The Apothecary Around The Corner

Image by Poppy Tooker

Alcohol in almost any form is one of the oldest medicines known to man. On this week's show, we explore the world of high proof healing. We start with Camper English, author of Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails. Camper covers everything from mystic botanicals and their monastic apothecary origins to the unusual relationship between syphilis and root beer.

The conversation continues with Noah Rothbaum, who expounds on curatives that found their way from the medicine cabinet to the liquor cabinet.

And then of course, there was that troublesome period known as Prohibition. That's when the apothecary filled your prescription for alcohol and soda fountains became commonplace at the pharmacy. Darcy O’Neil joins us for a conversation that may have you rethinking what you knew about the soda fountain.

Finally, we visit Poppy's personal apothecary on the corner. Stephanie Haeberlin of Art Farm creates all sorts of healing and beauty products that originate in her garden on Canal Boulevard in New Orleans.