TRACK & FOOD // Talking With Professor Edward Slingerland On His New Book, ‘Drunk’

Welcome to the Track & Food podcast. Host Jamie Mah is a writer, bartender and sommelier in beautiful Vancouver, BC. With co-host Mickey McLeod, they take regular deep dives into everything food and culture in the city and around the globe.

What luck it is for me to discuss today’s topic with UBC Professor Edward Slingerland. His latest book, Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced and Stumbled Our Way To Civilization, came out on June 1st and delves into the world of imbibing while detailing how its purveyance within our world and history has helped shape our modern civilization. It’s a fantastic and sometimes hilarious read as Professor Slingerland examines our tendency to want to get drunk, how this act has enabled us to trust and cooperate, and why this engagement with alcohol has fostered human development. Not to ignore some of drinking’s pitfalls and how one ought to be cautious with the negative aspects of drinking too much, especially with regards to distillation, Professor Slingerland shares a unique perspective of our fondness for altering our mental state. Have a listen

Ending Homelessness Through Direct Cash Transfers, with UBC Professor Dr. Jiaying Zhao

In 2018, Vancouver non-profit, Foundations for Social Change, along with researchers from UBC, set out to do a small experiment: a one-year trial where they gave a lump sum of $7,500 cash, no strings attached, directly to people experiencing homelessness...Jamie Mah speaks with the leader of the study, Dr. Jiaying Zhao, weeks after the results were finally published.