History on Drugs Podcast

Isaac Campos
  • 4.7 (11)
  • HISTORY

This is a podcast about drugs, history, and the endlessly fascinating interaction of the two. Sometimes we'll talk drugs. Sometimes we'll talk history. Sometimes we'll talk about both. This podcast is connected to the Substack newsletter of the same name. https://isaaccampos.substack.com/ isaaccampos.substack.com

  1. FEB 2

    Episode #15: Graham Harding and the History of Champagne in the UK

    My latest conversation is with Graham Harding, author of Champagne in Britain, 1800-1914: How the British Transformed a French Luxury (Bloomsbury, 2023). Graham and I met last spring in London, where we talked about the history of champagne during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, along with the fascinating history of “branding,” which came of age during the same period. Graham has not only studied branding with academic rigor, but also lived it during a long career in marketing and advertising prior to becoming an academic. Additionally, he has published A Wine Miscellany: A Jaunt Through the Whimsical World of Wine, which has been described as “a thorough and entertaining collection, sprinkling facts and lore on the history, culture, business and science of savoring and making wine.” This episode is filled with booze, business, and some great stories. As always the podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocketcasts, and the Substack app. Episode Outline 0:00-5:30: Introduction. 5:30-7:56: The unexpected bonuses of publishing Champagne in Britain. 7:56-18:21: Early life, Cambridge, working in publishing, advertising, and marketing. 18:21-28:25: Leaving the business world for academia, getting into wine, A Wine Miscellany, developing his dissertation topic, champagne and the origins of modern marketing, nineteenth-century “influencers,” product placement. 28:25-41:58: The science of champagne bubbles, the early history of champagne, “Sir Farter,” making champagne drier in Britain and the origins of the drink we enjoy today. 41:58-49:55: The birth of modern branding, the intersection of taste and social history, why champagne was better for branding than “still” wine. 49:55-57:16: The history of the term “branding,” why champagne became the drink of the aristocracy. 57:16-1:05:41: Graham’s family background and its possible relationship to his career path, going back to school in his 60s, working with William White, Christina de Bellaigue, and Peter Mandler. 1:05:41-1:16:45-: New collaborative projects, craft vs. science in pinot noir. 1:16:45-end: Outro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit isaaccampos.substack.com

    1h 19m

  2. 11/01/2025

    Episode #14: Drugs in the Netherlands, with Stephen Snelders

    My latest guest is Stephen Snelders of Utrecht University. Stephen and I met up in Amsterdam last March to talk about drugs, history, and the Netherlands. A native of Amsterdam, Stephen watched up close as the various drug scenes in that great city evolved during the 1980s. This helped turn him into a drug historian, initially studying the history of LSD in his country, and eventually publishing Drug Smuggler Nation: Narcotics and the Netherlands, 1920-1995 (Manchester University Press, 2021). We talk about the 1960s and Amsterdam, the development of the famous Dutch system of cannabis “tolerance,” the deep roots of drug smuggling there, organized crime, and much more. As always the podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocketcasts, and the Substack app. Episode Outline 0:00-4:04: Introduction. 4:04-9:14: Early life and education, getting into history, the 1980s in Amsterdam. 9:14-14:40: Graduating from college, the MDMA/House rage, learning that you could get paid to do a PhD, deciding to work on the history of LSD in the Netherlands, doing an oral history of the Amsterdam drug subculture. 14:40-23:20: The development of LSD in the Netherlands in the 1950s and ‘60s, Simon Vinkenoog and the Beats, happenings, the Provo countercultural movement, the road to cannabis “toleration,” Bart Huges and the “third eye,” the 1980s and MDMA. 23:20-31:12: Today’s psychedelic renaissance and its lack of a countercultural vibe, professionalization of psychedelic therapy, psychedelics as PEDs and as part of the neoliberal project. 31:12-43:12: “Smart shops,” mushrooms, “truffles,” coffee shops and Dutch pragmatism, the transformation of cannabis from a hippie drug to something else, criminal involvement in the cannabis market. 43:12-48:49: 1990s homegrown cannabis, Ed Rosenthal, smuggling, new raids on coffee shops, organized crime, medicinal cannabis. 48:49-51:58: Prostitution in the Netherlands and the Amsterdam Red Light District. 51:58-55:35: Finishing the dissertation, first job, the field of medical history, academia in the Netherlands. 55:35-1:06:40: The long history of Dutch drug smuggling, organized crime today in the Netherlands. 1:06:40-1:13:04: Is the illicit market “working”? 1:13:04-end: Outro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit isaaccampos.substack.com

    1h 16m

  3. 09/14/2025

    Episode #13: Government Secrets, Existential Risk, and Higher Education, with Matthew Connelly

    This week’s guest is Matthew Connelly, professor of international and global history at Columbia University. This interview was especially fun for me because it was Matt who, back at the University of Michigan in the 1990s, turned me into a historian. My whole way of doing things has been indelibly shaped by him. Matt is of course better known as a great and prolific scholar. His publications include a first monograph on the Algerian War for Independence, his highly-influential book on the history of international population control, and his terrific, recent work on the U.S. government’s obsession with secrecy: We talk about Matt’s job at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, his most recent book, his career trajectory, and much more. We also reminisce and laugh a lot. It’s a great conversation. As always the podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocketcasts, and the Substack app. Episode Outline 0:00-4:53: Introduction. 4:53-11:36: Center for the Study of Existential Risk, global catastrophic events, nuclear war, studying topics shrouded in secrecy, AI. 11:36-24:43: Using technology to do history, Filemaker, realizing how important being organized is, the influence of Matt’s dad. 24:43-37:23: Teen dreams of being a lawyer and then having a career in policymaking, Matt’s Alex P. Keaton phase, Columbia University as an undergraduate, Cambridge University and discovering a love of history, being mentored and encouraged to continue studying history by Brendan Bradshaw. 37:23-47:59: After college, realizing he didn’t want to have a normal boss, moving on to Yale for graduate school, Paul Kennedy, Gaddis Smith, the Algerian War, A Diplomatic Revolution, learning to write, mentoring students. 47:59-1:00:07: First job at the University of Michigan, jargon and the cutting edge, Geoff Eley, Bob Axelrod, popular versus academic history. 1:00:07-1:07:16: Reflecting on the move from Michigan to Columbia and mentoring students. 1:00:07-1:10:46: Thoughts on our current moment and the importance of history and the university. 1:10:46-end: Outro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit isaaccampos.substack.com

    1h 13m

  4. 08/10/2025

    Episode #12: Waging War on the War on Drugs, with Ethan Nadelmann

    This week’s guest is drug-policy-reform legend Ethan Nadelmann. Ethan led the charge against the War on Drugs beginning in the 1980s, first as a professor at Princeton and then as the head of the Lindesmith Center (which became the Drug Policy Alliance). He’s published various influential works, including the books Cops Across Borders: The Internationalization of U.S. Criminal Law Enforcement and Policing the Globe: Criminalization and Crime Control in International Relations (with Peter Andreas), along with many important articles and even a podcast. When we write the history of the end (hopefully) of the War on Drugs, Ethan will be right at the center of the narrative. You get a first draft of that story here, plus Ethan’s thoughts on the psychedelic renaissance, building political movements, and much more. As always, the podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocketcasts, and the Substack app. Episode Outline 0:00-4:53: Introduction. 4:53-21:18: The psychedelic renaissance, early life, education, getting into drugs academically, getting sucked into national debates on drugs, the emergence of a new drug-policy-reform era, race and reform, the three branches of drug-policy reform. 21:18-37:22: The late ‘80s drug panic, imagining what legalization might look like, meeting George Soros, conceiving of a new drug-policy center, the Open Society Institute, the Lindesmith Center. 37:22-54:55: Connecting intellectual pursuits to activism, historical precedents for harnessing privilege to lead a reform movement, the influence of Ethan’s rabbi father, challenging the drug warriors in person, learning to love public speaking. 54:55-58:24: Interviewing DEA agents, what they thought about their mission, observing the drug war in action in Latin America, including torture and home detention. 58:24-1:07:16: The Lindesmith Center merges with the Drug Policy Foundation to create the Drug Policy Alliance, working with George Soros, medical marijuana in California (Prop. 215), Peter Lewis, George Zimmer, John Spurling, Chuck Bliss, Ram Dass, other initiatives between 1996 and 2000. 1:07:16-1:19:09: The political scene after 9/11, the first international conference on preventing overdoses (2000), changing political winds, unsuccessful ballot initiatives, building the Drug Policy Alliance, balancing the different constituencies of drug-policy reform, “harm reduction.” 1:19:09-1:34:04: Staying enthusiastic and energized, Ira Glasser, successes in the early 2010s, deciding to retire, the 2016 election. 1:34:04-1:48:12: Looking back on all of the extraordinary change since the 1980s, the keys to a successful moral revolution. 1:48:12-end: Outro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit isaaccampos.substack.com

    1h 50m

  5. 06/28/2025

    Episode #11: From Drug Addiction to Drug Journalism, with Maia Szalavitz

    Maia Szalavitz is my latest podcast guest. Maia is the author of Undoing Drugs: How Harm Reduction is Changing the Future of Drugs and Addiction, Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction, and Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids, along with several other books. We met up at her office in New York City last November to talk about her extraordinary life and career. She describes a tough childhood that led into a period of hardcore drug addiction, a period capped by a major drug bust that could’ve landed her in jail for many years. In the midst of trying to navigate the legal system at the height of the War on Drugs, she launched her now very successful career in journalism. She’s got some really brilliant insights on addiction and our misguided approaches to it, along with many stories about encounters with fascinating people ranging from Jerry Garcia to Bill Moyers and Charlie Rose. It’s great stuff. As always the podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocketcasts, and the Substack app. Episode Outline 0:00-6:02: Introduction. 6:02-15:20: Rough time growing up in upstate New York in the ‘70s, high school, dreaming of being a journalist, getting into drugs to fit in, psychedelics. 15:20-24:28: Enrolling at Columbia, the early ‘80s cocaine boom, doing cocaine with Jerry Garcia, becoming a drug dealer and solving the social dilemma, the roots of addiction, quitting psychedelics in order to avoid facing up to her addiction to other drugs. 24:28-32:34: Trajectory as a dealer, getting busted, sinking into severe addiction, the courts, treatment. 32:34-46:46: The racism of the War on Drugs, Oregon’s decriminalization, why the narratives about recovery are often wrong, the problem with punishment, the problem with Synanon-style treatment. 46:46-51:35: The story of getting busted with two kilos of cocaine. 51:35-1:06:38: After rehab, early “neuroscience,” writing for High Times, working for Charlie Rose, freelance writing, working for Bill Moyers, the Alan Leshner “highjacking the brain” episode, the brain disease model of addiction, 12-step. 1:06:38-1:21:35: Her books and the term “harm reduction.” 1:21:35-end: Outro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit isaaccampos.substack.com

    1h 24m

  6. 05/26/2025

    Episode #10: The History of Cocaine, a Long Career, and Some Great Stories, with Paul Gootenberg

    My latest podcast is with Paul Gootenberg, one of the towering figures in drug history. Paul just retired from his longtime position as the SUNY Distinguished Professor of History and Sociology at Stony Brook University, and I was there in November to both fete and roast him at a symposium in his honor. It’s a very fun conversation. There are lots of great stories about 1960s radicals and the drug culture of that time, hitchhiking across America, a showdown with Studs Terkel, getting arrested in Reno, becoming a Rhodes Scholar while claiming “gardening” as his qualifying sport, and, of course, Paul’s drug scholarship. As always the podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocketcasts, and the Substack app. Episode Outline 0:00-6:42: Introduction. 6:42-10:06: Banter, Studs Terkel story. 10:06-15:02: Poor performance in high school, taking some gap years, Boston University, figuring out that professors were legitimate intellectuals. 15:02-26:55: Smoking pot in the ‘60s, growing up in Maryland, the “Boone’s Farm” phase in America, hippie high-schoolers, drugs as symbolic during the ‘60s. 26:55-39:52: Getting serious about school, the University of Chicago, John Coatsworth, hitchhiking across America, Haight-Ashbury, getting arrested in Reno. 39:52-52:14: Back at the University of Chicago, getting interested in history, John Coatsworth, Friedrich Katz, Bentley Duncan, Ralph Austen, Peter Novick, and deciding to go to graduate school. 52:14-1:09:15: Becoming a Rhodes Scholar, David Walker, studying at Oxford, Rosemary Thorp, getting interested in Peru and economic history. 1:09:15-1:22:32: Taking a train to Mexico for language school, flying to Peru, becoming a Peruvianist, the influence of Rosemary Thorp, the dissertation, the Institute for Advanced Study, Clifford Geertz and some postmodernists, first job at Brandeis. 1:22:32-1:32:18: Getting into studying drugs in the mid-90s, big questions of cannabis history, cocaine archival research, Cocaine: Global Histories, Andean Cocaine, The Origins of Cocaine, challenging the standard theory of cocaine cultivation. 1:32:18-1:35:17: The Alcohol and Drugs History Society and the booming field of drug history. 1:35:17-end: Outro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit isaaccampos.substack.com

    1h 48m

  7. 04/14/2025

    Episode #9: The World of Psychedelics, with Erika Dyck

    My latest guest is historian Erika Dyck. Erika is one of the world’s leading authorities on psychedelics both past and present. She hails from Saskatchewan, Canada, which back in the 1950s was ground zero for new scientific research into psychedelic therapy, an era she wrote about in her first book, and which we talk about at some length in our conversation. We also discuss her youth in Saskatoon, how she became a historian, the current psychedelic renaissance, and even a chance encounter she had with Timothy Leary back in the early 1990s. It’s great stuff. As always the podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocketcasts, and the Substack app. Episode Outline 0:00-5:18: Introduction. 5:18-20:26: Early life in Saskatchewan, possible roots of research focus, early interest in history, college years, crossing the whole country in the mid-90s, the arrival of the internet, being a history major at Dalhousie University, return to Saskatoon, “doing” versus “studying,” parenting in the 80s and 90s. 20:26-35:25: Getting interested in graduate school, getting involved in politics, thinking about going back for the PhD, working at a movie theater and meeting Timothy Leary, deciding on the PhD program at McMaster University. 35:25-56:21: Starting the program at McMaster University, Saskatchewan’s mid-twentieth-century socialist government and the road to psychedelic research, Humphrey Osmond, 1950s psychedelic therapy, Captain Al Hubbard, controversies related to psychedelic therapy. 56:21-1:16:09: Finishing the dissertation, first job at the University of Alberta, getting taken seriously when you study drugs, psychedelics and awe, studying eugenics and then madness, editing a book on peyote and the Native American Church—a new direction into indigenous ritual and ceremony. 1:16:09-1:30:09: Thoughts on the psychedelic renaissance, thinking with psychedelics, the psychedelic gold rush, harm reduction and psychedelics, the role of the internet, social media. 1:30:09-end: Outro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit isaaccampos.substack.com

    1h 32m

  8. 03/02/2025

    Episode #8: Smart Cities, Universities, and a Career in History, with Davarian Baldwin

    This week’s guest is Davarian Baldwin, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies at Trinity University. He’s the author of In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities (Bold Type Books, 2021), Chicago’s New Negroes: Modernity, the Great Migration, and Black Urban Life (UNC Press, 2007), and co-editor of the essay collection Escape From New York! The New Negro Renaissance (University of Minnesota Press, 2013). Davarian and I talked way back in March of 2024 about his growing up in a working-class family in a small Midwestern city, the early 1990s and the intellectual ferment of that time, graduate school at NYU, his career in academia, his founding of the Smart Cities Research Lab, and his work on the fraught relationship between universities and their surrounding communities. As always, the podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocketcasts, and the Substack app. Episode Outline 0:00-8:52: Introduction. 8:52-11:15: Talking Amsterdam, cannabis, the Spanish Civil War, the Lincoln Brigade. 11:15-15:40: Growing up in Beloit, Wisconsin, family background, storytelling, being a George Bush “Point of Light,” his early politics. 15:40-28:10: Marquette University, the early-1990s culture wars, early roots of his research trajectory, political activism, dabbling in PR, the Ronald McNair program, race consciousness, hip-hop at the turn of the ‘90s, realizing he could become a professor. 28:10-42:30: Transitioning to graduate school, being inspired by new scholarship, deciding to go to NYU, Robin Kelley, public intellectuals, Afrocentricity, initial struggles, grit. 42:30-53:10: Origins of Chicago’s New Negroes, hip-hop’s influence, choosing to study Chicago instead of New York, commercial culture, Harold Cruse, doing the research, long footnotes, resistance to the idea of everyday intellectuals. 53:10-1:07:40: Hitting the job market, getting hired at Boston College, adjusting to a different type of academic program, being a Black professor with White students, student evaluations, coming up for tenure. 1:07:40-1:17:45: Life after tenure at BC, going back on the market, Trinity College, “the Trinity way.” 1:17:45-1:29:15: Working on university-city relations, University of Chicago and the South Side, university police forces, the university as the factory of the twenty-first century, “univercities,” universities and slavery, promoting a book during Covid and then George Floyd. 1:29:15-1:50:45: The Smart Cities Research Lab, drawn into helping a community in Philadelphia, New Haven as a company town, bringing together ideas and advocacy, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, being a Freedom Scholar, doing work in the Netherlands, trying to reach a non-academic audience, how the research lab works, researching best practices for building equitable urban communities, final thoughts on today’s university as a vital site of struggle. 1:50:45-end: Outro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit isaaccampos.substack.com

    1h 53m
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4.7
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

This is a podcast about drugs, history, and the endlessly fascinating interaction of the two. Sometimes we'll talk drugs. Sometimes we'll talk history. Sometimes we'll talk about both. This podcast is connected to the Substack newsletter of the same name. https://isaaccampos.substack.com/ isaaccampos.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Isaac Campos
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Isaac Campos
  • Show Website
    History on Drugs Podcast