Alcoholism & Drug Addiction

In the new book, American Cartel, Higham and co-author Sari Horwitz make the case that the pharmaceutical industry operated like a drug cartel, with manufacturers at the top; wholesalers in the middle; and pharmacies at the level of "street dealers."

White spent his early childhood in poverty in Baltimore, at times sleeping in abandoned houses. He's now principal tubist in the Santa Fe Symphony and the New Mexico Philharmonic.

Psychiatrist ANNA LEMBKE's new book Dopamine Nation is about the neuro transmitter - the chemical messenger released in the brain most involved in processing rewards.  It plays a big part in addictions.

The six-time All Star pitched for the Yankees and the Indians during his 19-year career. He also struggled with alcoholism. Sabathia reflects on baseball and sobriety in the memoir, Till the End.

The story of the Sackler dynasty--the family that owns Purdue Pharma, which created oxycontin, the drug marketed to relieve acute and chronic pain, that played a major role in creating the opioid epidemic. Patrick Radden Keefe's new book is Empire of Pain. It’s based in part on leaked documents and private emails that reveal the Sacklers knew about how addictive oxycontin is--before they admitted it, and they used deceptive practices to keep selling more of the drug.

Baker supplies nearly all of the guitars, drums, synthesizers, banjo, and mandolin on her new album. It's a confessional and frequently beautiful record about mental distress and addiction.

The Netflix limited series tells the story of an orphaned girl who becomes a chess pro in a male-dominated world. Frank talks about consulting with grand masters and maximizing the drama of the game.

Rollins recorded his first sessions in 1949, and played his last live shows in 2012. Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation, then we listen back to a 1994 interview with the tenor saxophonist.

In a career spanning four decades, Dickey authored seven books and reported from more than 40 countries, often covering war, conflict and espionage. He died July 16. Originally broadcast in 1998.

"This climate that we're in right now with our polarizing political views in this country, it was very similar in South Africa," the star of The Old Guard says. Originally broadcast Dec. 16, 2019.

Eilene Zimmerman's new book is about her ex-husband's death from the effects of cocaine and opiod addiction. He was a high powered, wealthy lawyer, and the father of two children. Until his death she didn't know about his addictions.

In the 1960s, Janis Joplin was an icon of the counterculture, a female rock star at a time when rock was an all-boys' club.

From 2006 to 2012, 76 billion opioid-based pills flooded into the nation. Washington Post journalist Scott Higham writes about the apparent disregard of manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies to keep the pills coming despite evidence of the misuse of these drugs.

When New York Times media columnist David Carr died suddenly of previously undiagnosed lung cancer in 2015, he left behind a legacy as a journalist, a mentor and a father.

Comic Rob Delaney is co-creator and co-star of the comedy series Catastrophe, about 2 people who decide to marry after their wild fling leaves her pregnant. Delaney talks about being funny, even when life isn't.

Neuroscientist Judith Grisel studies how addictive drugs work on the brain and why they're so hard to give up - whether they're illicit drugs like heroin and cocaine, or prescription drugs like opiates and certain anti anxiety and insomnia medications. She is also a recovering addict -- 30 years sober.

Growing up in Swaziland, Richard E. Grant was always fascinated by acting. As a kid, he made theaters out of shoeboxes and populated them with figurines that he'd cut from magazines. Eventually he moved on to real stages, first in school plays and then with an amateur theater club.

As a criminal justice reporter for the Houston Chronicle, Keri Blakinger has a special interest in covering the conditions of prisoners — in part because she spent nearly two years locked up in county and state correctional facilities herself.

Author Beth Macy's book, 'Dopesick,' takes an intimate look at cops, judges, drug dealers, young heroin users and their long-suffering parents, doctors and health activists struggling to fight the opioid epidemic.

Gregory Pardlo's new memoir, Air Traffic, chronicles his complicated relationship with his father, a labor organizer who lost his job following the air traffic controllers' 1981 strike.