. All monies raised will be donated to the non-profit that manages the Berkeley Alembic in order to support this important community space.
About Dr. Kornfeld
Dr. Howard Kornfeld is a trailblazer in psychedelic medicine, addiction treatment, and efforts to prevent nuclear war. Dr. Kornfeld has been a leader in the psychedelic movement for many decades, including convening pivotal conferences at Esalen in the 1990s. Today, Dr. Kornfeld runs a leading addiction clinic in Marin County. He is nationally recognized for his pioneering work with buprenorphine (Suboxone™) in treating chronic pain and opioid use disorder. Dr. Kornfeld has also long been involved in efforts for prevention of nuclear war. He was a Delegate in 1981 at the First Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). In 2022, he attended the Nuclear Ban Forum in Vienna to support the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. He has just returned from participating in the 2025 IPPNW World Congress in Nagasaki.
About Dr. Walsh:
Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. DHL. graduated from Australia’s Queensland University with degrees in psychology, physiology, neuroscience, and medicine, and then came to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar. He is now at the University of California at Irvine where he is professor of psychiatry, philosophy, and anthropology, as well as a professor in the religious studies program. Roger’s books include "Staying Alive: The Psychology of Human Survival," "Paths Beyond Ego" (one of Common Boundary’s “Most Influential Books”), "Meditation: Classic and Contemporary Perspectives" (“Outstanding Academic Book of the Year Award”), "Essential Spirituality: The Seven Central Practices," with a foreword by The Dalai Lama, and "The World of Shamanism." He is currently editing "The World’s Great Wisdom: What Sages Say about Living Wisely and Well."