Addiction, Capitalism and Sugar Free Vanilla: Beware the Coffee Shop

Coffee, the "most widely used psychoactive substance in the world", has led us from religious ceremonies to saving our sanities during COVID, and from the humble bean to the monstrous Frappuccino. As in religious rites in Yemen and (probably) your street corner, coffee’s journey through time knits together addiction, political activism, capitalist world domination, war, labor violations, and climate change. Ultimately, coffee’s contribution to global capitalism can’t be understated. 

 

Finally, I cover the current legal battle over trade unions at Starbucks and subpoena of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.

 

Digressions include the Writers’ Strike’s effect on Hollywood, Paul Mescal’s appearance in the phenomenal A Streetcar Named Desire, and Beyonce giving us sexy Mugler bee during the Renaissance World Tour...

 

Sources: 

 

Fellner, Kim. Wrestling with Starbucks : Conscience, Capital, Cappuccino, Rutgers University Press, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/huberlin-ebooks/detail.action?docID=361653.

 

Juliano, L.M., Griffiths, R.R. “A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features.” Psychopharmacology 176, 1–29 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x

 

Olekalns, Nilss, and Peter Bardsley. “Rational Addiction to Caffeine: An Analysis of Coffee Consumption.” Journal of Political Economy 104, no. 5 (1996): 1100–1104. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2138954. (quoted in episode description)

 

Topik, Steven. “Coffee as a Social Drug.” Cultural Critique, no. 71 (2009): 81–106. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25475502.

 

Vogt, Melissa. “The International Coffee Industry.” In Variance In Approach Toward A ‘Sustainable’ Coffee Industry In Costa Rica: Perspectives from Within; Lessons and Insights, 39–54. Ubiquity Press, 2019. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11cvx7c.10.

 

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Spars With Democrats at Senate Hearing - The New York Times

 

Bernie Sanders Presses Ahead With Subpoena of Starbucks C.E.O. - The New York Times

 

Here's how your cup of coffee contributes to climate change

 

A future without coffee? Climate change could wipe out 50% of global coffee crop by 2050.

 

Coffee and Climate Have a Complicated Relationship - The New York Times

 

What Climate Change Could Mean for the Coffee You Drink