1440 Explores: "Alcohol: Why We Drink and What It Does to Us"

Podcast: 1440 Explores
Host: Soni Kassam (1440 Media)
Guests: Prof. David Nutt (Imperial College London), Prof. Edward Slingerland (University of British Columbia)
Date: October 9, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode unpacks humanity’s long and complicated relationship with alcohol—exploring its origins, effects on the body and brain, its paradoxical social and health consequences, and examining whether, given all we know, we should keep drinking. Expert guides Professor David Nutt and anthropologist Edward Slingerland help trace alcohol’s journey from ancient fruit to the center of civilization, illuminating why alcohol has both survived and thrived in human society.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Is Alcohol, and Why Do We Drink? (00:02–05:37)

• Alcohol is everywhere: "Alcohol is probably most people's favorite drug." —David Nutt (00:44)
• Humans have been drinking as long as we’ve been human. "There's a very literal sense in which intoxication led to civilization." —Edward Slingerland (00:51)
• Chemically, alcohol is a simple molecule produced by yeast fermentation.
• Initially, alcohol tastes repulsive to most (humans and animals): "What's perplexing about alcohol is the fact that when people start drinking, they usually don't like it...which is why they often put alcohol into lemonade." —David Nutt (05:37)

2. Neuroscience: Alcohol’s Path Through the Body and Brain (06:04–13:22)

• Alcohol triggers powerful brain reactions:
  • Sensory cues (smell, taste) link quickly to reward pathways (06:49).
  • Fast absorption: "It takes just five or ten minutes to start feeling a pleasant buzz." —Soni Kassam (08:33)
• Three major neurotransmitter systems:
  • GABA ("the calming transmitter"): Relaxes, lowers inhibitions, enables socializing.

    "By enhancing gaba, we take away tension, we relax people and we allow them...to socialize more efficiently." —David Nutt (09:02)

  • Dopamine: Heightens energy, confidence—also risk of aggression.

    "The dopamine system gets you high. It makes you louder, makes you more animated, can make you irritable and aggressive." —David Nutt (09:42)

  • Endorphins: Bring pleasure and risk of dependence.

    "Alcohol releases endorphins...they're pleasure chemicals like dopamine, but it's a different kind of pleasure..." —David Nutt (10:18)

• Blackouts: "If you block glutamate, you can't lay down new memories. And that's why people who drink excessively end up having amnesia." —David Nutt (11:56)
• Hangover Science: An overactive brain, dehydration, sleep disruption—plus "hangxiety."

3. Alcohol’s Toll on Health and Society (13:22–16:00)

• Alcohol is a “promiscuous toxin”—damages nearly every organ.

  "It's hard to find any organ in the body that alcohol doesn't damage." —David Nutt (13:22)

• Links to high blood pressure, ulcers, liver and brain damage, multiple cancers, fertility issues, and especially fetal alcohol syndrome.
• Immediate harms: ~1/3 of fatal car crashes in the U.S. involve alcohol; also strongly tied to violence.

4. Alcohol & Civilization: The Deeper Role (17:10–26:19)

• Evolutionary Perspective:
  • Early primates could metabolize ethanol, giving an adaptive edge in finding calorie-rich fruit (18:02–18:27).
  • Humans possibly started cultivating crops not for bread, but for beer.

    "Maybe people were motivated to start cultivating grains because they wanted to make beer...not because they wanted bread." —Edward Slingerland (19:22)

  • "There's a very literal sense in which intoxication led to civilization." —Edward Slingerland (19:44)
• Ancient Gatherings & Creativity:
  • Alcohol’s social lubricant role—Greek symposia used diluted wine to optimize creativity and connection (20:30–21:08).
  • Alcohol reduces prefrontal control, enhancing creative thinking.

    "Write on alcohol but edit on coffee." —Edward Slingerland (22:27)

• Social & Trust Mechanisms:
  • Alcohol reduces anxiety, eases negotiations, and makes deception more difficult.

    "When you're drinking alcohol, you're less inclined to lie...It's actually making you more honest and more trustworthy." —Edward Slingerland (23:46)

  • "If we drink enough maotai...there's nothing we can't do." —Nixon, quoted by Slingerland (24:10)

5. From Mild Buzz to Hard Liquor: The Distilled Spirits Revolution (25:12–28:17)

• Pre-1600s: Beer/wine = weak (2–16% ABV); drunkenness uncommon.
• 1600s-onward: Invention of distilled spirits dramatically raised alcohol strength (up to 90%).

  "Even though it's still just ethanol, I think it should be considered a different drug." —Edward Slingerland (25:46)

• Cultural rituals and communal settings historically slowed drinking; distilled spirits and individual drinking eroded these safety mechanisms.
• Social Disintegration: 18th-century “gin craze” broke families, fueled abuse, led to temperance & Prohibition (27:28–28:09).

6. Modern Era: Drinking Alone, Dependence, and Societal Shifts (28:36–30:13)

• Post-Prohibition: Rise of drinking at home, alone; undermined social benefits, amplified harms.
• ~7% of the world’s population now lives with alcohol use disorder; caused by complex interplay of pleasure-seeking, pain-numbing, and anxiety relief.

7. Alcohol & Health: The French Paradox and Changing Perspectives (30:13–32:48)

• For decades, moderate drinking was touted as healthy (“the French paradox”).
• Recent research debunks this myth:

  "There is no proven physical health benefits from alcohol." —David Nutt (31:32)

• WHO and national guidelines now say no amount of alcohol is safe; Canada recommends no more than two drinks per week.
• Gen Z drinks significantly less, driven largely by health concerns.

8. Personal Reflections, Alternatives & Social Connections (32:48–34:15)

• Despite risks, both experts still drink moderately for enjoyment and social connection:

  "The reason I drink is because I enjoy drinking. I enjoy the social experience...But I have changed my drinking a lot..." —David Nutt (32:48)

  • David Nutt is developing an alcohol substitute, Sentia, for the social/relaxing effects without the negatives.
• Alcohol is a social adhesive; isolation can be just as dangerous.

  "Ethanol is dangerous for your physical health. So is loneliness. Loneliness is incredibly dangerous." —Edward Slingerland (33:36) "If you told me you can never again have a cool climate Chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mountains...You'll never taste that taste again, but you'll live an extra month. I'd rather take the Chardonnay, just maybe." —Edward Slingerland (33:36)

• Final reflection: Alcohol is a potent paradox—capable of fostering connection and happiness, yet inflicting considerable harm. The challenge is not whether to drink, but how, when, and why.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Origins and Civilization:

  "There's a very literal sense in which intoxication led to civilization."
  —Edward Slingerland, 00:51 and 19:44

• On Health Risks:

  "It's hard to find any organ in the body that alcohol doesn't damage."
  —David Nutt, 13:22

• On Social Rituals:

  "Alcohol was arguably a tool for kind of calming those tensions down."
  —Edward Slingerland, 23:05

• On the Reality of Alcohol’s Benefits:

  "There is no proven physical health benefits from alcohol."
  —David Nutt, 31:32

• On Drinking for Social Connection:

  "Ethanol is dangerous for your physical health. So is loneliness...What are you losing when you don't have those social connections?"
  —Edward Slingerland, 33:36

Important Timestamps for Reference

• [00:44] “Alcohol is probably most people's favorite drug.” (Nutt)
• [06:49–08:33] Explaining first sip to brain effects
• [09:26–10:05] GABA, dopamine, and endorphins in alcohol’s effects
• [13:22] "Hard to find any organ...alcohol doesn't damage." (Nutt)
• [18:02–19:44] Evolutionary perspective—alcohol and the dawn of human society (Slingerland)
• [21:08–22:27] Greek symposia and Persian decision-making drunk
• [25:12–26:19] Impact of distilled spirits
• [28:36] Social consequences of home/solitary drinking
• [31:08] Debunking the “French paradox”
• [32:48–33:36] Expert reflections on why they still drink

Conclusion

This episode masterfully unpacks why humans drink, what happens biologically and culturally when we do, and how alcohol has shaped and shadowed civilization. Drinking is revealed as a nuanced, double-edged sword—capable of sparking closeness, creativity, and even civilization itself, but bearing major physical, psychological, and societal risks. The episode encourages listeners to weigh not only “should we drink?” but “how and why?”—ultimately urging wisdom, moderation, and the continual search for healthy connection.