Best Steve Discont Podcasts (2025)

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169: Freud on Drugs, Religion, Guilt, Shame and Civilization (Civilization and its Discontents) 27:55

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2M ago27:55

27:55

This week I dive into some of the work Freud wrote later in his life, particularly a book called Civilization and its Discontents published in 1930. Freud believed that the evolutionary process we can use to trace the changes humans have gone through over the centuries can also explain why culture itself has evolved as it has. He basically thinks w…

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168: Cocaine with Freud 15:28

2M ago15:28

15:28

This week I talk about Freud's love of cocaine, the historical legacy of Freud's cocaine use, and the cultural changes that have occurred since then in relation to cocaine. The stories we tell about drugs impact the experience we have when we consume them, but Freud wasn't dealing with a century of propaganda. He was, in many ways, creating some of…

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167: Duct Taping Drugs to Bad Behavior 23:40

3M ago23:40

23:40

This week I dive into some of Trump's recent comments about "Venezuelan gang members" and the USA's legacy of dehumanizing people based on their drug use. I discuss Rodney King, Joaquín Guzman aka "El Chapo," George Floyd, dehumanization, Hannah Arendt's Banality of Evil, the art of shilling for Trump (aka "minionism"), and lots more. You can find …

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166: A Conversation with One of My Students about Drugs, Addiction and Neoliberalism (Maddy Grace/Levin) 44:53

3M ago44:53

44:53

This week I share a conversation with one of my students, Madeline Grace/Levin, who is creating a podcast of her own called Dependence. I will update this episode description with a link to her podcast when it's live, but in the mean time I thought I'd share a cool conversation we had last week. We talk about religion, drugs, addiction, Michel de C…

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165: Beers with my Dad (Steve Boyce) 1:04:55

4M ago1:04:55

1:04:55

This week I sat down to record a conversation with my dad, Steve Boyce. We talk about my childhood, his first marriage to my bio-mom, addiction and drug use in his life, what I was like as a kid, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, and religion (plus more). Support the showBy Ben Boyce

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164: The Kratom Wars 25:18

4M ago25:18

25:18

This week I talk about the kratom wars: the argument over whether kratom is a deadly drug or a miracle cure (or somewhere in between). While some states are currently trying to ban kratom, others are working to make it easier and safer to get. Meanwhile, the federal government has been a bit all over the place on it, and with Trump 2.0 gathering ea…

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163: Kendrick, Drake, Christian Nationalism, and Accountability without Free Will 37:19

4M ago37:19

37:19

This week I tackle some of the questions and comments I've been getting over the last couple months. I talk about Trump's neoliberal agenda, his capture of the Evangelical Right, Consistency and Accountability in both criminal justice and religion, and I clean up some of what I may have missed during the last few episodes I've done on these issues.…

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162: New Projects, Old Problems, and I Can't Leave Religion Alone (Dr. Christy Perez) 1:22:19

4M ago1:22:19

1:22:19

This week Dr. Christy Perez (C Dreams) is back to talk about her new projects, and to be dragged back into old theological debates. We talk about trans rights, Christianity, the capture of Evangelical Christianity by MAGA, expectations for the next 4 years, the anti-fact stance of the recent anti-trans executive order, and we spend way too long spi…

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161: Drugs and Free Will 32:28

5M ago32:28

32:28

This week I get back to the heart of the show: drug policy, drug addiction, and drugs. I talk about free will as it relates to the war on drugs, addiction and intoxication, and I dig into genetics, criminal justice, punishment and prevention. The nonsensical notion of free will, which I've yet to hear defined with any sort of coherence, plays no pa…

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160: Dialectics of Coffee 28:38

5M ago28:38

28:38

This week I talk about coffee: the history, the pharmacology, the politics and the legal battles. I take a dialectical perspective, which just means I focus on both sides of the coffee discussion: it has been blamed for sexual promiscuity and inability to perform; it has been the instigator of both dictatorships and revolutions; it has been labeled…

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159: Religious Trauma, Morality & Truth 32:15

6M ago32:15

32:15

This week I finally finish the topic a started a few weeks ago: religious trauma and why religion often makes people into worse versions of themselves without them noticing. I discuss two of the most important questions in life: how does one find truth, and how does one decide on morality. And I point out the many ways that religions, particularly …

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158: Alcohol, Culture & Capitalism 25:42

6M ago25:42

25:42

This week I get back to the roots of the show and talk about drugs, specifically alcohol. How does it work? What does it do in the body? Why is it so popular in so many cultures? How has capitalism both attacked and encouraged alcohol use at various times? Why did prohibition happen in the first place? How did our relationship with alcohol change a…

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157: Religious Addiction and Why I am not a Christian 30:11

6M ago30:11

30:11

The title of this week's episode is a shout out to philosopher Bertrand Russell, who wrote a book by the same name: Why I am not a Christian. This week I talk about religion as an addiction, responsible use of religion, how religion often programs people to avoid accountability and double down on things they know are not true, the problem with the …

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156: Abuse, Trauma & Addiction (Jeremy Pavlik) 51:50

6M ago51:50

51:50

Today's episode includes an interview with formerly incarcerated activist Jeremy Pavlik. Jeremy was incarcerated in Colorado for more than 15 years before his release in 2014. Since then, he has worked with multiple agencies who assist other recently released people trying to get back on their feet. He is currently working to start up his own organ…

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155: The Heroin Diaries (Ben Boyce & Meghan Cosgrove) 1:04:25

6M ago1:04:25

1:04:25

This week friend of the show Meghan Cosgrove stopped by to interview me in our ongoing series about previously incarcerated people who have used education to find a pathway to success. Long time listeners have heard pieces of my story, but I've seldom stopped to dig deep into what happened to me and why my life went the way it went. We talk about p…

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154: Cocaine, Prison Ink & 28 Years for Attempted Murder (Taylor Doucet) 1:09:05

7M ago1:09:05

1:09:05

Today I continue a series of interviews with recently incarcerated people who are doing some great things in the community. Taylor Doucet was sentenced to 28 years in prison for two attempted murderers in 2013. While inside he found a different version of himself and worked to overcome his past. Now he is a peer recovery coach, a personal trainer, …

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153: Capitalism, Ponzi Schemes & A Few Millions Dollars of Missing Money (Sean Mueller) 1:01:31

7M ago1:01:31

1:01:31

This week I host another interview with a previously incarcerated student who is doing some great work in the community. Sean Mueller was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2010 after being convicted of running a "Ponzi Scheme" and losing a few million dollars of investors' money. Since his incarceration, he's worked to become an artist, an author,…

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152: Drugs, Bullets, Recovery & Role Models (Geordan Morris) 1:01:09

7M ago1:01:09

1:01:09

This week I share a story from another previously-incarcerated person who is doing some incredible work in the community. Geordan Morris was one of my students in the CU-Denver Strategic Communication program, and since his release earlier this year, he's worked with others who have struggled with addiction, trauma, and incarceration to help them d…

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151: Life in Prison, College Degrees and 16 Grams of Coke (David Carrillo) 1:06:56

7M ago1:06:56

1:06:56

This week I sat down with Colorado's David Carrillo, who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole thirty years ago, when he was 19 years old. Since then, David has accomplished some incredible things behind bars. He enrolled in college, completed his Bachelor's and then his Master's Degree, and then got hired to teach for a…

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150: Jesus, Meth and Naked Arrests (Dr. Erin Boyce) 1:13:47

8M ago1:13:47

1:13:47

Today is the first episode in a series about people who are justice impacted and who managed to break out of the trap of recidivism. I start with my partner, Dr. Erin Boyce, whose story winds through 20 years, 5 drugs, 4 states and 3 felony arrests. We discuss religious trauma, addiction, role models, prison transports, check fraud, the lost art of…

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149: How Big Pharma Ruined it for Everyone 25:11

8M ago25:11

25:11

This week is about the evolution of drugs and the role of big pharma (#Capitalism) in creating and exploding the war on drugs. From Cannabis to Marinol to Spice/K2... From coca leaves to cocaine to crack... From willow tree bark to Aspirin to Ibuprofen... From eucalyptus to amphetamine to methamphetamine to Adderall... From PCP to Ketamine... From …

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148: Drugs, Commercials & Social Media 24:05

11M ago24:05

24:05

Email us at [email protected] Why does everyone in the 2020s seem to have their own version of reality? And why does truth seem to be up for debate in every area? Marshall McLuhan explained why 50 years ago. This week I answer the question, "why don't you host commercials?" I also discuss the larger, related issues of capitalism, neoliberalism…

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147: The Opium of the Masses 22:50

1y ago22:50

22:50

Email us at [email protected] This week I talk about Karl Marx's claim that religion is the opium of the masses. I also talk about Friedrich Engels's concept of exploitation by wage labor, Friedrich Hegel's dialectics, capitalism, globalization, and the religious values of different eras (and why they always align with economic values of that …

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146: Life in Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle (pt 2) 22:58

1y ago22:58

22:58

Email us at [email protected] This week I dive back into some philosophical theory related to why we are so prone to struggle with anxiety, addiction and alienation in today's world. Guy Debord wrote The Society of the Spectacle more than 50 years ago, and in it he explained the current state of so-called "Western Cultures" as having moved fro…

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145: Addiction, Ideology & the Society of the Spectacle 27:34

1y ago27:34

27:34

Email us at [email protected] This week I dive back into some philosophical theory related to why we are so prone to struggle with anxiety, addiction and alienation in today's world. Guy Debord wrote The Society of the Spectacle more than 50 years ago, and in it he explained the current state of so-called "Western Cultures" as having moved fro…

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144: C. Dreams Free at Last (Dr. Christina Perez) 1:09:04

1y ago1:09:04

1:09:04

Email us at [email protected] C. Dreams, Dr. Christina Perez's moniker while incarcerated, joins me today to talk about addiction, recovery, reentry, education, stigma, social movement, reappropriation, colorism, plus she shares her story of doing interviews (including for this show) on a contraband cell phone smuggled into her prison cell. Ch…

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143: Cults, Drugs & The 12-Step Success Story 30:15

1y ago30:15

30:15

Email us at [email protected] This week I revisit a topic I've discussed repeatedly on this show: the reported success rates of 12-Step programs like AA and NA. I talk about the reason these programs persist as the norm despite an odd lack of data to verify their success, and I walk through the reasons AA and other 12-Step programs are highly …

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142: Where's my Adderall, Ritalin & Opioids? 25:10

1y ago25:10

25:10

Email us at [email protected] This week I talk about the medication shortages across the United States. Drugs used to treat ADHD, chronic pain, and other conditions have been in short supply lately for reasons unexplained. Different groups have blamed the shortage on one anther: the manufacturers blame the DEA, while the DEA blames manufacture…

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141: The Panopticon 32:40

1+ y ago32:40

32:40

Email us at [email protected] This week I wrap up a multi-part discussion of Foucault's theories of panoptic power, institutional knowledge, and discourses used to endorse awful ideas and beliefs about drugs and drug users. I also talk about Michel Foucault's car accident while high on opium, the notion of panoptic power, Jeremy Bentham's pano…

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140: Captured Words/Free Thoughts, 20th Anniversary 51:27

1+ y ago51:27

51:27

Email us at [email protected] Captured Words/Free Thoughts is an annual, non-profit publication packed with art, poetry and prose inspired and written inside US prisons. Every year a group of volunteers records some of the submissions in audio form to share with the world. An online version of the full magazine (and all previous volumes) is he…

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139: We Couldn't Build it Worse if we Tried 27:37

1+ y ago27:37

27:37

Email us at [email protected] If we wanted to design a culture from the ground up to maximize both the potential and severity of addiction, we would build it exactly like the United States today. Once upon a time, humans received contentment and fulfilment from their work, and they often went home feeling connected to their communities and ide…

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138: Drugs and Addiction in a Neoliberal Oligarchy 28:15

1+ y ago28:15

28:15

Email us at [email protected] This week I dive into neoliberalism and oligarchy, 2 systems the USA has repeatedly rejected despite their current resurgence of late. The war on drugs is part of a larger move to privatize public systems like medicine, post office services or policing, and to allow profiteering by rich folks who can step in to pr…

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137: Foucault on Drugs 25:01

1+ y ago25:01

25:01

Email us at [email protected] Why do humans have such an odd fascination with criminals and outlaws? What happened to all the kings and queens who used to be in charge of everything...where did they go? Why? And what does any of this have to do with drugs? In this episode I pick up where I left off last time by introducing Michel Foucault's co…

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136: Heroin with Adorno, Marx, Marcuse & Nietzsche 22:21

2y ago22:21

22:21

Email us at [email protected] Have you ever thought, "dang, I just got out of work and I already dread going back tomorrow!"? Most of us have, and in response we did something to make ourselves feel better, something to take the edge off: we treated ourselves to an ice cream cone or binge watched our favorite Netflix series. That's the norm of…

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135: Capitalism and the War on Drugs (Benjamin Fong) 1:01:30

2y ago1:01:30

1:01:30

Email us at [email protected] This episode is all about America's unhealthily relationships with work and drugs. We live in a world where we are increasingly distracted and secluded, and our daily schedules often consist of punching a clock and returning home. It's no wonder we feel so compelled to use drugs. We are torturing ourselves with ca…

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134: What's Wrong with Prison? (Christie Donner) 1:08:58

2y ago1:08:58

1:08:58

Email us at [email protected] Colorado's state prison budget has grown by almost 1300% in the last 35 years; it's now more than a billion dollars-per-year. This week I talk to Christie Donner, founder of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. We discuss the current state of prisons in Colorado and across the US, and we spend some time…

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133: Attachment, Authenticity & Addiction (Dr. Erin Boyce) 57:37

2y ago57:37

57:37

This week my partner Dr. Erin Boyce joins me to talk about one of her areas of study, attachment theory. We discuss childhood development, identity formation, the important of strong attachments to parental figures, authenticity, depression, repression, and lots more. For more on Attachment Theory, check out Mary Ainsworth's work. For more on attac…

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132: Prisons on TV and the Spectacle of Punishment 29:50

2y ago29:50

29:50

This week I share a summary of my new book, The Spectacle of Punishment: Lessons from a Century of Prison Films. I discuss cinematic outlaws and lawmen, and I cover the three main prisons used in every movie: prison as a playground, prison as a paradox or prison as penance. For more on Bill Yousman's work, check out his book Prime Time Prisons on U…

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131: The US War on Drugs 1970-2020 55:29

2y ago55:29

55:29

This week I follow the trail of the US War on Drugs from 1970-2020. I cover Reagan's Iran-Contra scandal, the CIA's importation of cocaine into low income communities, Freeway Ricky, crack-versus-powder sentencing disparities, fentanyl, xylazine, and the role of media in all of it. You can find links to citations in the episode descriptions of samp…

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130: The US War on Drugs 1920-1970 36:31

2+ y ago36:31

36:31

This week I share part 2 of The War on Drugs: 1920-1970. If you prefer the video format with lots of images and videos, you can find it on YouTube at The Dr. Junkie Show channel. I cover Harry Anslinger, the origins of the war on drugs in the early 1900s, alcohol prohibition, stigmatization, and the recipe used by every politicians since to ramp th…

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129: The US War on Drugs 1870-1920 17:45

2+ y ago17:45

17:45

This week I share lecture I recorded a few years ago in video format. If you prefer to watch the video, you can find it on YouTube here: The War on Drugs pt 1. I discuss the stereotypes that surrounded drugs prior to the 1900s, the ease with which addicted people could live normal lives, the medicalization of drugs, and the racism used to create an…

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128: What Prison Should Be Like (Dr. Ashley Hamilton) 43:22

2+ y ago43:22

43:22

This week I talk to Dr. Ashley Hamilton, director and founder of DU-Prison Arts Initiative. Dr. Hamilton's work has focused on using theater as a space of identity (re)formation, and she has become a force in Colorado DOC, spearheading the state's only prison newspaper, The Inside Report, the state's only prison radio station, Inside Wire, and a po…

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127: Poetry from Prison—Captured Words/Free Thoughts 19 58:05

2+ y ago58:05

58:05

This episode features the annual performance of Captured Words/Free Thoughts: Art and Poetry Inspired Inside US Prisons, volume 19. This year we have a great lineup commentated by Meghan Cosgrove, Dr. Erin Boyce, and of course, me. To read complete editions of Captured Words/Free Thoughts, check out the CU-Denver Communication Dept. page. You can c…

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126: Moderating Drug & Alcohol Use When you Don't Want to Stop (Kenneth Anderson) 53:20

2+ y ago53:20

53:20

Have you ever wanted to reduce or moderate your consumption of alcohol or other drugs, but you didn't know how to do it or where to go for help? Today I talk to the founder of the nonprofit support group HAMS, Kenneth Anderson. HAMS stands for Harm reduction, Abstinence, and Moderation Support. They are a coalition of drug and alcohol users who sup…

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125: Spice, K2 & Synthetic Cannabinoids (The Medium is the Message) 27:41

2+ y ago27:41

27:41

This week I talk about synthetic cannabis, also known as Spice or K2. It hit the market in the late 1990s, and it was legal for many years before government officials both in the US and elsewhere passed new legislation banning it in all its forms. Check out the 1982 article, "“Cannabimimetic Activity from CP-47, 497, a Derivative of 3-Phenylcyclohe…

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124: On Christianity (C Dreams) 41:25

2+ y ago41:25

41:25

This episode features part 2 of a conversation with activist, author and academic C Dreams. We dig into some of the basic pathways to learning about God, finding spirituality, navigating holy books, avoiding self-deception, and avoiding our tendency as humans to avoid critical analysis of our valued beliefs or morals. To follow up on some of our to…

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123: Overcoming I Ain't Shit Syndrome (C Dreams) 1:04:13

2+ y ago1:04:13

1:04:13

C. Dreams is back, and this time we got into all sorts of topics we missed the first time around. Today's episode is part 1 of 2. We talk about prison abolition, prison education, trans rights in prison, stigma, imposter syndrome, "I ain't shit" syndrome, patriarchy, Christianity, Faith, redemption, sex offender registries, identity and lots more. …

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122: Why I do this Work 29:01

2+ y ago29:01

29:01

In this episode I discuss the reason for the podcast, the choice of the name Dr. Junkie, and the purpose of teaching college classes inside prisons. I also talk about sigma, capitalism, incentivization, addiction, identity and opportunity. For more on drug laws around the world, check out my article in Filter Magazine called "Our Pathway to the Leg…

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121: Prison Education (Meghan Cosgrove) 1:17:16

2+ y ago1:17:16

1:17:16

This week I sit down with my fellow professor in the college education in prison program at CU-Denver. We talk about our experience as prison educators, the reasons for college in prison, the benefits of education as an identity-building tool, and lots more. To read published work from our incarcerated students, check out the Westword Article, "Edu…

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120: For the Love of Heroin 31:10

2+ y ago31:10

31:10

Today I revisit one of my favorite topics: opioids. The ongoing overdose crisis is due to the Iron Law of Prohibition, which states that any time a substance is illegal, the most potent form of it will become the most common form. Fentanyl replaced heroin because it is more potent, and therefore easier to smuggle. But that dynamic creates a lot of …