Media + Culture

It’s Fentanyl Misinformation Season. Please Consume Media Responsibly.

Every year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) gets a few more allies in its bid to turn October into National…

October 30, 2023

If I Join a Church After Prison, How Much of My Past Is Safe to Disclose?

Last Sunday, I tried to work up the courage to go to church. I did some Googling of the churches…

October 25, 2023

One Weird Trick Reporters Can Use to Make Fentanyl Stories Less Bad

Media coverage of fentanyl is beyond a quick fix, but I still think this one would improve it. Journalists often…

October 24, 2023

Meth Was the Routine in Our Biker Club. Psychedelics Were the Escapes.

I was a fan of psychedelics long before I got ahold of any. Such exotic drugs as LSD were not…

October 23, 2023

Parents for Vapes? Why Some Are Buying Them for Their Teens

Outcry over youth vaping continues to drive headlines and policies around the world, fueled in part by parents who have…

October 20, 2023

Watch: Stigma Hampers Recruitment for Nicotine Research

Dr. Paul Newhouse has been studying nicotine for three decades, but it’s only in the last few years that he’s…

October 16, 2023

Stop Scapegoating Immigrants for the Fentanyl-Involved Overdose Crisis

As the United States continues to grapple with a devastating opioid-involved overdose crisis, conservative policymakers have seized on a familiar…

October 16, 2023

Media Never Changed Its 1970s PCP Propaganda, Just Repurposed It

In 1927, a family in Mexico City ate cannabis leaves by accident. The father had just been killed, and with…

October 10, 2023

Big Vape: Netflix Docuseries Flips the Narrative on Juul

I was prepared to hate-watch the new Netflix limited docuseries, Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul, directed by…

October 5, 2023

Amid the Trauma of Prison, an Unexpected Oasis: Crochet Club

Travis learned to crochet from his grandmother. He was 10 when she showed him his first stitch, in 1986, and…

October 3, 2023