A brand new podcast brings an entertaining and informative take on the evidence behind drugs and addiction news. Lindsey Hines, one of the three show-runners, tells us why we need this.
Stories on drugs and addiction, from cannabis legalisation to celebrity rehab, are in the news every day. But when was the last time you saw a headline that gave you the full, nuanced story?
In our society drugs are a health issue, a criminal justice issue, a social issue, and an individual issue; perspectives that are often too complex for a quick news report to capture. But these combined perspectives are necessary to understand present-day drug use and addiction.
Across the world, researchers and health professionals are working to examine trends in drug use, to minimise harms, and to find the explanations for what we see happening around us. Our new podcast – What’s the Crack? – brings that research from academia to the public, going beyond the headlines by considering the evidence around media hot topics.
The show runners – myself, Rob Calder, and Elle Wadsworth – are drugs and addiction researchers at the National Addiction Centre, King’s College London.
The What’s the Crack? podcast was born from the frustration we felt reading one-dimensional news coverage of a topic we’re passionate about, and each episode draws on our knowledge and experience in the drugs research field. Our discussions combine a pool of expertise that covers chemistry, psychology, and addiction treatment, along with our research interests in causes of addiction, drug sales on the hidden web, policy, and the use of cannabis, alcohol, tobacco and opiates.
Whether we’re thinking about how the brief closure of Fabric fits with what we know about modern MDMA use, considering why Dry January isn’t always the right choice, or anticipating future headlines by interviewing researchers about their emerging research, we’ll be bringing new perspectives on the stories you’ve read.
Listen to the first episode of What’s The Crack here
Subscribe for future episodes here and follow on Twitter for updates @WhatTheCrackPod
Lindsey Hines is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Teaching Fellow at the National Addictions Centre at the Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King’s College London.