Pills and Power

A temple stands empty after a drug raid. Robes folded. Bowls untouched. Silence where chanting once lived.This episode begins inside that abandoned sanctuary, then follows the trail outward to the Golden Triangle, spanning Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, where much of the region’s methamphetamine originates.From there, we step back into medieval Europe, where monks brewed and sold beer within monastery walls to fund charitable work. Over centuries, intoxicants moved from small-scale religious production to vast, industrialised networks.From sacred brewing vats to jungle labs producing millions of pills, this is a story of faith, commerce, and how substances evolve alongside human ambition.Sources:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63792923https://theconversation.com/yabas-grip-how-cheap-methamphetamine-is-fuelling-thailands-addiction-crisis-262765https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-08/thailand-misbehaving-monks-foreign-correspondent/104184056https://www.vice.com/en/article/buddhist-monks-arrested-thailand/https://www.historiascripta.org/the-middle-ages/beer-as-a-cultural-and-economic-staple-in-medieval-europe/

Ergot is one of the most influential organisms you’ve probably never heard of.In this episode, we break down what ergot actually is, how it infects crops, and what happens when humans consume it. We explore historical outbreaks of ergotism that caused convulsions, hallucinations, paranoia, and even gangrene, and examine the theory that ergot poisoning may have contributed to waves of witchcraft accusations in early modern Europe.We also trace ergot’s transformation from feared contaminant to pharmaceutical resource, culminating in the synthesis of LSD by Albert Hoffman in the 20th century.From mass hysteria to modern chemistry, from burning stakes to laboratory breakthroughs, this episode covers the science, the myths, and the lasting impact of a fungus that shaped history in ways few people realise.Sources:https://salemwitchmuseum.com/2023/05/17/debunking-the-moldy-bread-theory/http://old.absentis.org/ergotism/the_witch_trials_of_finnmark_norway.pdfhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6640538/https://www.worldhistory.org/St_Anthony's_Fire/https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/historicalstudies/events/talk-cursed-breadhttps://www.albertagrains.com/the-growing-point/articles-library/understanding-ergot-outbreaks-and-how-to-manage-them?back=1094

This episode examines the complex interplay of silver, tea, and global trade that set the stage for the Opium Wars. It explores Ming China’s silver-based tax system, the influx of silver from Japan and the Americas, and how these economic forces shaped international commerce.The discussion also covers the British trade imbalance, the emergence of opium smuggling, and the early tensions that ultimately led to the First Opium War. Part 1 provides essential context for understanding the economic, political, and social factors behind this pivotal period in world history.Sources:https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/History/World_History/Modern_World_History%3A_New_Perspectives_%28OERI%29/02%3A_Global_Interactions_-_1450-1650/2.06%3A_Silver_and_the_Ming_Dynastyhttps://www.britannica.com/event/First-Opium-Warhttps://www.britannica.com/list/timeline-of-the-first-opium-warhttps://scholarworks.harding.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=tenor

Bog bodies, ancient psychedelics, and the unsettling chemistry of ritual killing—welcome to history’s darkest trip. We dive into Iron Age bog bodies in Roman Britain—well-groomed men carefully stunned, strangled, drugged, and drowned as sacrifices, their last meals laced with mistletoe toxins and ergot fungus (yes, the stuff that eventually led to LSD). Then we head to ancient Peru, where Nazca mummies, severed trophy heads, coca leaves, mescaline, and ayahuasca show up in sacrificial rituals.Sources:The mystery of the human sacrifices buried in Europe’s bogs (BBC)Grauballe Man (Moesgaard Museum)Nazca child ingested psychoactive cactus just before ceremonial death in ancient Peru (Live Science)Earliest Ayahuasca Trip (Archaeology Magazine)

The Stoned Age is a quick trip back to prehistory to explore our oldest drugs and where they fit into the very fabric of being human. From “caveman meth” to mushroom-headed shamans, this episode looks at how we know prehistoric people used drugs—and why they mattered. Along the way, we dig into mummies, cave art, Neanderthals, and Mormonism.Sources: The oldest archeological data evidencing the relationship of Homo sapiens with psychoactive plants: A worldwide overviewDirect evidence of the use of multiple drugs in Bronze Age Menorca (Western Mediterranean) from human hair analysisLate pleistocene exploitation of Ephedra in a funerary context in MoroccoThe dangers of the herb ephedra

What happens when a hostage crisis collides with geopolitics, decades of oppression, and one of the most potent drugs on Earth? In October 2002, Chechen militants took over a packed Moscow theater—and the Russian government decided to end the standoff in a way that still stuns toxicologists today. We’ll unravel the tangled history of Chechnya’s fight for independence, the Kremlin’s heavy-handed responses, and why carfentanil—yes, the elephant tranquilizer—was ever on the table. This is a story of political theater, actual theater, and overdose used as a weapon.Sources:International Negotiation Journal: The Moscow Theater Hostage Crisis: The Perpetrators, their Tactics, and the Russian ResponseMilitary Medicine: Nord-Ost: Russia’s Medical Failure in the 2002 CrisisGIS Reports: Chechnya: A litmus test of Russia’s powerBritannica: Moscow theater hostage crisis of 2002MSNBC: Moscow Theater Hostage Crisis of 2002 (video)

Step right up! In this episode, we dive into the raucous world of Wild West traveling medicine shows—part vaudeville, part medieval quackery, and all about the drugs. From narcotic-laced “cures” to the birth of the phrase “snake oil,” we trace how these spectacles peddled more than entertainment—and left their mark on drug history.Sources:Ann Anderson: Snake Oil, Hustlers and Hambones Smithsonian: Hamlin’s Wizard Oil LinimentThe Henry Ford Collection: Dr. F.G. Johnson’s French Female PillsAmerican Institute of the History of Pharmacy: Kickapoo Indian Medicine CompanySauk County History: Traveling Medicine Shows of Yesteryear

This episode uncovers how a sacred South American leaf turned into Victorian society’s favorite “miracle” drug. Ray and Eliza explore coca’s ancient uses, its transformation into cocaine, and the irony of prudish Victorians throwing eye-drop parties and praising Freud’s favorite stimulant. From mummy girlfriends to botched surgeries—this is the strange trip from ritual leaf to pharmaceutical gold rush.Sources:National Geographic: How Coca Leaves Become CocainePublic Broadcasting Service: How ‘Miracle Drug’ Nearly Destroyed Sigmund Freud, William HalstedDrug Enforcement Administration: CocaPostgraduate Medical Journal: The Case of Emma EcksteinBritish Broadcasting Corporation: Peruvian delivery man carried ancient mummy around in his bag

When the troops came home from World War II, they didn’t just bring back stories—they brought back a taste for amphetamines. In this episode, we trace how wartime “pep pills” flooded postwar America—this time marketed at women. In this episode, we explore how “pep pills” promised energy, slim figures, and a cure for the quiet desperation of domestic life. From the pharmacy counter to pop culture, discover how a generation of housewives was sold a chemical solution for an impossible ideal.Sources:University of Wisconsin-Madison advertisement catalogNicholas Rassmussen: America’s First Amphetamine EpidemicPBS: Mrs. America: Women’s Roles in the 1950sSmithsonian Magazine: A Speedy History of America’s Addiction to Amphetamine

In this episode, we unravel the surprising colonial legacy behind one of the world's most iconic cocktails: the Gin and Tonic. What began as a bitter necessity for British soldiers in India turned into a fashionable drink with a chilling backstory. From malaria prevention to imperial expansion, we trace how quinine, tonic water, and a splash of gin became tools of empire. Discover how this bubbly drink is soaked in history, empire, and exploitation- proof that not all light drinks come without a dark twist.Sources:PBS: How Quinine Caused World War OneScientific American: Quinine and EmpireInfez Med: When Gin and Tonic was not Ordered but PrescribedThe Atlantic: The Medical Case for Gin and TonicJournal of Military and Veterans’ Health: Antimalarial Drug Supply Issues during the Second World War

Welcome to Pills & Power - a raw, revealing, and often ridiculous dive into the world of drugs, addiction, and the bizarre truths that never made it into your school textbooks.We’re your hosts, Eliza and Ray, and we’re here to unpack the highs, the lows, and all the messy, mind-blowing bits in between.From crack dens to chemistry labs, from devastating lows to euphoric highs, we explore the stories, science, and stigma surrounding drugs and the people who use them.🎙️ Expect wild history, uncomfortable truths, and a few laughs along the way.Subscribe now – this is not your average education…It’s a trip.