Toby Seddon

Looks great, Amit!

Drugs, Civil Rights and the Alternative Society: A History of Release Principal Supervisor: Professor Toby Seddon (UCL) Co-Supervisor: Professor Alex Mold (LSHTM) Project Description Background Described as the oldest independent drugs charity in the world, Release w…

Release was founded in 1967, meaning we turn 60 next year 🎉

This funded PhD opportunity to study 6 decades of our history has just been announced, supervised by @tobyseddon.bsky.social and @alexmold.bsky.social

Take a look, share, and apply by 27th March!

bloomsbury.ac.uk/drugs-civil-...

Yes, exactly what I meant!

I was thinking along the lines of... anything (policy, infrastructure, intervention etc) which facilitates flows of people, things or money has the potential to be 'criminogenic' but the more important (policy) question ought to be whether it enhances safety, security or quality of life.

Application portal is now open, at this link. And the deadline has been extended to 29 March. Do get in touch with Alex or me if you have any questions.

Very interesting. It's made me think about the concept of 'criminogenic' - what does it mean and how useful is it? Are safety or security more helpful to think with?

UCL is 200 today. So what would “founding a university” look like now? A bicentenary is a celebration. It can also be a design brief.

Interesting piece by @rainerkattel.bsky.social on what a university fit for the twenty-first century should look like. rainerkattel.substack.com/p/ucl-is-200...

All good things come to an end It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that the UCL Faculties of Social & Historical Sciences and Arts & Humanities have decided to close the IAS on 31 July 2026.

Very sad news about the IAS closure. It raises the question, once again, of why it seems to be so difficult to have sustained commitment to interdisciplinary work. www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

Resonates strongly with me, Alex! My worst experience was a paper that got rejected 5 times, including a brutal desk-reject that was both rude and made no sense. Ironically, it is (and always was) one of my better papers…

This was indeed excellent! Learned loads from it.

Looking forward to welcoming the successful candidate!

Excellent opportunity to work with the Release archives at the MRC and look in detail at the history of drugs, counter-culture and campaign groups in the British system

this would be a dream PhD for one lucky individual...

Drugs, Civil Rights and the Alternative Society: A History of Release Principal Supervisor: Professor Toby Seddon (UCL) Co-Supervisor: Professor Alex Mold (LSHTM) Project Description Background Described as the oldest independent drugs charity in the world, Release w…

New PhD studentship opportunity! Research and write the history of Release, supervised by me and @alexmold.bsky.social! bloomsbury.ac.uk/drugs-civil-...

Very enjoyable to go and speak @uclsap.bsky.social earlier this week, talking about my book-in-progress on psychedelic capitalism. Insightful and interesting questions from students, as always.

I joined UCL in 2020 and have met some of the brightest, most interesting, most creative colleagues and students of my life. The 'godless institution in Gower Street' is quite some place... #UCL200 @sriucl.bsky.social

Chapter proofs arrived today!

This is today! Looking forward to hearing more about this important and interesting book. Do come along, if you're free...

It's an outstanding book! I strongly recommend it to everyone interested in thinking about how we might navigate our way out of the crisis we've created - which should be all of us!

Research Handbook on Drugs and Society ‘Whether you agree with him or not, Professor Seddon is a brave and original thinker who will enrich your understanding of policy and science.’ – Keith Humphreys OBE, Stanford University, USA

Starting to feel a bit more real... www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/res...

Interesting piece. Includes reference to my own work on John Marks: doi.org/10.1016/j.dr...

Peak Pharma: Toward a New Political Economy of Health UCL Centre for Capitalism Studies is delighted to welcome authors Susi Geiger (University College Dublin) and Théo Bourgeron (University of Edinburgh) to present their new book. Moderated by Professor...

If you're in London on Feb 2nd, do come along to this book launch! @theobourgeron.bsky.social @susigeiger.bsky.social @sriucl.bsky.social @ucl-ccs.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

🧐

🧐

I used to be excited about what was being planned for Northern rail but it's now clear I will be retired and/or dead before it is ever complete...

Peak Pharma: Toward a New Political Economy of Health UCL Centre for Capitalism Studies is delighted to welcome authors Susi Geiger (University College Dublin) and Théo Bourgeron (University of Edinburgh) to present their new book. Moderated by Professor...

Peak Pharma: Toward a New Political Economy of Health
2 February 2026, 6:15pm
@ucl-ccs.bsky.social welcome authors Susi Geiger @susigeiger.bsky.social & Théo Bourgeron @theobourgeron.bsky.social to present their new book. Chaired by Toby Seddon @tobyseddon.bsky.social

www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

For what it's worth, Stuart, I've really enjoyed them and look forward to more in 2026!

Today we’re celebrating 10 years of SRI! This afternoon we’ll come together to share reflections on the past 10 years, showcase our strengths in research and education, and look to the future for our Institute 🎉🎈🥳

Another gem from @psypre.bsky.social

Cover of Rob Dickins’ book on psilocybe mushrooms

Looking forward to reading this. Love the cover!

Reading a lot of psychedelic history at the moment and his name keeps cropping up (albeit not usually in relation to anything very tangible).