The Dr. Junkie Show

On this episode I introduce Stuart Hall's theory of encoding/decoding in media, and Maddy and I talk about Breaking Bad, black tar versus "China White" heroin, geographical differences in drug use, the truth of addiction versus the spectacle, patriarchy and how Breaking Bad's Walt becomes the most toxic version of it possible, and lots more. Support the show

Maddy is back to talk about the film Bodies, Bodies, Bodies from 2022, a cool, thriller-horror film that plays on the generational zeitgeist of Gen Z. We talk about how the film reflects cultural fears, cultural fetishes, and unspeakable taboos, and how it keeps us all engaged by appealing to our preexisting cultural stereotypes, our natural reaction to protect certain groups of people while fearing others, and a generational gap that has many Gen Zers stuck on their phones living a life that's fake, digital, and maybe where we are all headed in the future. Support the show

This week I discuss the secret drugs developed in Nazi Germany during WWII, and I cover the role of methamphetamine in the Nazi Blitzkrieg attacks, the role of amphetamine in the Allies ability to eventually win the war, and I also cover Hitler's drug addiction, technologies of war, social stigma and how easy it can be disassembled in times of war, and lots more. Support the show

Madeline is back to finish up our conversation from last week, and to jump into some new topics. We talk about how education works in neoliberalism, the returning appreciation of learning for learning's sake, objectification in sex work and how feminist can think about navigating that sexwork landscape ethically, cocaine and why it's so hard to get good blow when you're young, the increasing popularity of completely selling out, the way capitalism objectifies nearly everyone who works for a corporation, and lots more, including cocaine injection, MDMA and other drugs. Support the show

This week Maddy Grace returns to talk about all sorts of stuff, mostly focused on Gen Z and the different world they grew up in compared to Gen X oldies like me. We talk cocaine and it's increasing popularity in Gen Z, Cigarettes, sex work, politics, protest, power, and we dive into the current pornscape and its impact on young heterosexual men, who have a very different relationship with their sexuality on the whole than Gen X did. Support the show

This week I talk about alcohol prohibition and the birth of the 18th Amendment. Mainstream media, strategically manipulated by a woman named Carrie Nation and her posse of temperance propagandists, talked the United States into responding to problems stemming from rapid industrialization (addiction, homelessness, etc.) by outlawing alcohol in 1919, and they pulled it off by using Christianity and Femininity as tools of social change despite being unable to vote as women at that time. Support the show

This week author, academic and previously incarcerated rock star David Carrillo stops back by to talk about his new book, Kiko: From Life without Parole to Life with Purpose, available wherever you buy books. We discuss prison politics, drugs in prison, slow and fast changes in perspective through aging and experience, academics in prison, the concept of redemption, morality, prison media and his continuing role as an in-prison educator working with multiple colleges in Colorado. You can find the Territorial Prison story of the warden's wife and the death row letter-writing DU-PAI video on YouTube here.Support the show

Today I talk about the US military missions against alleged drug boats near Venezuela using Foucault's theory of knowledge/power. Support the show

This week I talk about who owns the media and why that matters. I get into the consolidation of media outlets from local owners a century ago to mostly multinational super-rich corporations today, and I unpack some of the ways that change has shaped the media we consume, which in turn shapes us. I talk about the Fairness Doctrine, the war on drugs, free speech, Buster Brown shoes, monopolies and why they are generally discourages in the US, Reagan, neoliberalist policy and lots more. You can find a visual version of this episode with graphics on YouTube. Support the show

This week I kick off a new section of the show by talking about the cycle of democracy, which philosopher Polybius outlined more than 2000 years ago. I cover aristocracy, oligarchy, democracy, anarchy, monarchy and tyranny, explaining the seemingly-unavoidable cycle that links them all together into a loop...one we appear to be nearing the end/beginning of.Support the show

This week I dive into some of the work Freud wrote later in his life, particularly a book called Civilization and its Discontents published in 1930. Freud believed that the evolutionary process we can use to trace the changes humans have gone through over the centuries can also explain why culture itself has evolved as it has. He basically thinks we are all self-deceiving, chronically unfulfilled and unsatisfied bots programmed to lie to ourselves above all else, and to avoid feeling guilt or shame based on unavoidable urges we all have by lying to ourselves and everyone else about those urges existing. Instead we redirect them. Killing someone in revenge becomes laser tag this weekend. Driving 100mph like an asshole to work everyday becomes gokarts and beers on Friday night. Cheating with the neighbor becomes an Only Fans subscription or a weekend at a swinger's convention. In this episode I cover morality, guilt, shame, intoxication, sublimation, civilization, and Freud's views on why all of these things exist in the human species. Support the show

This week I talk about Freud's love of cocaine, the historical legacy of Freud's cocaine use, and the cultural changes that have occurred since then in relation to cocaine. The stories we tell about drugs impact the experience we have when we consume them, but Freud wasn't dealing with a century of propaganda. He was, in many ways, creating some of the original stories about cocaine that others would tell later on. But his positive stories were largely erased when cocaine was outlawed in the early 1900s, and the impact cocaine had on his theories was minimized in much of his surviving work. Support the show

This week I dive into some of Trump's recent comments about "Venezuelan gang members" and the USA's legacy of dehumanizing people based on their drug use. I discuss Rodney King, Joaquín Guzman aka "El Chapo," George Floyd, dehumanization, Hannah Arendt's Banality of Evil, the art of shilling for Trump (aka "minionism"), and lots more.You can find clips and images of the "Venezuelan Gang deportations" here. Support the show

This week I share a conversation with one of my students, Madeline Grace/Levin, who is creating a podcast of her own called Dependence. I will update this episode description with a link to her podcast when it's live, but in the mean time I thought I'd share a cool conversation we had last week. We talk about religion, drugs, addiction, Michel de Certeau, neoliberalism, atheism, 12-step programs, chihuahuas, spirituality, Trump Derangement Syndrome, religion as a drug, and lots more. You can find Maddy's fabulous podcast Dependence here: https://www.dependencepodcast.com/Support the show

This week I sat down to record a conversation with my dad, Steve Boyce. We talk about my childhood, his first marriage to my bio-mom, addiction and drug use in his life, what I was like as a kid, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, and religion (plus more). Support the show

This week I talk about the kratom wars: the argument over whether kratom is a deadly drug or a miracle cure (or somewhere in between). While some states are currently trying to ban kratom, others are working to make it easier and safer to get. Meanwhile, the federal government has been a bit all over the place on it, and with Trump 2.0 gathering early steam by pandering to Project 2025 nationalists, it's hard to say what attempted legislation might materialize in coming years. So let's talk about kratom. Check out the American Kratom Association to get involved or to find safe suppliers, local activists, or more information about kratom. Support the show

This week I tackle some of the questions and comments I've been getting over the last couple months. I talk about Trump's neoliberal agenda, his capture of the Evangelical Right, Consistency and Accountability in both criminal justice and religion, and I clean up some of what I may have missed during the last few episodes I've done on these issues.This episode was mostly unscripted and it's all over the place, but hey, some people enjoy rants, so if that's you, have at it. Support the show

This week Dr. Christy Perez (C Dreams) is back to talk about her new projects, and to be dragged back into old theological debates. We talk about trans rights, Christianity, the capture of Evangelical Christianity by MAGA, expectations for the next 4 years, the anti-fact stance of the recent anti-trans executive order, and we spend way too long spinning our tires trying to figure out which parts of the Bible we should read as legitimate, which parts we should disregard, and how on Earth anyone is supposed to know the difference (but if you've listened for long, you already know that's just me). You can find out more about Dr. Perez's work here. Christy's (Dr. Perez's) personal website: Www.UnCagedCritique.comHer new organization's website is: Www.poderunides.orgYou can email her at [email protected] or at [email protected] social media is fabulous. X @UnCagedCritique IG @UnCagedChristy Dr. Perez's work is also available on Filter Magazine's website. https://gofund.me/52983010Support the show

This week I get back to the heart of the show: drug policy, drug addiction, and drugs. I talk about free will as it relates to the war on drugs, addiction and intoxication, and I dig into genetics, criminal justice, punishment and prevention. The nonsensical notion of free will, which I've yet to hear defined with any sort of coherence, plays no part in addiction, and our insistence that it does has allowed us to construct a culture that maximized both the occurrence and the severity of addiction. I plan to do a follow up show to respond to questions or comments you have about this (or any) episode. Let me know what you want to hear. Support the show

This week I talk about coffee: the history, the pharmacology, the politics and the legal battles. I take a dialectical perspective, which just means I focus on both sides of the coffee discussion: it has been blamed for sexual promiscuity and inability to perform; it has been the instigator of both dictatorships and revolutions; it has been labeled both a drug and an anti-drug in different times and places. I also talk about caffeine as a drug and the reason we don't live in a world where we are at war with caffeine in the same way we are at war with so many other drugs and drug users. I discuss Coca-Cola's caffeine lawsuit, cocaine/coca, feminist movement and coffee, neoliberalism and coffee, and the USA's persistent habit of meddling in the affairs of S. American countries. Support the show

This week I finally finish the topic a started a few weeks ago: religious trauma and why religion often makes people into worse versions of themselves without them noticing. I discuss two of the most important questions in life: how does one find truth, and how does one decide on morality. And I point out the many ways that religions, particularly Christianity, disrupts the process by which we do both while preventing us from noticing our lack of recipe for finding either one (truth or morality). Now days, most of us practice objective morality in which we make our own rules and morals based on what feels right to us. But religious people do so without ever having to admit it; they say they take their morals from holy books while selectively skipping those rules they don't think should apply anymore.As always in these episodes on religion, I'm not attacking Christians. I am criticizing an idea, not people. If you practice a religion, the challenge here is not to give it up (unless you come to the conclusion it's not true), but rather to practice it responsibly and to value the truth enough to make sure you are practicing the correct form of your religion. To see Kenneth Copeland's full interview with Inside Edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LtF34MrsfITo see Kevin thank God and no one else for saving him from 37 stab wounds: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=944370430207535Support the show

This week I get back to the roots of the show and talk about drugs, specifically alcohol. How does it work? What does it do in the body? Why is it so popular in so many cultures? How has capitalism both attacked and encouraged alcohol use at various times? Why did prohibition happen in the first place? How did our relationship with alcohol change as neoliberal capitalism expanded? Support the show

The title of this week's episode is a shout out to philosopher Bertrand Russell, who wrote a book by the same name: Why I am not a Christian. This week I talk about religion as an addiction, responsible use of religion, how religion often programs people to avoid accountability and double down on things they know are not true, the problem with the Bible and other religious books, and lots more. *Of all the many things people complained about in this episode, there is one error that is worth fixing: the goats I claim Jesus threw off a cliff for no reason were actually pigs. See Mark 5.Support the show

Today's episode includes an interview with formerly incarcerated activist Jeremy Pavlik. Jeremy was incarcerated in Colorado for more than 15 years before his release in 2014. Since then, he has worked with multiple agencies who assist other recently released people trying to get back on their feet. He is currently working to start up his own organization, which you'll hear us talk about today, devoted to fulfilling all needs of recently released people under one roof, from transportation to licensing to food to clothing to medical assistance and housing. You can reach Jeremy at [email protected] the show

This week friend of the show Meghan Cosgrove stopped by to interview me in our ongoing series about previously incarcerated people who have used education to find a pathway to success. Long time listeners have heard pieces of my story, but I've seldom stopped to dig deep into what happened to me and why my life went the way it went. We talk about prison education, addiction, religious trauma, heroin injection versus snorting, bank robbery, free will, teaching in prison, and lots more.  FYI, the 1963 Impala I talk about rolling at the end was actually a 1967 (my dad remembered)Support the show

Today I continue a series of interviews with recently incarcerated people who are doing some great things in the community. Taylor Doucet was sentenced to 28 years in prison for two attempted murderers in 2013. While inside he found a different version of himself and worked to overcome his past. Now he is a peer recovery coach, a personal trainer, and a bad ass academic.We talk about prison tattoos, prison identity, gang life in prison, peer recovery, addiction, the war on drugs, parole, prison politics, and lots moreSupport the show

This week I host another interview with a previously incarcerated student who is doing some great work in the community. Sean Mueller was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2010 after being convicted of running a "Ponzi Scheme" and losing a few million dollars of investors' money. Since his incarceration, he's worked to become an artist, an author, and an academic; he is currently nearing the completion of his Bachelor's Degree. We talk about capitalism, education in prison, addiction, the culture industry, identity, and the struggles of getting out of prison. Support the show

This week I share a story from another previously-incarcerated person who is doing some incredible work in the community. Geordan Morris was one of my students in the CU-Denver Strategic Communication program, and since his release earlier this year, he's worked with others who have struggled with addiction, trauma, and incarceration to help them define recovery on their own terms and to embody a better way of life. We discuss stigma, prison education, adoption, addiction, trauma, recovery, free will and self inflicted gunshot wounds. Support the show

This week I sat down with Colorado's David Carrillo, who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole thirty years ago, when he was 19 years old. Since then, David has accomplished some incredible things behind bars. He enrolled in college, completed his Bachelor's and then his Master's Degree, and then got hired to teach for a local college inside prison while he was still incarcerated. We talk about life in prison, drugs in prison, prison education, redemption, identity changes in prison, politics in prison, and we focus on the importance of educational opportunities inside. Support the show

Today is the first episode in a series about people who are justice impacted and who managed to break out of the trap of recidivism. I start with my partner, Dr. Erin Boyce, whose story winds through 20 years, 5 drugs, 4 states and 3 felony arrests. We discuss religious trauma, addiction, role models, prison transports, check fraud, the lost art of gas-and-dash, and we zoom in on education as a way to escape the trap of prison. Support the show

This week is about the evolution of drugs and the role of big pharma (#Capitalism) in creating and exploding the war on drugs. From Cannabis to Marinol to Spice/K2...From coca leaves to cocaine to crack...From willow tree bark to Aspirin to Ibuprofen...From eucalyptus to amphetamine to methamphetamine to Adderall...From PCP to Ketamine...From tea to barbiturates to benzos to SSRIs to glutamate drugs...From beer and wine to spirits and liquor....Something capitalistic has been driving our addictions. This isn't natural. This week I get back to the roots of the show: drugs. I discuss the evolution of drugs via capitalism, and the reason the drugs we used to take decades (and centuries) ago were natural, and, as such, safer and less addictive than the drugs we usually take today. Those old-school, natural drugs are now hard to find, replaced by more potent, cheaper, synthetic chemicals that can be patented by big pharma then shoved down our throats. Cocaine replaced coca leaves only to be replaced itself by methamphetamine. Heroin replaced opium gum only to be replaced itself by fentanyl(s). Cannabis was replaced by...35% THC Cannabis in the early 2000s only to be replaced by synthetic cannabis (Spice, K2). Article with Jacob Carlock: Crafting Convict Criminologists: An Invitation to Join us in Prison available in The Prison Journal. Episode 112: The Opium WarsRead more about David Carrillo here: https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2024/04/11/david-carrillo-continues-to-teach-incarcarated-students-college-classes/Read more about the Returning Artists Guild (RAG) here: https://thereturningartistsguild.org/Read Captured Words/Free Thoughts here: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/communication/research-creative-work/captured-words-free-thoughtsDrop me an email at [email protected]. Support the show

Email us at [email protected] does everyone in the 2020s seem to have their own version of reality? And why does truth seem to be up for debate in every area? Marshall McLuhan explained why 50 years ago. This week I answer the question, "why don't you host commercials?" I also discuss the larger, related issues of capitalism, neoliberalism, and Marshall McLuhan's claim that the medium is the message as it relates to our current culture of post truth. Support the show

Email us at [email protected] week I talk about Karl Marx's claim that religion is the opium of the masses. I also talk about Friedrich Engels's concept of exploitation by wage labor, Friedrich Hegel's dialectics, capitalism, globalization, and the religious values of different eras (and why they always align with economic values of that era). Support the show

Email us at [email protected] This week I dive back into some philosophical theory related to why we are so prone to struggle with anxiety, addiction and alienation in today's world. Guy Debord wrote The Society of the Spectacle more than 50 years ago, and in it he explained the current state of so-called "Western Cultures" as having moved from the importance of being  to a culture where the importance is on having, and eventually, on to the importance being placed on appearance only (to appear to own something by snapping a photo is good enough).As a culture, we are now completely preoccupied with and focused on the spectacle, not the real. It's more important to change your Facebook banner to an LGBTQ+ flag on the right day to show your support than it is to support LGBTQ+ people in your heart. It's more important to be seen as having the perfect family or the perfect life than it is to actually build the perfect family or the perfect life. Some people drive $60k cars and live in crumbling homes. In today's cultural setting, a reputation for success requires the complete abandonment of one's personal identity in exchange for the stock characteristics that the audience wants in a performer — whether Marylin Manson actually drinks blook or Ozzy Osborn actually worships the devil doesn't matter. Only the spectacle of performance is valued.I also cover Marx's theory of capitalism increasing alienation, the Frankfurt School's and the Situationists' (many of the same people) work on how Marx's world of commodity fetishism expanded to spectacle fetishism (the appearance came to be more important than the real), and Debord's (and re-Marx's) concept of magic properties bestowed upon commodities if producers can manage to hide the actual process of manufacturing from the public. Before you listen to this episode, you might want to take a moment to listen to Macklemore's "Wings." on YouTube here, or anywhere you stream music. Check out the Nike commercial from that song on YouTube for a great example of recuperation (pt 2), and check out the corporate logo US flag for a great example of détournement (pt 2). Support the show

Email us at [email protected] This week I dive back into some philosophical theory related to why we are so prone to struggle with anxiety, addiction and alienation in today's world. Guy Debord wrote The Society of the Spectacle more than 50 years ago, and in it he explained the current state of so-called "Western Cultures" as having moved from the importance of being  to a culture where the importance is on having, and eventually, on to the importance being placed on appearance only (to appear to own something by snapping a photo is good enough). As a culture, we are now completely preoccupied with and focused on the spectacle, not the real. It's more important to change your Facebook banner to an LGBTQ+ flag on the right day to show your support than it is to support LGBTQ+ people in your heart. It's more important to be seen as having the perfect family or the perfect life than it is to actually build the perfect family or the perfect life. Some people drive $60k cars and live in crumbling homes. In today's cultural setting, a reputation for success requires the complete abandonment of one's personal identity in exchange for the stock characteristics that the audience wants in a performer — whether Marylin Manson actually drinks blook or Ozzy Osborn actually worships the devil doesn't matter. Only the spectacle of performance is valued. I also cover Marx's theory of capitalism increasing alienation, the Frankfurt School's and the Situationists' (many of the same people) work on how Marx's world of commodity fetishism expanded to spectacle fetishism (the appearance came to be more important than the real), and Debord's (and re-Marx's) concept of magic properties bestowed upon commodities if producers can manage to hide the actual process of manufacturing from the public.  Before you listen to this episode, you might want to take a moment to listen to Macklemore's "Wings." on YouTube here, or anywhere you stream music. Check out the Nike commercial from that song on YouTube for a great example of recuperation (pt 2), and check out the corporate logo US flag for a great example of détournement (pt 2). Support the show

Email us at [email protected] C. Dreams, Dr. Christina Perez's moniker while incarcerated, joins me today to talk about addiction, recovery, reentry, education, stigma, social movement, reappropriation, colorism, plus she shares her story of doing interviews (including for this show) on a contraband cell phone smuggled into her prison cell. Check out C. Dreams' work at Filter Magazine. You can also find her on Twitter/X @UnCagedCritique.Support the show

Email us at [email protected] This week I revisit a topic I've discussed repeatedly on this show: the reported success rates of 12-Step programs like AA and NA. I talk about the reason these programs persist as the norm despite an odd lack of data to verify their success, and I walk through the reasons AA and other 12-Step programs are highly religious while almost always claiming (and appearing) not to be.  Read Cochrane's new(er) meta-analysis of 12-step success rates on their website.Read more about aging out of addiction in Zimburg's work. 14% - 31% of people who walk into a 12-Step meeting keep coming for at least 1 year.21% - 22% of people who stay in a 12-Step program for more than a year remain sober.5% - 8% of people who walk into a 12-Step meeting will remain sober for at least 1 year.Some studies show that those who try a 12-Step program actually have worse success rates than non-treatment groups. Support the show

Email us at [email protected] This week I talk about the medication shortages across the United States. Drugs used to treat ADHD, chronic pain, and other conditions have been in short supply lately for reasons unexplained. Different groups have blamed the shortage on one anther: the manufacturers blame the DEA, while the DEA blames manufacturers. But as usual, the problem comes down to a design issue.  For more about Assent's issues with the DEA, check out the Reason article, "DEA Shuts Down Factory even as Adderall Shortage Persists." Support the show

Email us at [email protected] This week I wrap up a multi-part discussion of Foucault's theories of panoptic power, institutional knowledge, and discourses used to endorse awful ideas and beliefs about drugs and drug users. I also talk about Michel Foucault's car accident while high on opium, the notion of panoptic power, Jeremy Bentham's panoptic prison, discourse, stigma and stereotype. Foucault audio at intro and outro from Century of the Self lecture series. Support the show

Email us at [email protected] Captured Words/Free Thoughts is an annual, non-profit publication packed with art, poetry and prose inspired and written inside US prisons. Every year a group of volunteers records some of the submissions in audio form to share with the world. An online version of the full magazine (and all previous volumes) is here. If you or someone you know (in prison or out) would like a paper copy, contact me and I'll make sure to send one out (for free). You can reach us by mail at CW/FT, 1201 Larimer St, Suite 3014, Denver, CO, 80204.Intro: Ben Boyce"My Freedom Kite," by Monica Petrosian "What's in a Name?" by Gary K. Farlow"Pledge of Allegiance," by Gary K. Farlow"Nana," by Tanya Austin"Attempting Sobriety," by Dylan Lapointe (DJ) "To My Trans Brothers (My Incarcerated Word)," by H.L. Tapia  "Quiet Night," by Anthony Enis"Prison is not a Depository," by Abdullah Muhammad "Mr. Box," by Larry N. Stromberg "Methamphetamine," by Dylan Lapointe (DJ) "To Imprisonment," by Eric Perez"A Birthday in Prison," by Keith Pertusio "Prison World" by Larry N. Stromberg "Bound," by Christian J. Weaver "Living are the Dead," by David Neff "A Better Way," by Todd Broxmeyer "No," by Eugene "Tsunami” Miller "The Beast in the Mirror," by David Zenquis "Incarcerated but Inspired," by David Richardson "My First Day on Death Row," by Anthony Enis "Black Boy Dark Child," by Daniel Mopkins "Can’t Breathe," by Larry N. Stromberg "Pain," by Shawn Harris"Lockdown," by Gary K. Farlow "The Man Not Taken," by Christian Weaver "Convict Chronicles: An Ode to Time," by Leo Cardez "Loving a Convict," by Debbie Magee "Meaningful," by Taveuan Williams "Finally," by  Manuel G. Sisneros Sr. "QUO VADIS?" by Troy Brownlow Outro: Meghan Cosgrove & Ben BoyceCover art painting of MLB pitcher Satchel Paige by Warren Worthington Sestina GodspellSix months in prison became a theaterUniforms became just another costumeNot knowing that all of life is a stageEvery man a star to the directorExpectations changed the meaning of danceSoon this chaotic troupe began to dancetogether breathing freedom into theaterEven the gods came to absorb their songCommitment was fit to wear the costumeguided by the light of the directorAll his tender loving care set the stageA bus transported All actors and stagewhere even the law could begin to dancewith shackle and chain requested one directorwhose eye was trained on a different theaterAttempting to restrain men in costumeall the while each was singing the same songUnforgettable Nights echoed their songAncestors followed footprints to the stagewhere reality wore a different costumethe love of family improved the danceNever before hade HOME become  theaterexcept in the heart of our directorFive shows meant oneness with their directorA certain harmony in their songcould be felt in the vibrating theaterHugging hands joined families on stagewhere every soul entered the act of love dancestripping away Lucifer's green costumeIn the next act gone was every costumeFilled with satisfaction our directorcoordinated the tear down danceof this newly formed society's songechoing in their love of theaterTheir hearts will Never leave the magic stageEmpty feels the dance without the old songand costumes feel Support the show

Email us at [email protected] If we wanted to design a culture from the ground up to maximize both the potential and severity of addiction, we would build it exactly like the United States today.  Once upon a time, humans received contentment and fulfilment from their work, and they often went home feeling connected to their communities and identified with the service or goods they offered for sale. But for the last hundred years we've steadily changed that. Today, 1 in 8 of us in the United States has worked at McDonalds, a job that might pay the bills, but certainly isn't showing anyone how much they are truly capable of doing or connecting them to a sense of identity related to their work. We just do it to get a paycheck. In this episode I will cover the various ways our medical, educational, employment, legal and political systems are all built to maximize addiction potential and severity, and to hide their tracks by blaming drugs and drug users for problems caused by the environment in which we life. Cocaine and heroin costs around $1 per gram to produce from coca leaves and opium poppies, respectively. Yet these substances will cost a consumer upwards of 50x that much on the streets.Find out more about behavioralist B.F. Skinner here. Read about his use of Operant Conditioning here.In Bruce Alexander's experiments, rats that were put in a toyless, friendless cages used 19 times more morphine than those placed in comfortable, familiar homes with other rats. For more about maximizing button-pressing by rewarding the button-presser randomly, in unexpected and unpredictable patters, check out this article.Support the show

Email us at [email protected] This week I dive into neoliberalism and oligarchy, 2 systems the USA has repeatedly rejected despite their current resurgence of late. The war on drugs is part of a larger move to privatize public systems like medicine, post office services or policing, and to allow profiteering by rich folks who can step in to provide gear and services for these new markets once managed and paid for by the government. For more about Clarence Thomas 's grifts, see The Nation article here. Read more about the call for Clarence Thomas to excuse himself in Trump ballet case here. For more about 6 corporations controlling 90% of our media, see the short article here. More about Newt Gringrich's (and Frank Luntz's), "Language: A Mechanism of Control" here. For stats on wealth/income gains between 1944-2014, check out this article by Thom Hartmann. Support the show

Email us at [email protected] Why do humans have such an odd fascination with criminals and outlaws? What happened to all the kings and queens who used to be in charge of everything...where did they go? Why? And what does any of this have to do with drugs?In this episode I pick up where I left off last time by introducing Michel Foucault's concept of panoptic power, which explains why now days we all self-discipline to conform to social regulations. The war on drugs thrives in spaces where most citizens are thoroughly convinced of the stereotypes that surround drug use: immorality, contagion, degradation, the "disease" of addiction. Today I explain how that cultural knowledge comes to exist, and perhaps how we might be able to disrupt and rewrite those scripts.   Support the show

Email us at [email protected] Have you ever thought, "dang, I just got out of work and I already dread going back tomorrow!"? Most of us have, and in response we did something to make ourselves feel better, something to take the edge off: we treated ourselves to an ice cream cone or binge watched our favorite Netflix series. That's the norm of 21st Century capitalism. Today's episode is about America's drug problem, but I take a route through a number of related topics including capitalism, leisure time, the "culture industry" (a term coined by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer), and Marx's alienation.I also cover some theory from Friedrich Nietzsche, Theo Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse and Karl Marx. Intro from Office SpaceSupport the show

Email us at [email protected] This episode is all about America's unhealthily relationships with work and drugs. We live in a world where we are increasingly distracted and secluded, and our daily schedules often consist of punching a clock and returning home. It's no wonder we feel so compelled to use drugs. We are torturing ourselves with capitalism. Benjamin Fong's book, Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge, is available now. His other work is linked below on most pod-catchers."The Psychedelic Renaissance Is on the Verge of an Uneasy Enlightenment" in Jacobin.  "Monsters of the Brain, Images of the Deity: Psychology and Religion in the Eighteenth Century" in The Journal of Religion."Hans Loewald and the Death Drive" is in Psychoanalytic Psychology."On Critics and What's Real: Russell McCutcheon on Religious Experience" is in the Journal of American Academy of Religion. For more about eugeroics/nootropics like modafinil, check out the Vice article, "Taking the 'Smart Drug' Modafinil Made Me Love Work but Hate People"Support the show

Email us at [email protected] Colorado's state prison budget has grown by almost 1300% in the last 35 years; it's now more than a billion dollars-per-year. This week I talk to Christie Donner, founder of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. We discuss the current state of prisons in Colorado and across the US, and we spend some time digging into a few specific bills currently being debated by Colorado Legislators, including Good Samaritan Laws, fentanyls, safe use sites, and  education in prison. We also discuss Pell Grants, the school-to-prison pipeline, negative press coverage, and the ongoing staff crisis in departments of corrections across the country, specifically in Colorado. You can watch the negative news coverage of La Vista Women's Prison Honor House on YouTube. You can hear Dean Williams entire interview on the With(in) podcast, season 1, episode 1. The DOC in crisis article Christie mentioned is available at ccjrc.org. Support the show

This week my partner Dr. Erin Boyce joins me to talk about one of her areas of study, attachment theory. We discuss childhood development, identity formation, the important of strong attachments to parental figures, authenticity, depression, repression, and lots more.For more on Attachment Theory, check out Mary Ainsworth's work.For more on attachment, authenticity and addiction, check out Dr. Gabor Maté's work.Support the show

This week I share a summary of my new book, The Spectacle of Punishment: Lessons from a Century of Prison Films. I discuss cinematic outlaws and lawmen, and I cover the three main prisons used in every movie: prison as a playground, prison as a paradox or prison as penance.  For more on Bill Yousman's work, check out his book Prime Time Prisons on US TV. Check out Ear Hustle and DU-PAI's With(In) Podcast for voices from inside US prisons. Support the show

This week I follow the trail of the US War on Drugs from 1970-2020. I cover Reagan's Iran-Contra scandal, the CIA's importation of cocaine into low income communities, Freeway Ricky, crack-versus-powder sentencing disparities, fentanyl, xylazine, and the role of media in all of it.You can find links to citations in the episode descriptions of sampled audio. Support the show

This week I share part 2 of The War on Drugs: 1920-1970. If you prefer the video format with lots of images and videos, you can find it on YouTube at The Dr. Junkie Show channel. I cover Harry Anslinger, the origins of the war on drugs in the early 1900s, alcohol prohibition, stigmatization, and the recipe used by every politicians since to ramp the war up a bit more.Support the show