The Paradox of Parasocial Bonds: Humanity's Relationship with Artificial Intelligence
The advent of artificial intelligence, particularly in its conversational forms, has reignited debates around parasocial relations…
Weekly
The Age of Drugs
Issue 17 of "Subject of the Week" delves into humanity’s intricate and evolving relationship with drugs, examining their cultural, political, and technological impact. From the poppy fields of Central Asia to the narco-states of South America, from Europe’s crackdown on nicotine to Trump’s war on drugs, and from porn addiction to Huxley’s Brave New World, this edition explores how substance abuse shapes entire societies—and how it threatens our future. Unless we confront the deeper malaise eroding our civilization, we risk a world where escapism and self-marginalization become the norm.
The Paradox of Parasocial Bonds: Humanity's Relationship with Artificial Intelligence
The advent of artificial intelligence, particularly in its conversational forms, has reignited debates around parasocial relations…
The Porn Pandemic: How an Unregulated Empire Hijacked the Human Brain
Once dismissed as an indulgence of the morally lax, pornography has evolved into an economic powerhouse, thriving on technology’s …
Wreaking Havoc: Drugs’ deadly effect on the U.S. population
In recent decades, America has experienced a public health crisis that has no equivalent in any other similarly developed country;…
The Taliban’s Jihad against Opium? Drugs in Central Asia
Far from a 19th century relic, the opium trade still makes itself felt in geopolitics.
Chemical Enhancement in War: From the Hashishin to Transhumanist Supersoldiers
Few supersoldiers in history have struck such fear into the hearts of men as the Muslim Hashishin.
Designer Drugs: The Thin Line Between Legal and Illegal
The line between a legal drug and a socially acceptable drug is very thin. We live in an age of hypocrisy, where some drugs are to…
From Opium Wars to Fentanyl Feuds: How China’s Drug Trauma Echoes America’s
Few nations have a history with narcotics as long and fraught as China’s.
Will our ‘Liberal’ Continent Deprive us of Life’s Little Pleasures?
Europe, in its crusade fight against all drugs in the interest of public health, risks stripping away the small pleasures that mak…
The Art of the Crackdown: Trump's Hardline Drug Strategy
Donald Trump is known for his disdain for drugs. He does not drink or smoke and never really did (which is at least what he said).…
Huxley Revisited: How Engineered Drugs Tranquilize Modern Society
Despite having been written nearly a century ago, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World continues to herald a dystopian vision that, wit…
Drugs, Death, and Disorder: How Europe Risks Becoming the Cartels’ Playground
In February 2024, the tragic murder of an 11-year-old girl in Antwerp during a drug-related attack highlighted the alarming rise o…
Legalising Drugs: The Better Option or Admittance of Failure?
Few policy debates are as polarising as drug legalisation. For decades, governments have waged war on narcotics, pouring vast sums…
The Age of Cyberdependency: How Information Technologies Shape Human Behaviour
Technological progress has never advanced as rapidly, nor with such profound societal consequences, as in the past three decades.
Gaming or Gambling, and Grooming of Young Minds
The gaming industry’s tremendous growth in recent years has been accompanied by challenges no-less formidable, incentivising game …
From Morphine to Prozac: When Medicine Ends and Addiction Begins
No matter how much regulators wish it were the case, the distinction between medically sanctioned substances and illicit drugs has…
The (A)Narco States of Latin America: where governance and drug money collide
<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Until recently, the term “narco-state” has rarely been used to describe the political reality of Latin Am…