Benjamin Robert Siegel
Historian and associate professor of history at Boston University specializing in commodity chains and global histories; author of Markets of Pain: Opium, Capitalism, and the Global History of Painkillers (Oxford University Press, 2026).
Best podcasts with Benjamin Robert Siegel
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May 13, 2026 • 37min
Benjamin Robert Siegel, "Markets of Pain: Opium, Capitalism, and the Global History of Painkillers" (Oxford UP, 2026)
Benjamin Robert Siegel, historian and Boston University associate professor who studies commodity chains, discusses his book on the global history of licit opium. He traces poppy cultivation from India, Turkey, and Tasmania to labs and clinics. Conversations cover how states, science, and trade shaped painkillers, divergent national paths, and contemporary supply and policy risks.
May 12, 2026 • 37min
Benjamin Robert Siegel, "Markets of Pain: Opium, Capitalism, and the Global History of Painkillers" (Oxford UP, 2026)
Benjamin Robert Siegel, historian and Boston University associate professor who studies commodity chains, traces the global business of licit opium. He follows poppy fields, processing plants, and pharmaceutical labs. He explores how empires and postcolonial states used opium for trade, medicine, and power. He also considers Cold War politics, cultivation experiments, and connections to today’s opioid crisis.
