HISTORY DOESN'T LIE is an episode with Matthew Smith, the author of "Hyperactive: The Controversial History of ADHD". Matthew is a Professor of Health History at the University of Strathclyde's Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare in Glasgow, Scotland. Matthew has written several books and notable articles about the history of ADHD, as well as food allergy, food additives, and social psychiatry. He is a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker and co-edits the Palgrave book series "Mental Health in Historical Perspective.” Here are some links to Matthew's books and articles: "Hyperactive: The Controversial History of ADHD". This book is the most comprehensive history of ADHD, charting its origins in the Cold War and why it became seen as a neurological disorder best treated with drugs. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/H/bo14444518.html "An Alternative History of Hyperactivity: Food Additives and the Feingold Diet". This book - the relationship between food chemicals and ADHD and why the hypothesis that food additives could cause behavioral problems in children - has come in and out of fashion. https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/an-alternative-history-of-hyperactivity/9780813550169 "Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails: Boys and Behaviour in the USA”. This open access article demonstrates how, prior to the emergence of ADHD in the late 1950s, behavioral experts were concerned with shy, withdrawn, inactive boys, rather than the kids we now associate with ADHD. The article explains why this all changed, resulting in concerns with hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive children. https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/cbmh.236-112017 "Psychiatry Limited: Hyperactivity and the Evolution of American Psychiatry, 1957-1980". This open access article shows how psychiatrists debated how to understand children’s behavioral problems after WWII and explains why neurological explanations and psychopharmaceutical explanations became the norm. https://academic.oup.com/shm/article/21/3/541/1701613 "Hyperactive Around the World? The History of ADHD in Global Perspective". This open access article charts how ADHD has been adopted, adapted, or rejected in different parts of the world. https://academic.oup.com/shm/article/30/4/767/2919401 For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com
No persons identified in this episode.
This episode hasn't been transcribed yet
Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.
Popular episodes get transcribed faster
Other recent transcribed episodes
Transcribed and ready to explore now
NPR News: 12-08-2025 2AM EST
08 Dec 2025
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-07-2025 11PM EST
08 Dec 2025
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-07-2025 10PM EST
08 Dec 2025
NPR News Now
Meidas Health: AAP President Strongly Pushes Back on Hepatitis B Vaccine Changes
08 Dec 2025
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democrat Bobby Cole Discusses Race for Texas Governor
07 Dec 2025
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Crashes Out on Air Over Trump’s Rapid Fall
07 Dec 2025
The MeidasTouch Podcast