Podcast: Hooked

Hooked 39: Contraception

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:30:17 GMT

We decided it was time to do a show on contraception, mainly because sexual health is something that drug services are supposed to address. I will say one thing before you download this show though, this one is not safe for listening to in polite company.

Because of the topic, and of course our 'presenting style' this turned out to be one of the funnier shows we've done.

Hooked 38: Harm reduction works

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:26:47 GMT

We've had a special guest in the studio this week. Andrew Preston came in to talk to us about the Harm Reduction Works campaign which has been running for almost 2 years now.

We covered all the current harm reduction materials in the campaign as well as looking at why/how they have been developed. In our opinion these have been some of the best produced resources available, and all for free (well, free in England at least). It was great to have Andrew join the Hooked team for the day, and I'm sure we'll have him back soon.

Hooked 37: Tourniquet advice

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Its rare to come across someone who really does know how to tie a tourniquet correctly (and thats workers as well as injectors) so we decided to dedicate a whole show to them. We go into details on how tight to tie, as well as what maks a good tourniquet.

Hooked 36: Interview with Meghan Ralston

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:21:13 GMT

While I was at the International Harm Reduction Conference in April I finally got to meet face to face with Meghan Ralston of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). Of course I took the oppotunity to interview her for Hooked.

We talked on a number of drug policy issues from NSP provision in the US through to stigma issues. But the main focus was prescription drug use and overdose (Meghan is the person responsible for developing the DPAs overdose campaign).

Hooked 35: Death penalty for drug use

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:29:35 GMT

While I was at the International Harm Reduction Conference in April I was lucky enough to get to talk with Patrick Gallahue and Rick Lines about IHRAs latest report into countries that use the death penalty as a punishment for drug offences.

Interviewing Patrick and Rick was really interesting, and of course scary. The fact that some countries seem to feel its appropriate to kill people based on the substances they are involved in was something I was aware of but the scale of the situation was a shock.

Hooked 34: Anthrax

Tue, 18 May 2010 12:56:16 GMT

Well after too long a break Hooked is back, This latest show is on the current situation with Anthrax in the UK.

Anthrax has been killing heroin users since the end of 2009, but has had very little in the way of media coverage. Allison and I discuss the outbreak, Anthrax symptoms and the possible related harm reduction messages.

Hooked 33: Nicotine

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:37:58 GMT

So a show on nicotine, at some point it had to be done, but was it really fair of me to not warn my co-host that we where going to do it. Especially as she'd only just stopped smoking.

We of course still did our best to approach the subject in our usual balanced way (which was difficult for Allison).

Hooked 32: Weird and unusual highs

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:18:20 GMT

It's a constant amazement the wide and varied ways we humans have of getting high. After the last few interviews on the Hooked podcasts we decided to give you a lighter episode. This includes everything from strange plants to Billy Ray Cyrus related highs. As Allison (the shows co-host and editor) said on Twitter when she was editing "A podcast on drugs really shouldn't be this funny"

Hooked 31: Interview with Talking Drugs

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:58:40 GMT

In this episode of Hooked I'm interviewing Rupert George from the Talking Drugs website. We talked about the purpose of the site to inform drug policy and information, its international balance, some of Ruperts opinions of the international drug situation and the fact Talking Drugs needs more help from people like you.

Hooked 30: Interview with Harry Shapiro

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:20:19 GMT

In this episode of Hooked I'm interviewing Harry Shapiro the Director of Communications and Information at Drugscope. We spoke at length about the way the press stigmatises people who use drugs, the direction drug treatment and drug legislation is going and the need for balanced drug services.