Podcast Summary: The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey

Episode: How to Get and Stay Sober in 2026 (The Biohacker’s Guide)
Guest: Luke Storey
Date: December 25, 2025
Length: ~77 minutes

Episode Overview

Dave Asprey is joined by Luke Storey for a deep exploration into addiction, recovery, and consciousness expansion. The conversation examines what addiction truly is (not just drugs and alcohol), the evolving role psychedelics play in healing trauma and supporting sobriety, and how biohacking and spirituality are intertwined in overcoming personal and societal challenges with addiction. Luke shares his powerful first-hand experiences, both with traditional 12-step recovery and with profound journeys using plant medicines.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Addiction Is More Than Substances ([02:49]–[09:30])

• Addiction as a Universal Human Struggle:

  • Dave and Luke expand the definition of addiction beyond drugs or alcohol: “You actually may have addiction. A lot of people have addictions that are just more socially acceptable, like work, sex, gambling, or social media.” (Dave, [02:49])
  • Luke suggests even persistent negative thinking is a form of addiction: “Many of us are addicted to false thoughts that we continually think and can't stop.” ([08:36])

• Addiction Roots: Disconnection and Trauma:

  • Luke argues loneliness and lack of community are core drivers of addiction: “One of the main underlying issues in addiction is just loneliness, right? A disconnection from other people.” ([06:35])
  • He also notes trauma, both experienced and self-inflicted through addictive cycles, perpetuate addiction.

2. The Inner Work of Recovery: Spirituality & Self-Awareness ([09:30]–[15:14])

• Addiction to Negative Thoughts

  • Dave reframes repetitive rumination as addiction: “If your brain constantly gives you an alert...alerts kind of feel good because you get a little dopamine, a little bit of cortisol.”
  • Luke: “It's like an addiction to one's own biochemistry, right? Cortisol to adrenaline.” ([10:32])

• Spirituality’s Role in Recovery:

  • Dave reflects, “Anyone successfully dealing with addiction and recovering ends up having some aspect of spirituality come in.”
  • Luke’s personal narrative: “When you sober up...the real work begins. Which was a shock to me...everyone said, all your problems are because you’re an addict. If you just got sober, you’d be a great guy. I eventually comply—and realized, actually, drugs and alcohol weren’t really my problem. It was unresolved trauma.” ([12:15])

3. The Physiology and Psychology of Addiction ([15:14]–[19:54])

• Why do some become addicts and others don't?
  • Luke shares a family perspective: siblings with nearly identical upbringings responded very differently to trauma and substances—one became addicted, the other didn’t: “I think it has something to do with just our biological makeup...”
  • Dave points to both trauma and biological predisposition, referencing vagal tone and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis.

4. Biohacking, Neurofeedback, & the Role of Nicotine ([18:22]–[24:55])

• Redefining Addiction:

  • Luke discusses using nicotine—“If you said, hey Luke, what if we throw away all your nicotine gum tonight? I’d probably be fishing it out of the trash.” ([20:20])
  • Dave highlights the risk/benefit of habitual compounds like caffeine and nicotine: “Low doses of nicotine, really good for you… It’s an anti-aging drug and anti-Alzheimer’s at low doses. But smoking is bad for you.”

• Biohacking as Recovery:

  • Both share how tools like hyperbaric oxygen, neurofeedback, and meditation have been key in their healing.
  • Quote: “I started doing hyperbaric chambers and infrared saunas...I was so physically toxic and sick I couldn’t think, my emotions were erratic, and I was obsessed with thoughts that were harmful to myself.” (Luke, [13:53])

5. Psychedelics & Recovery: A New Frontier ([29:13]–[42:16])

• The Limits of Abstinence & The Call to Psychedelics:

  • For 22 years, Luke maintained total abstinence, but started hearing the “call” to experience plant medicine like ayahuasca after meeting many in recovery who’d found deeper healing.
  • “A lot of addicts have codependency...and speaking of addictions that aren’t a substance, being addicted to other people is very real, as is codependency.” (Luke, [34:30])

• First Experiences with Plant Medicine:

  • Luke describes seeking guidance (even from channeled sources) before trying ayahuasca and how it forced him to reevaluate his “I am sober” identity.
  • “Higher states of consciousness can heal. Parts within me didn’t heal...there were traumas in my body and psyche preventing me from living fully as a sober man, despite 22 years of very committed spiritual work.” ([41:05])

• Historical Roots:

  • Luke recounts how the founder of AA, Bill Wilson, experienced his life-changing “white light” spiritual awakening using plant-based medicines—showing plant medicine’s roots in recovery, even if AA now prohibits substance use ([38:58]–[41:00]).

6. Psychedelic Caution: Preparation, Integration, and Risk ([45:25]–[53:41])

• Discernment & Dangers:

  • Dave and Luke stress the utmost respect, intentionality, and preparation before using powerful psychedelics, especially ayahuasca or 5-MeO-DMT.
  • “These medicines are not something to play around with. It can get very dark and things could go horribly wrong...there are definitely dark forces in that realm.” (Luke, [51:29])
  • “A good shaman is like a firewall—to keep the bad stuff out while you get rid of yours.” (Dave, [50:25])

• Integration Is Paramount:

  • Luke: “I've done therapy, 12-step groups, meditation, neurofeedback, years of work before plant medicines. I know the goal when I go in: deep presence, spiritual connection, loving, healthy relationships...”

7. Tuning Into the Body: Differentiating Urge and Intuition ([60:55]–[64:14])

• Addiction versus Intuitive Calling:
  • Dave asks how to distinguish the urge of addiction from the healthy “call” to an experience:
    • Luke: “It’s the difference between alignment and infatuation. Addiction is infatuation, obsession, craving...anticipating relief... With alignment, there’s a ‘lock and key’ feeling, like nature’s will and my will line up. There’s zero obsession.” ([62:41])
    • Dave: “For transformation experiences, if you feel a little fear, that’s a good thing. That’s your system saying, don’t you dare hack into me and be in charge.”

8. The Wisdom of Order and Dosing: A Cautious Ladder ([67:00]–[70:43])

• Order of Operations:

  • Dave’s recommendation: start with breathwork, therapy, and “softer” techniques before progressing to heavier psychedelics if called.
    • “Start light with ketamine which is legal and easily available, then mushrooms...then maybe 5-MeO...then maybe ayahuasca.”
  • Both praise microdosing for entry-level experiences, with Kanna highlighted by Luke as a legal, gentle heart opener ([70:03]).

• Physical Brain Health Considerations:

  • Dr. Daniel Amen’s work is referenced repeatedly as a reminder: all substances (including alcohol, cannabis, ayahuasca, ketamine) can negatively affect the brain, reaffirming that these interventions should be rare, intentional, supported by integration, and used only if truly called ([71:50]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Reality of Recovery:

  “I got on my hands and knees, put my hands in prayer position, and prayed the most humble, sincere prayer of my life…I just want to be free. And from that moment until this moment right now, I never experienced that obsession ever again.”
  —Luke Storey ([44:11])

• On Trauma and Addiction:

  “It took me one day to realize when I walked out of rehab that drugs and alcohol weren’t really what my problem was. It was unresolved trauma.”
  —Luke Storey ([12:15])

• On Addiction as a Universal Human Experience:

  “We’re all habituated to something.”
  —Luke Storey ([09:29])

• On the Power of Community:

  “The unconditional love, like that field of energy present in a group of people that all share one purpose…that purpose is to get sober.”
  —Luke Storey ([07:45])

• On Preparation and Plant Medicine:

  “When you did your work first—lots of personal development, therapy, addiction recovery, neurofeedback—plant medicines can offer real healing. But so many jump in looking for a panacea and skip the work.”
  —Dave Asprey ([52:15])

• On Intuitive Decision Making:

  “It’s got to go from a maybe, to a yes, to a hell yes, to an f yes before I walk in…Otherwise, I walk away.”
  —Luke Storey ([59:53])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:49] – Addiction as a spectrum, not limited to substances
• [06:35] – Isolation, community, and the foundation of addiction
• [12:15] – Root cause: trauma and the real start of recovery
• [18:22] – Redefining addiction: substances, behaviors, and thoughts
• [29:13] – Luke’s 22 years abstinence and journey toward psychedelics
• [38:58] – Bill Wilson, AA, and the original plant-medicine “white light” experience
• [45:25] – Dangers of spiritual hacking, respect for set, setting, and guidance
• [51:29] – Polarity: encountering both light and dark during plant journeys
• [60:55] – Differentiating intuition (“callings”) from addiction/compulsion
• [67:00] – Order of intervention: therapy → breathwork → legal psychedelics → plant medicines
• [71:50] – Brain health and the limits of frequent psychedelic use

Tone & Takeaways

This episode is candid, insightful, and deeply honest—balancing science with lived experience, reverence for spiritual work with rigorous caution, and humor with humility. Both Dave and Luke are vulnerable about their struggles and clinical failures, open about their exploration of shamanic and neurohacking approaches, and insistent on the necessity of real inner work alongside any “biohacks.”

For listeners:

• Recovery is complex, multi-faceted, and highly personal
• True healing combines community, spirituality, practical interventions, and (sometimes) responsible engagement with altered states
• Caution, integration, and humility are non-negotiable in the psychedelic space
• “Doing the work,” be it therapy, spiritual practice, or biohacking, is what unlocks transformation—not a silver bullet or substance alone

Find Luke Storey at LukeStorey.com, his podcast and EMF Home Safety Masterclass.

Follow Dave Asprey for cutting-edge biohacking, human Upgrade, and longevity science.

Listeners seeking inspiration, practical caution, and actionable wisdom for both addiction recovery and conscious life design will find this episode informative and deeply moving.