Joanna Harcourt-Smith


Joanna Harcourt-Smith is a psychedelic activist, writer, and founder of Future Primitive Podcasting, notable for being the former partner of philosopher and Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary.
Harcourt-Smith has written two unpublished biographies and many poems. She is also the author of Tripping the Bardo with Timothy Leary: My Psychedelic Love Story. The book recounts her experiences while "she was a flower-power teenager in the Sixties," lived with the Rolling Stones in France, cavorted with playboy Gunther Sachs, Salvador Dali and the Aga Khan, before falling in love with Timothy Leary, by whom she has a son, Marlon Gobel. Previous to Marlon, Joanna had two children, Lara Tambacopoulou, and Alexis d'Amecourt.
Although they were never legally married, Tripping the Bardo with Timothy Leary describes Harcourt-Smith's experiences as Timothy Leary's "common law wife" between 1972 and 1977, a period that spanned the divide between his fourth and fifth marriages. They met while he was a fugitive in Europe, and from there the pair traveled to Afghanistan together. He was arrested in Afghanistan and the couple was sent to California. While in the U.S., Harcourt-Smith advocated for Leary's release during his four-year imprisonment. Following his release they entered the Witness Protection Program.
On her weekly podcast, Future Primitive, Harcourt-Smith has over 400 interviews archived beginning in 2006. The interviews focus on preserving oral traditions and uniting emergent communities for a future that honors the planet.
Harcourt-Smith speaks five languages, speaking three very well and two well enough to build relationships.

Personal life

She is the stepdaughter of financier Árpád Plesch, and the aunt of financier Arpad Busson.
Harcourt-Smith currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.