Get every episode summarized
Each time The Next Big Idea Daily publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
About this episode
When we talk about the forces that shape history, we usually hear about wars, revolutions, inventions… maybe the occasional love affair. But there’s one powerful force that’s rarely acknowledged—because, well, it makes people uncomfortable.
That force is drugs.
In his new book Human History on Drugs, writer and historian Sam Kelly uncovers the surprising, often scandalous ways that everything from opium to cocaine has shaped leaders, inspired art, fueled some bad decisions—and some good ones. It’s a provocative and oddly humanizing look at the past, and it just might change the way you think about both history and substance use.
📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen
📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter
Get every episode summarized
Each time The Next Big Idea Daily publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from The Next Big Idea Daily
What Freud Got Right About the Mind
The Next Big Idea Daily
Sep 29, 202630:48pending
Why We Cheat: The Science of Infidelity
The Next Big Idea Daily
Sep 28, 202626:46pending
How Great Leaders Help People Thrive at Work
The Next Big Idea Daily
Sep 25, 202624:51pending
How Much Time Tax Are You Paying?
The Next Big Idea Daily
Sep 24, 202631:44pending