On Drugs - podcast cover

On Drugs

CBC•www.cbc.ca
Society & Culture

On Drugs looks through the lenses of history, pop culture and personal experience to understand how drugs have shaped our world. Because even if it’s just caffeine or ibuprofen, there’s a good chance you’re on drugs right now.



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Episodes

S2 E1 Psychedelics and Spirituality

In this episode of On Drugs, we explore the connection between psychedelic drugs like LSD and psilocybin and the transcendent feelings and perceptions that users report. Ethnobotanist Wade Davis shares his insight into the seeming ubiquity of psychedelics in mystical experience in the Americas. Dr. Rick Strassman describes what happened when he went in search of the spirit molecule. And Tanya Kammonen explains how ayahuasca prepared her scientific mind for religious experience.

Feb 13, 2018•53 min

On Drugs Season 2 Preview

If you've been craving a fix of the CBC original podcast, On Drugs, the wait is nearly over. Season 2 launches February 13. Here's a chance to meet the people who put it all together and to hear some highlights from the season ahead.

Feb 08, 2018•15 min

Introducing: How Do You Sleep at Night? + Season 2 Coming Soon!

How Do You Sleep at Night? is a great podcast from the team at ABC about people who live their lives in the face of judgement. The show explores the different moral codes we all live by. Because no one thinks they’re a bad person, right?

Nov 24, 2017•3 min

Gender, On Drugs

The drugs we choose - legal and illicit - and the ways we use them, are at least partly determined by gender expectations. This episode explores how those expectations affect our relationships with drugs.

Aug 28, 2017•34 min

Stronger, smarter, better, On Drugs

From athletes pumping steroids to tech entrepreneurs microdosing LSD, what happens when people use drugs to make themselves stronger, smarter and faster than their normal healthy selves?

Aug 21, 2017•37 min

Fun, On Drugs

If most recreational drug users do it because it feels good, why is pleasure always left out of policy conversations about drugs?

Aug 14, 2017•32 min

Miltown, On Drugs

Explore the fascinating story of Miltown, a tranquilizer that, despite being largely unknown today, fundamentally changed psychiatric medicine. Discover how its accidental discovery, initial market skepticism, and unexpected embrace by Hollywood led to unprecedented popularity. The episode also delves into the drug's eventual replacement by benzodiazepines, its enduring legacy in normalizing everyday medication, and its inventor's unique philosophical views on anxiety.

Aug 07, 2017•35 min

Extra: Addiction and Rat Park

We explore the topic of drug addiction and how to think about it in this extended interview with Bruce Alexander

Aug 05, 2017•27 min

City, On Drugs

If you want to learn about drug addiction, Vancouver is a good place to start. The city has struggled with opioid abuse nearly as long as it's existed. This episode explores Vancouver's narcotic past and present through the voices of residents struggling

Jul 31, 2017•28 min

War, On Drugs

From berzerkers on mushrooms, to Nazis on meth and Iraq vets on ecstasy, armies and soldiers have used drugs to fight, cope with and recover from war since ancient times.

Jul 31, 2017•32 min

Sex, On Drugs

The relationship people have with drugs is complicated and a little bit messy, but not as messy as the relationship people have had with sex throughout history. Combine the two and things get interesting.

Jul 24, 2017•31 min

Race, On Drugs

Drugs don't exist in a vacuum. In many cases, they've been used to prop up mythologies around race and justify discriminatory policies against already struggling communities.

Jul 17, 2017•35 min

EXTRA: Music and Drugs

We dig deeper into our conversation about the historical intersection between drugs and music with author Martin Torgoff.

Jul 14, 2017•19 min

Music, On Drugs

The connection between drugs and rock and roll is a comic and tragic cliche. On Drugs gets past the cliches and explores the intersection of drugs and music from classical to hip hop.

Jul 10, 2017•38 min

Pain, On Drugs

Of all the reasons we use drugs, the management and suppression of pain is one of the most fundamental. And yet for all the advances in medication, our relationship with pain is still fraught with moral and chemical challenges.

Jul 03, 2017•28 min

On Drugs trailer

Each week, On Drugs looks through the lenses of history, pop culture and personal experience to understand how drugs have shaped our world.

Jun 09, 2017•1 min
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