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Promotional art for Unmedicated
Cover image credit: via TMDB

Unmedicated

Adam Conover

Dropout · 2024 · 53 min

A wired appraisal of ADHD medication and suburban car culture.

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Released , on Dropout.

Adam Conover spent years on television playing an insufferable pedant who ruins brunch by citing peer-reviewed studies. On stage, he takes that same twitchy energy and turns the thesis paper on himself, specifically the hypocrisy of growing up during the D.A.R.E. era while being prescribed pharmaceutical-grade amphetamines in elementary school.

Filmed at the Nocturne Theatre in Glendale, California, the 52-minute set was directed by Jonah Ray Rodrigues and debuted on Dropout in September 2024 as part of the platform’s inaugural stand-up series. It arrived after Conover spent 2023 on picket lines as a visible board member of the Writers Guild of America, marking his return to stand-up with his first taped hour.

The routine pairs personal history with institutional skepticism. Conover recounts taking Ritalin and Adderall from childhood until quitting cold turkey as a teenager, tracing how American schools and pharmaceutical companies quietly outsourced behavioral discipline to stimulants. He contrasts the government’s anti-drug hysteria with the routine drugging of fourth graders, then widens his scope to the engineered madness of American car dependency and modern attention spans broken by design.

The pharmaceutical material sparked friction among some viewers who felt protective of their prescriptions, though Conover frames the problem around policy and cultural panic rather than individual choices.

Notable bits & set list

4 bits

  1. Adderall ingredients and labeling

    Argues that doctors do not clearly explain that Adderall is amphetamines, and points out the deceptive comfort of labeling it 'amphetamine salts'.

  2. Bookstores selling fantasy

    Observes that bookstores do not sell books, but rather sell the fantasy that the customer might read a book.

  3. Childhood diagnosis and Adderall side effects

    Recounts how being prescribed Adderall at age nine affected him like speed, leading to teeth grinding, appetite loss, and later drinking whiskey to fall asleep.

  4. Why driving makes no sense

    Examines American car culture from the perspective of a non-driver.

How it plays

Tone
Personal, introspective, and direct.
On stage
Straightforward stand-up comic, comfortable on stage, putting focus on personal writing and relatable experiences with ADD/ADHD rather than experimental forms.
About
ADD and ADHD diagnosis, Adderall and prescription drugs, Society's short attention span and distraction, American car culture and driving

What the critics said

Regarded as a conventional, straightforward stand-up set that diverges from the more experimental or surreal entries in the Dropout Presents catalog; reviews were mixed on joke depth, with some finding it highly relatable to ADHD viewers and others viewing it as standard or shallow.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: adamconover.net, watch.dropout.tv, letterboxd.com, popstar.one, variety.com, m.imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Released as part of the 'Dropout Presents' stand-up series; draws on Conover's childhood diagnosis with ADD/ADHD, his history with Adderall addiction, and his decision to pursue straight stand-up instead of his typical informational comedy format.

Details

Released
Runtime
53 min
Where
Dropout
Director
Jonah Ray Rodrigues
Topics
After
Big Divorce Energy (2026)

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