Addiction, Poverty, and Chemistry in New York City

Screenshot from a recent post on the White Noise Blog. 

The White Noise Blog from Scientific American offer an amazing look into the world of poverty and addiction in New York City. Some posts are written as tight narratives while others seem almost like drug addled poems and streams of consciousness. But it is all fascinating and it is easy to suddenly realize you've spent hours going through the posts. It explores everything from the chemical reasons for mixing crack cocaine and heroine (speedballing) to an urban anthropological look at the culture that perpetuates prostitution, drug use, crime, and poverty. There are interviews, photographs, stories, and videos that allow an insight into a world that is often discussed but rarely understood. I highly recommend spending an hour or two perusing the site. It would also make a great addition to any class using Philippe Bourgois's In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio.