Libsyn Directory

Romancing Opiates - Working With British Prisoners Makes One Grumpy

Release Date: 12/02/2025

Phenomena - Why Must It Always Be a Spoon?

We Are Not Saved

Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis By: Annie Jacobsen Published: 2017 544 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An exhaustive history of the government’s attempts to systematize and weaponize paranormal abilities. It also covers the broader paranormal research landscape, with lots of discussion of Uri Geller. What authorial biases should I be aware of? Jacobsen claims to be approaching the subject as a neutral observer, but I got a strong “I want to believe” vibe from the book. Her approach...

Four Books of Speculative Fiction About Christian Damnation

We Are Not Saved

Unshrunk - Medication, Red in Tooth and Claw

We Are Not Saved

Delano is very much an example of something being wrong with psychiatry, the question is how emblematic is her experience? Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance By: Laura Delano Published: 2025 352 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An autobiographical tale of Delano’s experience with the mental health industry starting at the age of thirteen. Among other things, it covers her bipolar diagnosis, eating disorders, cutting, and one, nearly successful, suicide attempt. On the treatment side of the ledger she took at least a dozen drugs, engaged in constant therapy, and was...

Three Books About Roman Stoicism or Lack Thereof

We Are Not Saved

Grand Strategy In Life [Essay] (w: review of 33 Strategies of War)

We Are Not Saved

There’s a concept within statecraft known as grand strategy. The “grand” strategy means paying attention to every avenue of conflict, not just the military sphere, but also the diplomatic, the logistical, and the domestic, and everywhere else advantage might be gained or lost. It encompasses soft power, irregular actions, public opinion, etc. But at the same time, it also encompasses prioritization and focus, because, while it’s important to consider every avenue, resources are always limited and need to be spent wisely. A great example of grand strategy done right is the US in...

Meta-Competition and the Downfall of Civilization [Essay]

We Are Not Saved

Or how America went from the platonic ideal of goal-scoring to the messy theatricality of flopping. And whether we can stop it before someone get's stoned in the forum.

Eugenics and Other Evils - Chesterton Was Right Everyone Else Was Wrong

We Are Not Saved

Eugenics and Other Evils By: G. K. Chesterton Published: 1922 188 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? Once this book entered the public domain, someone (most likely Inkling Books) added a subtitle to their edition: “An Argument Against the Scientifically Organized State”. This is a pretty good description of the book’s thrust, though the book’s major focus is still definitely eugenics. When the book was written eugenics was a powerful political force, supported by numerous well known individuals. Buck v. Bell, the famous case which approved involuntary sterilization, didn't arrive...

Three Books With Some Variation of the Word “Fly” in the Title

We Are Not Saved

1- Operation Overflight By: Francis Gary Powers and Curt Gentry Published: 1970 384 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An autobiographical account of Powers’ experiences before, during, after and around his U-2 spy plane being shot down over the Soviet Union, including his 21 months of imprisonment in a Soviet prison and his long campaign to rehabilitate his reputation upon his return to the US. 2- Flybot By: Dennis E. Taylor Published: 2025 430 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? Another Taylor book where a few scrappy nerds get thrust into the middle of world altering...

HeartMath Solution - A Sugary Pseudoscience Soufflé

We Are Not Saved

Come for the unreplicatable science, stay for the promise of a planetary heart beating out peace for a thousand years. The HeartMath Solution: The Institute of HeartMath's Revolutionary Program for Engaging the Power of the Heart's Intelligence By: Doc Childre, Howard Martin, and Donna Beech Published: 1999 304 Pages (But somehow this translates to only 2 hours 45 minutes on audio…) Briefly, what is this book about? The idea that the heart contains a separate brain, and true emotional health comes from aligning the heart’s brain and its “intelligence”, with the actual brain. Basically...

Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - A Series of Unfortunate Events

We Are Not Saved

A book full of potential comparisons to our own day for the motivated, and strangely removed from our own day if you're really going to be honest about it. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany By: William L. Shirer Published: 1960 1250 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? A comprehensive history of Nazi Germany, from Hitler’s birth to the Nuremberg trials. Written by someone who was there for a great deal of the most important period. What authorial biases should I be aware of? Shirer is a journalist, not a historian, but he did have access to the German...

More Episodes

When "stigmatizing" has become a bad word and a bad thing everywhere and for every one, one brave British curmudgeon dares to demand it's return!

Romancing Opiates: Pharmacological Lies and the Addiction Bureaucracy

By: Theodore Dalrymple
Published: 2006
160 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

This book aims to shatter some of the myths around opioid addiction. The first part covers the myth that stopping opioids cold turkey is both painful and dangerous. The second part dissects the myths propagated by literature, primarily Coleridge and De Quincey. The final part ties it into an addiction bureaucracy, though that part still references De Quincey an awful lot.

What's the author's angle?

Dalrymple worked as a prison doctor and psychiatrist for many years. Accordingly, he has a lot of experience with addicts. But he’s also very culturally conservative. The combination of the two leads him to strongly oppose coddling addicts, arguing instead that they should be stigmatized.

Who should read this book?

I’m a fan of Dalrymple. I’ve enjoyed his columns over the years, and I appreciate his curmudgeonly British insight. I previously enjoyed and reviewed his book Life at the Bottom. I would definitely recommend that book before this book. Actually, I would not recommend this book period, unless, for some reason, you want a really deep dive into Coleridge and De Quincey’s writings about opium.

Specific thoughts: Opioid addiction is not a disease?

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