Andrew Scull

Psychiatry: Laurie Taylor explores the social history of modern psychiatric practice. He's joined by Andrew Scull, Emeritus Professor in Sociology at the University of California and author of a magisterial study which asks if we are any closer to solving serious mental illness than we were a century ago. He traces the history of psychiatry's attempts to analyse and mitigate mental disorders: from the era of the asylum and psychosurgery to the rise and fall of psychoanalysis and the drugs revolution. Why is this history littered with examples of 'care' which so often resulted in dire consequences for the patient? Producer: Jayne Egerton

Andrew Scull, sociologist and author of Desperate Remedies, offers historical and sociological perspective on psychiatry and antipsychotic drugs. The conversation traces mauve’s accidental birth from a failed quinine synthesis and how dyes led to drugs like Thorazine. It highlights surgical uses, institutional impacts, side effects, and the role of serendipity in drug discovery.