Bob Schwartz

It is January 24, 1961. Just a few days earlier, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as President of the United States, marking a change of era from the days of President Eisenhower.

You look inside your TV Guide to see what’s on that evening.

You might stay up until 11:10 to watch Citizen Kane. But there at 10:00 is an odd-sounding program:

Alcoa Presents

“The Sacred Mushroom” is a variety said to give the power of extrasensory perception to those who eat it. Filmed on location are religious rites of the Chatino Indians in Oaxaca, Mexico, who use the mushroom as part of their ritual. Host John Newland also samples the mushroom and, afterward, undergoes clinical tests.

Sacred Mushroom? Extrasensory perception? Chatino Indians in Oaxaca, Mexico? Okay, let’s have a look: