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Planet Money
Planet Money

A trip to the magic mushroom megachurch

January 24, 2026 • 31m

Summary

⏱️ 9 min read

Overview

Planet Money explores the Zide Door Church in Oakland, California, which has become the world's largest psychedelic mushroom church with over 135,000 members. The episode examines how churches built around Schedule 1 substances operate in legal gray areas, using religious freedom claims to distribute psychedelics, and features perspectives from both the church's founder Pastor Dave Hodges and psychedelic church lawyer John Rapp on navigating the complex legal landscape.

Introduction to Zide Door Church

Reporter Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi visits the Zide Door Church in Oakland, a warehouse facility complete with armed security, metal detectors, and two ATMs. Founded by Pastor Dave Hodges, this unconventional church is built around the belief that psilocybin mushrooms provide direct access to the divine. The church features psychedelic murals and mushroom imagery throughout, serving as headquarters for what may be the largest psychedelic church in the world with over 135,000 members.

  • Zide Door Church is hidden in a nondescript Oakland warehouse with armed security and metal detectors
  • The church is organized around the belief that psilocybin mushrooms offer direct access to the divine
  • Pastor Dave Hodges claims to run the largest mushroom church in the world
  • Membership requires filling out an application pledging sincere religiosity and includes a 'are you a cop' checkbox
" Generally, I say I run the largest mushroom church in the world. That's, you know, if we're going simple. "
" Is there an are you a cop checkbox? There is. There is. We definitely ask if you work with law enforcement. There's even a special piece of paper we have everybody sign that says if you're a cop or working with cops, we're going to sue you for $100,000. "

The Sacrament Room and Church Operations

Inside Zide Door's 'sacrament room,' members make cash donations and receive various psychedelic substances in return. The church carefully avoids using the word 'sales,' instead framing transactions as donations followed by sacrament offerings. The room stocks everything from classic mushroom strains like Golden Teachers and Penis Envy to mushroom chocolates, candies, and even DMT vape pens. On busy weekends, the church sees over 300 members per day.

  • The church operates on cash-only donations, carefully avoiding the word 'sales'
  • The sacrament room offers various mushroom strains including Golden Teachers and Penis Envy
  • Mushroom confections include chocolates, taffy, and candy-like pressed sweets
  • DMT vape pens are available for approximately $100 donation
  • The church sees over 300 members per day on busy weekends
" There are very intentionally no sales here. The word sales is kind of a bad word. "
" It's like a psychedelic Willy Wonka situation. Yeah, kind of, kind of. "

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