Recorded earlier this year at Smithdown Road Festival, a free music festival in South Liverpool, this episode sees Suzi chat to a panel of guests about the links between drug use and music. Dr Sally Adams joins the podcast again, Professor Harry Sumnall from Liverpool John Moores University guests, as well as Chris Torpey, the editor of local magazine Bido Lito and an organiser of Liverpool Psych Fest, and Guy McKnight, the singer in 00's band 80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster, and now in band the DSM-IV. The conversation covers whether music and drugs are cultural essentials, why musicians might be particularly at risk of problematic substance use, how music is used to sell legal drugs, whether drugs impact on creativity, and takes questions from the audience.

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Adam Ficek is probably best known as the drummer in Pete Docherty's post-Libertines band Babyshambles. But as well as a very successful music career, he's also a trained psychotherapist, and about to embark on a PhD. Adam and Suzi have a wide-ranging discussion in this episode of Say Why to Drugs, that takes in why Adam wanted to become first a musician, then a psychotherapist, whether musicians might be particularly at risk of developing poor mental health or substance use problems, and why that might be. Find Adam on twitter and instagram @musicandminduk

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Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a compound found in cannabis. In recent times it's began to be found on our high streets, available in everything from coffee to ice-cream to vape liquid. It's also been touted as a medication to treat a variety of health ailments, from childhood epilepsy to insomnia. In this episode Suzi is joined by researcher Dr Amir Englund from Kings College London to separate myth from evidence around what CBD is, and what it can, and can't do.

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Suzi Gage is joined by researcher Dr Oliver Grundmann, from the University of Florida, to talk about kratom - a leaf from the plant Mitragyna speciosa that grows in SE Asia. Is it an opioid? Or could it be useful in harm reduction? And what do we currently know about it? Find out within.

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Say Why to Drugs returns! In this episode Suzi chats to author Mike Jay about mescaline, arguably the first psychedelic.Jay details the dual history of the substance - found in two types of cacti in central and south America, as well as being extracted and used in psychiatry in the USA and Europe. Jay has just written a book called Mescaline, and tells us about his research and findings that went in to the book.

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Researcher Suzi Gage answers a second set of questions that listeners have sent in - topics covered range from discussion of legislation - and how scientists can get involved, favourite research findings (and over-egged ones), and expectation effects.

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Researcher Suzi Gage answers questions that listeners have sent in - topics covered range from whether the podcasts are aimed at teenagers to whether legislation impacts on the ability for scientists to carry out research in to illicit drugs, and from psychedelic therapy to the mushroom Fly Agaric.

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Suzi chats to Professor Linda Bauld from the University of Edinburgh about e-cigarettes and vaping. Linda provides an update on what's changed in the last 2 years since the first E-Cigarettes episode - in terms of who's using them, whether they are helping in smoking quit attempts, and what some of the new products on the market are like. Suzi and Linda also discuss nicotine itself, and the evidence as to whether or not it's harmful. They also touch on some of the reasons why the USA and the UK have such different policy attitudes towards vaping, and what some of the implications of this might be.

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Dr Suzi Gage chats to journalist and author Jenny Valentish about her book Woman of Substances. The conversation covers Jenny's own experiences, and how she tackled the scientific literature while researching her book.

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After quite a hiatus, SWTD returns. This live episode was recorded in front of an audience of University of Liverpool Psychology students. Suzi is joined by Dr Carl Roberts to discuss all things about how drugs affect the brain, and how we as researchers investigate this.

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