BBC Radio 4 science programme Material World investigates the science and history of chloroform, one of the the original anesthetics, first synthesised in 1831.
Linda Stratmann, author of Chloroform: The Quest for Oblivion, and clinical toxicologist Professor John Henry, discuss its accidental discovery, early recreational popularity, original medical uses, how it is thought to work, and, of course, its reputation as a knock-out agent for the criminal underworld.
The section on chloroform starts 13 minutes into the programme, which is archived as a realaudio stream.
Mind Hacks 