I’m a journalist who has reported from more than a dozen countries and published investigations, long-form features, cultural commentary and dispatches. My work often explores the intersection of altered states, power, and culture, while I have also reported widely on health policy and wellness.

Here are a selection of my stories: It Was His Last Trip (Rolling Stone); Hardcore VR Ravers (WIRED); The Truth About the Barbershop Boom (Esquire UK magazine); America's 'Zombieland' (Dispatch/The Free Press); Is Porn Destroying Us? (VICE); What is a Mushroom? (L.A. Times print); The Psychedelic Scientist (Nautilus magazine); Does Vitamin D Combat Covid? (The Observer magazine cover); Saying No To Love Island (The Guardian G2 print); I Quit Sex (GQ); My Long-lost Sibling (Guardian Weekend cover); The 'Zero Covid' Zealots (The Telegraph print) and No Shame in the Neoshaman (VICE magazine).

In 2024, I was a Ferris-UC Berkeley fellow in psychedelic journalism. I contributed a chapter that year titled Why Do We Take 'Drugs'? for a Sainsbury Centre exhibition anthology. In 2023, I worked with VICE to transform my article on the psychedelic toad venom industry in Tulum, Mexico, into a short documentary. In 2018, I won the London Press Club’s Hugh Cudlipp award for outstanding student contribution for a series of articles on the gambling industry published in The Guardian.

I'm the author of two slim book volumes, firstly Should All Drugs Be Legalized? (Thames & Hudson, 2022) and then Psychedelics: A Pocket Primer (Hoxton Mini Press, 2025). I have given keynotes on my work at conferences on both sides of the Atlantic. I’m now writing my first novel, with representation through Aevitas Creative Agency.

For inquiries and tips, do reach out via: 
matthabusby@gmail.com
Signal: matthabusby.93
Instagram: matthabusby