About

Michelle Lhooq is a Los Angeles-based journalist covering counterculture through the prism of raves, psychedelics, and collective states of euphoria.

She writes a Substack newsletter called Rave New World, and is the author of WEED: Everything You Want to Know But Are Always Too Stoned to Ask (Penguin Random House).

In 2026, she was a recipient of the Ferriss – UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship, which supports in-depth reporting on this new era of psychedelics.

After studying Comparative Literature at Columbia University, Lhooq was a music editor at VICE in NYC from 2014-2017. Since moving to Los Angeles, her writing has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, New York Magazine, GQ, and others.

She has has been interviewed in PAPER, i-D, Out, and Study Hall. She has also spoken at Harvard University, Boiler Room, Red Bull, Wonderfruit Festival, CTM Berlin, and Ozora. As a consultant on emerging cultural trends, her clients have included WGSN and The Future Laboratory.

You can reach her at Michellelhooq [at] gmail.com — and follow her on Instagram.