Then and Now; Now and Then

In 1957, Gordon Wasson published his now famous “Seeking the Magic Mushroom” article in Life magazine. At that time, America was confident riding the wave of victory from World War II and booming with what some called “good capitalism.” New York City was seen as the financial and media center of the free world. Business, government, and the public seemed to move in the same direction.

But beneath that confidence was deep anxiety. The Soviet Union had tested the atomic bomb and launched Sputnik. Americans feared communism, brainwashing, and spies. Movies like The Manchurian Candidate captured that fear. Even science fiction was filled with mind control, secret plots, and nuclear disaster.

Still, the overall story was clear: America was good. Communism was bad. And New York—at least in the minds of the media elite—was the center of reason, progress, and truth. 

“Instead of one big enemy like communism, we now face many smaller, harder-to-see threats—some real, some imagined.”

Fast forward to today. The U.S. population and averaged measures of wealth have more than doubled since the 1950. But the world's population and wealth disparities are growing faster. There’s a new kind of fear and it feels very different. We worry about many things—climate change, pandemics, AI, economic collapse, immigration, conspiracy theories, and even whether capitalism and democracy can survive. 

But unlike in the 1950s, there’s less trust in leaders or institutions. Business, government, and the public no longer seem aligned. Some people even cheer when billionaires fight politicians, or when politicians attack “the elites.” 

Instead of one big external enemy (like communism), we now have many smaller, harder-to-see threats—some real, some imagined. And while the U.S. is still powerful, it no longer feels like the unchallenged center of the world.

If Wasson were alive today, would he still feel at home in New York’s exclusive clubs or bank boardrooms? Or would he sense that something fragile had shifted?

In Her Magic Mushroom Memoir, Lidiya’s story captures this tension. As a scientist rooted in the postwar ideals of progress, she also senses that those ideals are unraveling. Her search for truth—across borders, cultures, and consciousness—reflects how the balance between confidence and paranoia has shifted, again and again.