The Science History Institute, formed by the merger of the Chemical Heritage Foundation and the Life Sciences Foundation, is a fantastic resource for those interested in researching the history of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences – topics that are necessary if we’re to understand the role that intoxicants have played in our lives.
Located in Philadelphia with outposts in Europe and California, the Science History Institute has an archive and library, an acclaimed museum, and a variety of fellowship programs that are definitely worth a look.
Through Distillations, their outlet for podcasts, a magazine, videos and blogs, the organization is also a publishing powerhouse. Check out their remarkable longform story on opioids, and subscribe to their podcast. The Institute is launching a new series on the history of addiction treatment, including The Narcotic Farm, Therapeutic Communities like Synanon, methadone maintenance, and buprenorphine/Suboxone. It’s definitely worth a listen.
One more thing: As we mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of excitement around here. Points and the ADHS’s journal, the Social History of Alcohol and Drugs, are both working hard to increase and improve our reach over the next few years, with the assistance of the University of Chicago Press.
But we need your help.
Points has been a lovingly-tended all-volunteer project since its launch in 2011, but now we’re ready to take it to the next level. Watch here over the next few months as we debut a new design, new content, and a new attitude. But before we do, we need more information (we’re researchers and scholars, after all!).
We need to know what you think of Points. What do you like about this blog? What do you want to see more of? What topics don’t we cover enough?
Do you follow us on social media? (If not, check us out on Twitter and Facebook.) And if you do, how are we doing there?
And, most importantly, with stories about drugs and alcohol constantly in the media, how can our stable of writers better serve the needs of our readers?
In short, as we prepare to get bigger, we also want to know how we can get better. We want to know how we can improve, and what we can do to keep our readers as happy and engaged with our content as possible.
If you have any suggestions, ideas, critiques, or ideas for our future, let me know. You can comment below, or email me directly at emily.dufton@gmail.com. It’s an honor to serve as the managing editor of this site, and I want to make sure we continue to grow in the right direction. If you want to talk, I’m ready to listen.