menu_open Columnists
Mattha Busby

Mattha Busby

Vice

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

In England, Women and Children Are Moving in With a Doomsday Cult—and a Man Calling Himself ‘the New Pope’

According to Islamic legend, a messianic figure known as the Mahdi will appear before Judgement Day to vanquish injustice and tyranny, and usher in an...

02.07.2025 3

Vice

Mattha Busby

Who the Hell Is ‘Jacky Jhaj’—the Man Charged Over the Disneyland Pedophile Wedding?

The casting agent had an unusual task to fulfill: they needed to find 100 children, aged from five to 15 years old, to be extras in a...

27.06.2025 8

Vice

Mattha Busby

The VICE Guide to Rock Bottom

This story is from the spring 2025 edition of VICE magazine: THE ROCK BOTTOM ISSUE. To subscribe to receive 4 print issues of our newly relaunched...

03.06.2025 10

Vice

Mattha Busby

The Life and Death of Sean Fitzgerald, Killed ‘Lawfully’ by UK Police

The chainsaw’s whirring teeth made short work of the porch door, and armed officers wearing balaclavas surged into the house in Coventry’s...

22.05.2025 10

Vice

Mattha Busby

This Peruvian Shaman Became a Popstar—Now He’s Accused of Sexual Abuse and Leading a ‘Cult’

Like many who decide to try ayahuasca, 24-year-old Tania was depressed and searching for meaning when she first experienced the plant-based...

15.05.2025 7

Vice

Mattha Busby

No Shame in the Neoshaman: The Deadly Rise and Fall of a Florida Ayahuasca Church

This long-read investigation is taken from VICE magazine, v29n1: THE ROCK BOTTOM ISSUE. To subscribe to four print issues each year, click here....

01.04.2025 2

Vice

Mattha Busby

The Problem With the ‘Magical Children’ of the Telepathy Tapes

Ironically, for a podcast that seems designed to taunt all that is empirically provable, the numbers are the most impressive thing about the Telepathy...

20.03.2025 5

Vice

Mattha Busby

The Case Against Porn

Pornhub, XVideos, XNXX, and OnlyFans. The United States’ top four porn sites, a kind of Mount Rushmore of virtual smut, attract some 2.3 billion...

30.01.2025 5

Vice

Mattha Busby

The Man Who Can ‘Prove’ Life Is a Simulation—With Just a DMT Vape and a Laser

You may have seen him recently, while doom-scrolling your phone. The man with the messiah haircut, a DMT vape, and the laser, claiming to have...

28.01.2025 3

Vice

Mattha Busby

The Ballad of Seth Ferranti, Who the Cops Just Won’t Leave Alone

Seth Ferranti calls himself “the Outlaw Filmmaker.” So it’s perhaps no surprise that he just got arrested with more than 400 lbs of cannabis in his...

31.12.2024 10

Vice

Mattha Busby

People Are Binge-Eating Huge Doses of Magic Mushrooms Live on Social Media

When Chris, known on X as @Chompers2024, announced that he would livestream himself eating 19g of magic mushrooms—for the avoidance of doubt, a...

26.11.2024 10

Vice

Mattha Busby

I Just Went to My First Ever Jesus-Themed Sex Party

“You can write down your boundaries and desires at the BDSM station back there,” a flamboyant greeter tells us, as we step into the hall of the...

31.10.2024 2

Vice

Mattha Busby

American ‘Neoshamans’ Are Running Psychedelics Hotels in Costa Rica—and Someone Died

This story is produced in partnership with DoubleBlind, an independent magazine covering the psychedelic industry. In October 2023, Lauren Levis...

15.10.2024 4

Vice

Mattha Busby

Donald Trump Doesn’t Want You To See This Film

Donald Trump is used to waging war against those seeking to hold him to account—from political rivals, to the media, to law enforcement. Now he’s...

04.10.2024 20

Vice

Mattha Busby

Making Friends on the World’s First Fetish Cruise Ship

Lex Ruthless, a former Protestant clergyman, has always wanted to make a difference. “In the church, everyone wants to belong. But I found people...

14.08.2024 2

Vice

Mattha Busby

The Bankrupt Ayahuasca Church Where Negligence Led to Death

At the Soul Quest Ayahuasca Church of Mother Earth retreat center, on the opposite side of Orlando to Disney World Florida, guests are promised a “...

09.08.2024 3

Vice

Mattha Busby

The Bankrupt Ayahuasca Church Where Negligence Led to Death

At the Soul Quest Ayahuasca Church of Mother Earth retreat center, on the opposite side of Orlando to Disney World Florida, guests are promised a “...

08.08.2024 2

Vice

Mattha Busby

The Bankrupt Ayahuasca Church Where Negligence Led to Death

Soul Quest claims it is unable to pay $15 million in compensation to the grieving family of 22-year-old Brandon Begley.

07.08.2024 1

Vice

Mattha Busby

The Mystery of Why the World's Most Iconic Magic Mushroom is Banned in Louisiana

The psychoactive fly agaric is legal in every US state but one. When rumours of voodoo connections surfaced, I had to get to the bottom of it.

31.07.2024 2

Vice

Mattha Busby