Pinchbeck was a founder of the 1990s
literary magazine Open City with fellow writers
Thomas Beller and
Robert Bingham. He has written for many publications, including
Esquire,
The New York Times Magazine,
The Village Voice, and
Rolling Stone. In 1994 he was chosen by
The New York Times Magazine as one of "Thirty Under Thirty" destined to change our culture through his work with
Open City. He has been a regular columnist for a number of magazines, including
Dazed & Confused. In
Breaking Open the Head, Pinchbeck explored
shamanism via ceremonies with tribal groups such as the
Bwiti of
Gabon, who eat
iboga, and the
Secoya people in the
Ecuadorean
Amazon, who take the psychedelic
tryptamine brew
ayahuasca in their ceremonies. He also attended the
Burning Man festival in
Nevada, and looked at use of psychedelic substances in a de-sacralized modern context. Philosophically influenced by the work of
anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner, through his direct experience and research Pinchbeck developed the hypothesis that shamanic and mystical views of
reality have validity, and that the modern world had forfeited an understanding of
intuitive aspects of being in its pursuit of rational
materialism. Drawing heavily, and somewhat controversially, from material shared on the Breaking Open the Head forums, Pinchbeck's second volume,
2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, chronicles
Mayan and
Hopi prophecies, and follows Pinchbeck's travels and travails as he responds to leads, both physical and intellectual, he receives via this forum. Examining the nature of
prophecy during this period, Pinchbeck investigates the New Age hypothesis of
Terence McKenna that humanity is experiencing an accelerated process of
global consciousness transformation, leading to a new understanding of time and space. The book details the
psi or
extra-sensory perception research of
Dean Radin, the theories of Terence McKenna, the phenomena of
crop circles, and a visit to calendar reform advocate
José Argüelles. Pinchbeck concludes with an account of receiving a transmission of prophetic material from the
Mesoamerican deity Quetzalcoatl,. His life and work are featured in the documentary
2012: Time for Change, featuring interviews with
Sting,
David Lynch,
Barbara Marx Hubbard, and others. In August 2013, Pinchbeck became the host of
Mind Shift, a new talk show, filmed in New York City, produced by Gaiam TV. Pinchbeck's
How Soon Is Now? (2017) explores the idea that the ecological crisis is a rite of passage or initiation for humanity collectively, forcing us to reach the next level of our consciousness as a species. The book outlines the changes to our technical infrastructure - agriculture, energy, industry - and our social, political, and economic system that Pinchbeck believes necessary to avoid the worst consequences of global warming and species extinction. ==Appearances and interviews==