Literary Pharmacopia with Jonathan Lethem

This podcast interview with the novelist Jonathan Lethem forms a brilliant companion piece to an essay he wrote for the New York Times at the tail end of 2018. 

The essay, called "Fiction's New Fake Drugs," traces the history of literary pharmacology—that is, mind-altering substances invented by fiction authors. From The Odyssey (lotus flowers) to Alice in Wonderland (cake and mushrooms) to the recent and much talked-about My Year of Rest and Relaxation (in which Otessa Moshfegh invented a whole slew of prescription substances), chemically altered states could be called an ancient literary device. 

The essay is succinct, so it's a pleasure to hear Lethem expound further on what brought him to this theme and why he thinks drug-centered books seem to be having a major moment right now. Add his encyclopedic knowledge of literary lore to the mix.