Why people recommend it
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh is a gritty, darkly comedic novel chronicling the lives of a group of young heroin addicts and slackers in Edinburgh, Scotland. The book was referenced across different podcasts in discussions examining how popular culture depicts drug addiction. In September 2015, Dr. Carl Hart appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience and mentioned Trainspotting to criticize how popular culture and sensationalized films perpetuate false narratives and misleading ideas about heroin use. Later, in August 2022, a host on SmartLess discussed the origins of the famous film adaptation with Ewan McGregor, noting that the project was originally a novel written by Irvine Welsh before being adapted into a stage play and eventually a feature film, with the creators initially debating actor casting choices for the iconic roles.
Who recommended it
- Carl Hart Discussed
Carl Hart — 2 mentions
“but then there are other people just think about some of the films train spotting you think of a number of these films”
“the popular culture the idea that we've all been sort of fed by train spotting and all these other films”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 1
“And, but John, I think of Ryan said John didn't think I was right for it because in the novel in Irvine Welsh's novel, you and Bremner who played Spud had played Renton on the stage version before we made it. It was a play! Trainspotting was a play; it was a novel first, and then they made a play”