In Vancouver’s East Hastings, the Safe Supply program challenges the conventional narrative that sobriety is the ultimate goal. Geoff visits the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users office to sit down with Garth Mullins, an advocate and organizer. This episode explores harm reduction, examining how drug addiction intersects with issues of poverty, shame, and community. Are programs like these changing lives? Why did they end? Did decriminalization really fail?

Listen to Garth Mullin’s Crackdown podcast: https://www.crackdownpod.com/

Fighting for Space by Travis Lupick: https://tlupick.com/fightingforspace/

Listen to City, On Drugs from Season 1: lnk.to/6c7jR9

Despite decades of anti-smoking campaigns, nicotine addiction is still pervasive. Why do we keep lighting up when we know it’s bad for us? Producer Hadeel confronts her own romanticized view of cigarettes, even as the health risks loom large. Speaking with Dr. Lynn Kozlowski, this episode delves into the psychology and allure behind smoking, from personal habits to societal myths.

Alcohol has been a fixture on our screens, shaping how we see and consume it. From the “bad boys” of Hollywood’s code era to the grit of film noir, have we learned to drink through the lens of our favorite characters? In this episode, Geoff unpacks these cultural cues with the hosts of Why Theory, tracing the coded messages in pop culture and his own subconscious. What have movies and TV taught us to believe about drinking — and about ourselves?

If you haven't already, listen to Episode 1 of Season 3, "Why Do I Keep Drinking?" here.

Host Geoff Turner begins his most personal season yet by examining his own relationship with alcohol. In a time when sobriety is on the rise among younger generations, what changed? Through conversations with addiction researcher Dr. Catharine Fairbairn, this episode explores the factors behind the ways we drink, from social habits to self-reflection, and asks if the current cultural shift could lead us toward a more mindful future.

Please note, this episode contains references to suicide. Please take care when listening.

Resources

For more resources on getting help with substance use, please see: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/substance-use/get-help-with-substance-use.html

For a detailed list of Canadian resources, including province and territory-specific resources, see: cbc.ca/1.7432271

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.

Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling on https://kidshelpphone.ca/.

Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre at https://suicideprevention.ca/resources/

This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about: https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/guides-and-publications/when-a-family-member-is-suicidal

On Drugs returns for a third season, and this time, it’s really personal. This season, we're challenging the typical narratives about addiction, exploring what substances reveal not only about our bodies but also our understanding of consciousness, our motivations, and our very sense of self. Host Geoff Turner confronts his own casual relationship with alcohol, using it as a lens to question the nature of desire, drive, and what we truly seek from life. Launching January 6, 2025.

Opioid drugs have claimed a shocking number of lives across North America in recent years, as people fall victim to overdose. While the intensity of crisis is new, our relationship with opiates — and opioids, as they're often referred to now — goes back millennia. This is an overdose crisis thousands of years in the making, and in this episode, Geoff Turner dives into that fascinating history to figure out how we got to this point.