Drugs

Michael Pollan. His new book, titled "A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness," is about different ways neurobiologists and engineers are trying to figure out the source of consciousness and whether AI can ever achieve it. Pollan also writes about how Zen Buddhists, writers and philosophers approach the idea of self and consciousness.

In 2020, voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs. Journalist E. Tammy Kim explains how and why public opinion has turned.

Psychedelic science began much earlier than you may think - back in the 1920s and '30s. At the center of that research was Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist, and her third husband, Gregory Bateson, one of the most controversial anthropologists of his time. That early history is covered in the new book by my guest, Benjamin Breen. The book is called "Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, The Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science".

Joining us today to talk about the life and legacy of the Notorious B.I.G. is journalist Justin Tinsley. He's the author of the book "It Was All A Dream: Biggie And The World That Made Him." In the book, Tinsley explores Biggie's life in the context of not only rap, but the wider cultural and political forces that shaped him, including immigration, Reagan-era politics, the war on drugs and mass incarceration.

His new book is called "When Crack Was King: A People's History Of A Misunderstood Era." Donovan X. Ramsey is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, Ebony and Essence. He's been a staff reporter at the Los Angeles Times, NewsOne and TheGrio and has served as an editor at The Marshall Project and Complex.

In 2010, Jay-Z reflected on growing up in Brooklyn surrounded by drugs and violence. "One day, your best friend could be killed. The day before, you could be celebrating him getting a brand-new bike."

Author Beth Macy and harm reduction specialist Michelle Mathis talk about grassroots and community efforts to address the opioid crisis. Macy's latest book is Raising Lazarus.

In the new book, American Cartel, Higham and co-author Sari Horwitz make the case that the pharmaceutical industry operated like a drug cartel, with manufacturers at the top; wholesalers in the middle; and pharmacies at the level of "street dealers."

Brittany Barnett works on behalf of people serving harsh sentences as a result of the war on drugs. Nine of her clients have been granted clemency. Her new memoir is A Knock at Midnight.

Photographer Bob Gruen spent decades capturing the lives and performances of rock stars of the '60s, '70s and '80s, including John Lennon, the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Tina Turner — and many more. Gruen put in many hours backstage, in studios and on the road, sometimes doing drugs and drinking until dawn with his subjects.

We listen to a 1983 interview with psychologist Timothy Leary, a 1990 interview with spiritual leader Ram Dass and a 2018 interview with How to Change Your Mind author Michael Pollan.

Race and belonging are the central themes of Yaa Gyasi's work. Her 2016 debut novel, Homegoing, about slavery, won a National Book critic's circle award, and the National Book Foundation's 5 under 35 honor.
Gyasi's new novel, Transcendent Kingdom, draws on Gyasi's life as the daughter of immigrants from Ghana.

In psychiatrist Julie Holland's new book, Good Chemistry, she explores how psychedelic drugs, including LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and marijuana, might be used more widely in psychiatry to make treatment more efficient and effective.

Four and a half million Americans are on probation or parole — more than twice the nation's jail population. Parolees and probationers are required to check in regularly with officials, who are charged with helping them rebuild their lives.

Eilene Zimmerman's new book is about her ex-husband's death from the effects of cocaine and opiod addiction. He was a high powered, wealthy lawyer, and the father of two children. Until his death she didn't know about his addictions.

More than 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, and a growing number of those deaths are attributed to the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. Journalist Ben Westhoff says the drug, while an important painkiller and anesthesia medicine in hospitals, is now killing more Americans annually as a street drug than any other in U.S. history.

Dr. Louise Aronson says the U.S. doesn't have nearly enough geriatricians — physicians devoted to the health and care of older people: "There may be maybe six or seven thousand geriatricians," she says. "Compare that to the membership of the pediatric society, which is about 70,000."

Nastaha Lyonne co-created, co-wrote and stars in the Netflix series Russian Doll, about a woman who keeps dying the same death and comes back to life to do it again. The idea of dying and coming back to life has personal resonance for Lyonne.

When author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka was in the fourth grade, his grandparents called him into the living room. "I remember thinking: Oh maybe we're going to go on another family vacation," he says. (The last time they called a family meeting he learned they were going to Disney World.)

With the Breaking Bad spinoff about to begin its fourth season, Fresh Air presents archival interviews with star Bob Odenkirk, co-creator Peter Gould and actors Giancarlo Esposito and Jonathan Banks.