About this episode

The episode discusses the historical and contemporary media coverage of psychedelics with Dr. Steve Siff.

Psychedelics have long been a hot topic. But in the early days of psychedelics, back in the 1950s, even mainstream media outlets were enthusiastically covering research on a bizarre new drug that was active in minuscule doses. On this episode of Furthure, Dr. Steve Siff, a journalism professor at Miami University and author of Acid Hype , discusses media coverage surrounding psychedelics. We talk about the rise and fall of the psychedelic hype and whether today’s media is bound to make similar mistakes to those of the 1960s. I think this conversation is especially relevant, as in some circles there's mounting backlash against the hype. Also, I highly recommend checking out Steve’s book for more details on some of the media stories, which are just wild. The way people wrote about psychedelics in the 1950s is so campy and sensational that it’s a joy to read. Plus, there’s a lot in there about how psychosis and psychedelics were framed to the public in the ’50s that I haven’t heard discussed anywhere else. This was a far-ranging conversation, and we bounced back and forth between eras a bit. Because of that, there are a few small corrections to make. The pilot with the mental health…

People in this episode

Host: Haley Maria Dourron

Guest: Dr. Steve Siff

Topics covered

• psychedelics
• media coverage
• history
• mental health
• journalism
• cultural perception

Keywords

• psychedelics
• media
• Acid Hype
• Dr. Steve Siff
• 1960s
• mental health
• journalism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Miami University

Books & works: Acid Hype

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