This virtual talk explores songs that talk directly about medicine. There are a surprising number of songs written about prescription drugs and their use. Examples include “Diazepam” by Ren, “xanny” by Billie Eilish, “911” by Lady Gaga (which recounts her experience with olanzapine), quite a few songs about codeine, and two songs about “Lithium” by Nirvana and Evanescence which are more allegorically connected to the general effects of the drug than to the drug itself. Through an interactive listening session and discussion, we will explore how songs serve as medical narratives of prescription drug use, listening beyond the lyrics for other medical and psychological data in the musical notes themselves. Nathan Fleshner (Ph.D., Eastman) is Associate Professor of Music Theory and Associate Dean for Research and Creative Activity for the Natalie L. Haslam College of Music at the University of Tennessee. His research focuses on the medical humanities and the portrayal of mental illness, trauma, and the therapeutic process in popular music. He is completing a book for Bloomsbury, Religious Trauma and Deconstruction in Popular Music, and has written for The Polyphony, the medical humanities website associated with the Institute for the Medical Humanities at Durham University, UK. His column explores musicians and their music through the lens of mental health and the broader field of medicine, including analyses of specific works and connections between fields of music and medicine. This talk is part of the 2026-2027 Conversations & Cocktails series presented by the Denbo Center for Humanities & the Arts. Conversations & Cocktails is a free public lecture and discussion series that showcases the original research of our distinguished UT arts and humanities faculty. Join us as we feature groundbreaking work exploring a wide range of topics in the arts and in humanities fields such as philosophy, history, and literature studies. Register for the virtual talk with the link below.