Methamphetamine abuse

Actor Bryan Cranston — best known as the dad on Fox TV's Malcolm in the Middle talks to Terry Gross about his newest role. He plays a meth-cooking high-school chemistry teacher in Breaking Bad, a new series on AMC.

Drug addiction doesn't just affect the addict, it changes the whole family. Journalist David Sheff and his son Nic join Fresh Air to talk about Nic's addiction to methamphetamine and the separate memoirs they've written about the experience.

Actor Bryan Cranston recently won the Emmy for outstanding actor in a drama series for his performance in the AMC's Breaking Bad. Cranston plays a high-school chemistry teacher who begins producing crystal meth after being diagnosed with cancer.

Filmmaker Debra Granik knew right away that she wanted to adapt Daniel Woodrell's 2006 novel Winter's Bone for the big screen. Grain and Woodrell discuss the process of turning the meth-fueled family drama into an award-winning film.

Student-turned-drug dealer Jesse Pinkman was supposed to die in the first season of the AMC drama. But the writers decided the chemistry between high school teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) was too good to let go.