Narcotica Podcast

About the show

Latest episodes

• Episode 97: How Hepatitis Stigma Silently Kills with Nick Voyles

  August 23, 2026 · 49 min

  When people say stigma kills, it’s not hyperbole. For some reason, it’s still totally socially acceptable in some circles to say that if someone gets an illness related to drug use, that they deserve it. Such sentiments aren’t just…

• Episode 96: The Schism of Addiction and Vice with Elizabeth Roberts

  July 7, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min

  Not everyone views addiction in chiefly negative terms, which isn’t all too surprising to anyone with a little world experience, but it sometimes still feels shocking because of how dominant the mainstream narrative that dependency (on…

• Episode 95: Behind the Speedboat Dope Bombings with Ioan Grillo

  November 11, 2025 · 1 hr 29 min

  As we’ve said hundreds of times on Narcotica, the drug war is a war on people used to advance some of the worst atrocities in history. Drugs are the perfectly legible boogeyman to the public, used as a justification used to advance racist…

• Episode 94: The AI Dystopia Acid Test with Douglas Rushkoff

  October 22, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min

  The internet and drugs are deeply intertwined in a way that isn’t glib or always obvious. Being online is a deeply conscious experience that can change your perception and yeah, be pretty habit-forming. The slow dopamine drip of doom…

• Episode 93: Veterans’ Harm Reduction Battle with Beth Dinges

  September 27, 2025 · 50 min

  Despite all the nationalism in our country, veterans are too often seen as expendable. Drug use in the military is as common as any other aspect of society, obviously, but increased stigma and consequences pushes most to the shadows. Harm…

• Episode 92: The Drug War’s Invisible Casualties with Sheila Vakharia

  August 28, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min

  Overdose deaths are the go-to metric for how well drug policy is performing, but those on the ground know that harms from the drug war can include much more than the worst outcomes. As harm reduction policies get swept up in escalating…

• Episode 91: Drug Surveillance Won’t Stop at Opioids with Liz Chiarello

  May 25, 2025 · 55 min

  Opioids are some of the best drugs ever invented. News flash! But that’s not something you’ll hear from the mainstream media anymore. No, the official message is that opioids are only problematic and even in the instances where they are…

• Episode 90: Navigating Shifting Chemical Landscapes with Claire Zagorski

  March 2, 2025 · 1 hr 11 min

  The endless whac-a-mole of the drug war, banning one chemical as soon as three more become popular, can never be won. That just isn’t how chemistry or human nature works. But that hasn’t stopped profiteers and special interest groups from…