The Drying Out: GLP-1 Drugs, Alcohol Culture, and the Strange Future of American Pleasure (opens in new tab)

There was a period in American life when drinking was not merely recreational. It was infrastructural. Alcohol lubricated: first dates. networking. weddings. sports. family holidays. creative ambition. suburban loneliness. urban sophistication. corporate culture. and approximately 73% of all conversations between middle managers at hotel conferences. To refuse alcohol in many American settings once triggered immediate amateur detective work.