Patrick on the Hamilton Morris Podcast #136.

I recently joined Hamilton Morris on his podcast for a wide-ranging and interesting discussion about one of the more unsettling and relatively unknown aspects of Japan’s occupation of China: the systematic distribution of opium-laced Golden Bat cigarettes as a means of weakening local resistance and tightening imperial control. We explored how the program operated, the evidence behind it, and the long-term consequences it left on the region.

Conversation also drifted into the world of collecting, the ethical weight certain artifacts carry, and the lingering aftereffects of Japan’s wartime crimes in China. Hamilton also gave me the opportunity to talk about my book, Tobacco of the Emperor, and how the research behind it shaped my understanding of narcotics, propaganda, and the machinery of empire. If you’re curious to read more about that work, you can find the book here:https://www.headstamppublishing.com/purchase/p/tobacco

If you’d like to listen to the full conversation, the episode is available on Spotify premium and Patreon: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cKBbWGD7cIIXlNoE6UgjA

The episode delves into difficult and obscure history, the objects that survive it, and the responsibilities that come with studying both. If you’re drawn to complex and lesser-known stories from the past, I think you’ll find this conversation especially compelling.