Ep. 19: Stimulants

Murray Carpenter, author of the new book “Caffeinated: How our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us.” His new book reveals the little-known truth about this addictive, largely unregulated drug found in coffee, energy drinks, teas, colas, chocolate, and even pain relievers. We’ll learn about why caffeine has such a powerful effect on everything from boosting our mood to improving our athletic performance as well as how—and why—brands such as Coca-Cola have ducked regulatory efforts for decades. We learn the differences in the various ways caffeine is delivered to the body, how it is quietly used to reinforce our buying patterns, and how it can play a role in promoting surprising health problems like obesity and anxiety. And later in the show we’ll be joined by Dr. Himal Mitra, a psychiatrist who will broaden this discussion to include other kinds of stimulants (including ADHD medication), and the effect they have on the body.