Empire of pain: The Sacklers and the opioid crisis

Once hailed as a pain obliterating wonder drug, OxyContin helped give birth to one of the most devastating public health crises in the developed world.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.

Guests: Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker staff writer and author of Empire of Pain.

Host: David Aaronovitch.

Clips used: CBS News, CNN, C-Span, France 24, Kentucky Attorney General, KSBY, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, MSNBC, NBC News, Newsy, PBS, Purdue Pharma, Reuters, Tylenol, Vice, WAVY TV, WMUR TV.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Story: the flagship podcast from The Times and Sunday Times. One remarkable story, told in depth, each day.

Hosts Manveen Rana and Luke Jones take you to the heart of the story you need to know with exclusive reports and investigations.

Discover the story behind the story with world-class journalism from The Times and Sunday Times.

The Story is available at the start of your day from Monday to Friday, with bonus ‘Inside the Newsroom’ episodes every Saturday for Times subscribers, available by connecting your subscription via Apple Podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• No. of episodes: 1,463
• Latest episode: 2025-05-05
• News Daily News Politics

Where can you listen?