Brown was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1961, and he grew up in the nearby town of Somerville. He moved to Tampa, Florida in 1980 to study psychology at the University of South Florida, and attended five other universities in California, New York, and France as part of his formal education. He transferred to the University of Southern California in 1981, and studied at l'université de Dijon in France in 1983. He did his graduate work in psychobiology and behavioral neuroscience at the University of California, Santa Cruz (1984—85), New York University (1985—86), and the University of Southern California (1989—90). Brown currently lives in the Santa Cruz mountains of California.

Brown holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in psychobiology from New York University. He conducted research in electrical brain stimulation at NYU from 1985—1986, and in learning and memory at the Hedco Neuroscience lab at USC from 1989-1990.

Brown's first book, Brainchild ... one of the very first science fiction novels about nanotechnology ... was published in 1988 by New Falcon Publications. Mavericks of the Mind, his second book and first collection of interviews, was published in 1993 by Crossing Press. Voices from the Edge, his second collection of interviews, was published in 1995 by the Crossing Press. Both of these books were done with co-interviewer Rebecca McClen Novick.

From 1996-1999 Brown researched the unexplained powers of animals with British biologist Rupert Sheldrake. This work culminated in three scientific papers and was summarized in Dr. Sheldrake's books Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home (Crown, 1999) and The Sense of Being Stared At (Crown, 2003).

In 2002 Brown earned a Certified Massage Practitioner (C.M.P.) certification in massage therapy at Twin Lakes College in Santa Cruz, California.

In 2005 Palgrave Macmillan published Brown's third collection of interviews, Conversations on the Edge of the Apocalypse. His fourth collection of interviews, Mavericks of Medicine, was published in 2006 by Smart Publications. Brown's seventh book, Detox with Oral Chelation--a health book about chelation therapy, which he coauthored with Garry Gordon, M.D.--was published by Smart Publications in 2008.

In 1993, at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Brown was moderator for "Mavericks of the Mind Live!", a panel debate with Robert Anton Wilson, Stephen LaBerge, Nick Herbert, Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, and others. In 1994, Brown was moderator for "Techno & Psyche", a panel debate with Timothy Leary, John Lilly, Laura Huxley, and others at UCLA. Both of these events were recorded and produced on DVD by Sound Photosynthesis in Mill Valley, California. Brown has appeared as a lecturer and workshop leader at many events and institutions that explore mind sciences and the frontiers of consciousness, including the University of California, Santa Cruz, the Starwood Festival in upstate New York, the Brain and Mind Symposium in Los Angeles, the Health & Life Enrichment Expo in Pasadena, the Electronic Cafe in Santa Monica, and MAPS Benefits in San Francisco. He frequently lectures on the psychology of maverick thinkers and taught a series of workshops in "The Science of Sex and Drugs" with his colleague Annie Sprinkle at the Harvey Milk Institute in San Francisco in 2002 and 2003.

Brown has appeared on numerous television shows, speaking about smart drugs, health & nutrition, the future of technology, unusual animal behavior prior to earthquakes, how drugs effect sex, and psychedelic drug research. He appeared on the PBS show "Nature" (Extraordinary Cats), the HBO show "Real Sex" (episode # 22, about RealDolls), the BBC and the Discovery Channel's "Animal X" (Psychic Animals), the Fox show "A Current Affair" (about smart drugs, on May 3, 1992), and ViaCom's The Montel Williams Show (about smart drugs, on July 10, 1991).

Brown has also written for many popular magazines and scientific journals, including Scientific American Mind,Nature Medicine, Wired, Tricycle, The Sun, Mondo 2000, High Times, Fate, Neuroscience Abstracts, the Journal of Parapsychology, Hustler, the International Synergy Journal, the Journal of Psychical Research, and Magical Blend. He is sometimes Guest Editor of the MAPS Bulletin--he has done a series of special theme Bulletins for MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)--and is part of the Erowid Expert Network. He has also written dozens of health science articles for various nutritional supplement company publications...including Smart Publications, Health Freedom Nutrition, Life Enhancement, and International Anti-Aging Systems...and is the author of two health science books.

• Brainchild, New Falcon Publications, 1988. ISBN 0-941404-92-7
• Conversations on the Edge of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Future with Noam Chomsky, George Carlin, Deepak Chopra, Rupert Sheldrake, and Others, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. ISBN 1-4039-6532-3
• Detox with Oral Chelation: Protecting Yourself from Lead, Mercury, & Other Environmental Toxins, Smart Publications, 2009. ISBN 1-890572-20-9
• Mavericks of Medicine: Conversations on the Frontiers of Medical Research, Smart Publications, 2006. ISBN 1890572195, ISBN 978-1890572198
• Mavericks of the Mind: Conversations for the New Millennium, Crossing Press, 1993. ISBN 0-89594-602-5
• Virus: The Alien Strain, New Falcon Publications, 1999. ISBN 1-56184-144-7
• Voices from the Edge: Conversations With Jerry Garcia, Ram Dass, Annie Sprinkle, Matthew Fox, Jaron Lanier, & Others, Crossing Press, 1995. ISBN 0-89594-732-3

Foreign Translations

• Riflessioni sull'Orlo dell'Apocalisse, in Italian, published by Mondadori, 2006.
• Ram Dass Rozhovory, in Czechoslovakian, published by East Hauz, 1999.
• I protagonisti della New Age, in Italian, published by Gruppo Futura, 1997.
• Mavericks of the Mind, in Japanese, published by Hachiman Publishing, 1995.

Contributions to Other Books and Publications

• 2009 Spring MAPS Bulletin: DJB edited this special issue on ecology and psychedelics.
• Soul Seeds: Reflections & Drawings, by Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, Cross-Cultural Communications, 2008. DJB wrote the introductory instructions, entitled "Portal to the Oracle Within."
• 2008 Spring MAPS Bulletin: DJB edited this special issue on technology and psychedelics.
• Tales of Tongue Fu, by Paul Krassner, Ronin Press, 2007. DJB wrote the introduction to the book and the glossary.
• The Man Who Predicts Earthquakes: Jim Berkland, Maverick Geologist, by Cal Orey, Sentient Publications, 2006. DJB wrote the foreword to the book.
• Email to the Universe, by Robert Anton Wilson, New Falcon, 2005. Pages 219 through 222 contain an excerpt from an interview that DJB did with Robert Anton Wilson.
• Erotika: Drogen und Sexualitat, by Wolfgang Sterneck, Komista & Nachtschatten, 2005. Page 34 contains a German translation of one of DJB's anecdotes about ketamine.
• The Evolutionary Mind, by Rupert Sheldrake, Terence McKenna, and Ralph Abraham, Monkfish Book Publishing, 2005. DJB edited two of the trialogues in the book from 1998: “The Evolutionary Mind” and “Skepticism.”
• First Certificate Masterclass Workbook, by Simon Haines and Barbara Stewart, Oxford University Press, 2004. This educational workbook for learners of English as a second language, used extracts from an essay by DJB on unusual animal behavior and earthquake prediction, as part of a language exercise in the book.
• Magic Mushrooms and Other Highs, by Paul Krassner, Ten Speed Press, 2004. DJB wrote an anecdote about ketamine and a section on John Lilly for the book.
• The Sense of Being Stared At, by Rupert Sheldrake, Crown, 2003. DJB did all of the California-based research for the book.
• Transfigurations, by Alex Grey, Inner Traditions, 2001. DJB provided excerpts from an interview with Alex Grey.
• Acid Trips for the Mind, by Paul Krassner, High Times Books, 2001. DJB wrote an anecdote about LSD for the book.
• Rebels and Devils: The Psychology of Liberation, edited by Christopher Hyatt, New Falcon Publications, 2000. DJB wrote the essay "Liberty and the Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit" about the injustice of the Drug War.
• Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home, by Rupert Sheldrake, Crown, 1999. This was the bestselling science book in the world for several weeks during the Fall of 2000. DJB did the California-based scientific research for the book.
• The Alchemy of Possibility, by Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, Merrill-West Publishing, 1998. DJB wrote the introduction to the book.
• A Magical Universe: The Best of Magical Blend Magazine, Editors Jerry Snider and Michael Peter Langevin, Blue Water Publishing, 1996. DJB did the interviews with Jerry Garcia and Jaron Lanier.
• High Times Greatest Hits, Editors of High Times, St. Martin's Press, 1994. Contains excerpts from articles and interviews by DJB that were done for High Times magazine.
• Archaic Revival, by Terence McKenna, Harper, 1991. DJB co-wrote the chapter "Critique Interview".
• One Foot in the Future, by Nina Graboi, Aerial Press, 1991. DJB took the photograph on the cover, as well as numerous photos throughout the book.