***Warning: this episode contains some potentially upsetting content about suicidal thoughts and miscarriage. If you would like to skip this part please fast forward from 09:50 to 17:00*** Julia Robinson speaks with experts in the field of psychedelics and mental health, and hears the personal account of someone with first-hand experience of participating in one of these trials, to uncover the truth behind the hype. Thanks to Sarah Bateup, therapy lead at Clerkenwell Health; David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology; and David Taylor, director of pharmacy and pathology at the Maudsley Hospital and professor of psychopharmacology at King’s College London. A special thank you to Mat for sharing his story with us. This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh, with support from Nigel Praities.

So-called ‘skinny jabs’ have been heralded as game-changers for weight management. Wegovy (semaglutide) is due to be launched in the UK imminently, will soon be available from community pharmacies, with large chains already setting up waiting lists for people wanting to get the weekly injection privately. In this episode, Nigel Praities, executive editor, talks with Dawn Connelly and Emma Wilkinson about how these injections work, who is eligible for them and concerns about whether community pharmacies can provide the long-term lifestyle and psychological support needed for weight loss to be successful. This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.

TV personality Davina McCall has been at the forefront of a much-needed sea change in the awareness of menopause symptoms, leading to many more women seeking HRT. However, as demand as risen, there have also been major shortages of certain products and there have also been claims that, in some cases, hormone therapies are being overprescribed. In this episode, Katherine Sole and Julia Robinson speak with two experts on how best to prescribe HRT and how pharmacists can manage difficult conversations when it comes to shortages. Thanks to Paula Briggs, consultant and chair of the British Menopause Society, and Hayley Berry, lead learning development pharmacist at the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education, for their help. British Menopause Society’s tools for clinicians: https://thebms.org.uk/publications/tools-for-clinicians/ Newson Health Menopause Society’s ‘Easy HRT Prescribing Guide’: https://www.nhmenopausesociety.org/resources/easy-hrt-prescribing-guide/ This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.

In this second Spotlight episode, we talk through an investigation that has shown the awarding gap between white pharmacy graduates and their ethnic minority counterparts in the UK has narrowed during the COVID-19 pandemic. PJ journalists Dawn Connelly and Corrinne Burns share the inside story on how they put the investigation together, what the results show and their potential implications for more inclusive teaching on the pharmacy degree after the pandemic. Read the full investigation here: https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/infographic-the-ethnicity-awarding-gap-for-the-pharmacy-degree-during-covid-19 This episode is presented by Nigel Praities, executive editor, and was produced by Geoff Marsh.

In this learning episode, we have enlisted the help of two experts to explore what it takes to deliver effective deprescribing and ask what pharmacists can do to help patients get the most from their medicines. For links to relevant articles and further resources on deprescribing visit the PJ website: https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/effective-deprescribing-getting-the-most-from-medicine Many thanks to Lelly Oboh, consultant pharmacist in the care of older people at Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Community Health Services, and Tony Avery, GP and NHS England’s national clinical director for prescribing, for their expertise. This programme is presented by Alex Clabburn, senior editor, research and learning, and was produced by Geoff Marsh.