About Tara Austin

A passionate advocate for psilocybin access as a civil right, Tara Austin co-founded PAR (the Campaign for Psilocybin Access Rights) in 2021. Since then, she's spearheaded initiatives including a government petition with over 11,000 signatures to reschedule psilocybin for research and medical use, helped deliver more than 89,000 leaflets to key constituencies, launched a postcard campaign to lobby hundreds of MPs, and created the UK's first psychedelic ad campaign. Her work is fueled by a deep belief in psilocybin's healing potential.

Beyond her advocacy work, Tara is specialist in applied Behavioural Science and has been a many-time host of Rory Sutherland's Nudgestock, the world's largest festival of behavioural science and creativity. She believes her "dayjob" provides her with a unique perspective on the intersection of psychology, human behaviour, and the potential of psychedelics for harm reduction and positive influence over individual and collective well-being.

All posts by Tara Austin

The State’s War on Wisdom: Psilocybin and the New Civil Rights Movement

One doesn’t generally expect to be offered a job as the Prime Minister’s spokesperson, only to find oneself talking about magic mushrooms instead. But there I was, in the strange mid-covid summer of 2020, sitting in the Cabinet Room of No. 10 opposite Dominic Cummings. He had, rather out of […]

Tara Austin | 18th August 2026