Dyes, Drugs, and Psychosis

In 1856, Henry Perkin's attempt to synthesize quinine led to something very different: a vibrant purple dye. Perkin's mauve revolutionized the fashion industry when Queen Victoria wore a dress of the color to her daughter's wedding. And in an ironic twist, synthetic fabric dyes ultimately led to synthetic drugs, including the first antipsychotic. This drug, known by its trade name Thorazine, was a gamechanger. "Nobody thought there could be a drug that would treat schizophrenia effectively," says sociologist Andrew Scull, "and then suddenly there was." In this episode we explore the enduring relationship between dyes and drugs, and the role that mistakes and serendipity still play in drug development. Credits Host: Alexis Pedrick Executive Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Sarah Kaplan Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer "Color Theme" composed by Jonathan Pfeffer . Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

You can listen to Dyes, Drugs, and Psychosis online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Dyes, Drugs, and Psychosis is an episode from Distillations: Science + Culture + History by Science History Institute.

This episode is 35:23 long.

This episode was published on Jun 18, 2024.

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