We’ve seen several reports that ISIS and other modern forces use drugs to get their fighters in the right mindset. But the use of drugs for this purpose is anything but new. In Aeon, Peter Frankopan looks back at the history of war, on drugs.

+ The New Yorker: From trumpets at the walls of Jericho to pop songs as torture in the Iraq War, sound can make a powerful weapon. (Now I don’t feel so bad about surrendering to my kids’ latest playlist.)