Marcelo Leite is a science/environment journalist and book author based in São Paulo, Brazil. He writes the blog Virada Psicodélica and is a columnist with the daily Folha de S.Paulo. His latest book is "A Ciência Encantada de Jurema", slated for publication in English in 2026 by Springer Nature under the running title "The Enchanted Science of a Psychedelic Tree", a first-person narrative of encounters with the sacred plant jurema-preta (Mimosa tenuiflora) and the religion Catimbó/Jurema Sagrada that originated in the semi-arid Northeastern region of Brazil with roots both in Indigenous and African rituals. He also published in 2021 the book “Psiconautas – Viagens com a Ciência Psicodélica Brasileira”, available only in Portuguese from the publishing house Fósforo Editora.