160 / Don't Believe the Hype / Stephen Siff

I speak with Stephen Siff, Associate Professor of Journalism at Miami University and the author of Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience. We get into the media's role in the promotion—the "hype"—of psychedelic drug use in the 1950s and '60s, initially by prominent public figures and the intelligentsia, and eventually the wider population more generally. We also get into the Nixon Administration's role in instigating the War on Drugs and the role the US media played in propagandizing the government's agenda regarding the prohibition of psychedelic compounds and cannabis. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/stephen-siff // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast