I was in high school through the late 50s, and it's obvious that stuff I studied then must be taboo now, or, at least, none of today's "journalists" were ever exposed to it.
I played around with making powder from scratch as a lad back in the 60’s.
My interests were not malevolent, just scientific curiosity.
I was just trying to make my own homemade fireworks.
Never used anything any more sophisticated than a fuse to set them off.
I still carry burn scars on my hand from those days!