logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2023
10m 27s

Division Keeps the U.S. From Effectively...

NPR
About this episode
Fentanyl has killed an unprecedented number of people in the United States again in 2023. But so far Washington's political leaders haven't been able to workout creative solutions to the crisis together.

Like the pandemic before it, the fentanyl crisis has divided Americans along political and cultural fault lines.

NPR's Asma Khalid speaks with three reporters — NPR's addiction correspondent Brian Mann, WBUR's Martha Bebinger, and KFF Health News' Aneri Pattani — about the depth of the crisis and possible solutions.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Today
Sen. Ron Johnson blames state and local leaders for Alex Pretti’s killing
The civilian killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Macklin Good by federal immigration agents have launched a larger debate in Washington about funding for the Department of Homeland Security.Senate Democrats want to carve off DHS money from the broader spending package to keep the g ... Show More
7m 29s
Jan 28
Will a new leader for ICE operations quiet tensions in Minnesota?
After the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Trump administration is making a leadership change in Minneapolis. Will anything change?A new Trump administration official has taken over the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.Tom Homan, the White House’s so-called border czar, takes ove ... Show More
11m 28s
Jan 27
Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro on resisting Trump
Pennsylvania democratic Governor Josh Shapiro on resisting Trump policies, his faith and whether he plans to run for president.Shapiro is one of the most prominent Jewish officeholders in the US. In a new memoir “Where we Keep the Light” Shapiro explores his faith, as well as his ... Show More
11m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2023
Fentanyl, une tragédie américaine
Aux Etats-Unis, le Fentanyl, puissant médicament opioïde, fait des ravages dans toutes les couches de la société. Au-delà de l’impact sanitaire, plus de 100’000 overdoses par an, cette crise est révélatrice d’un système de lutte contre la drogue en bout de course. Dans le 23ème é ... Show More
15m 19s
Mar 2024
Fentanyl: War on Drugs 2.0?
Fentanyl is a pharmaceutical drug that can be prescribed by a doctor to treat severe pain. But like its predecessors, that drug has been illegally manufactured and sold by criminal gangs.The president has called the crisis an “American tragedy” but many angles to the epidemic lie ... Show More
29m 43s
Mar 2023
A Game Changer In The Fight Against Fentanyl
Amid America's ongoing drug epidemic, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have proposed legislation to prevent drug smuggling efforts from cartels at the southern border. Now, the FDA has approved the over-the-counter sale of Narcan, a drug used to treat and reverse opioid overdoses. FOX N ... Show More
32m 52s
Nov 2021
America's Other Public Health Crisis: 100,000 Overdose Deaths
More than 100,000 people died from a drug overdose in the 12-month period beginning April 2020. Despite a growing consensus that recognizes addiction as a public health problem, many effective interventions like safe consumption sites and needle exchanges are politically unpopula ... Show More
13m 24s
Sep 2022
Vancouver’s Unconventional Approach to Its Fentanyl Crisis
<p> An influx of Fentanyl, a highly lethal synthetic narcotic, has aggravated the opioid crisis in the United States and prompted communities to scramble for ways to lower the skyrocketing rates of overdose deaths.</p><p>In Vancouver, a Canadian city that has been at the forefron ... Show More
33m 33s
Dec 2023
The Sunday Story: The Unbearable Weight of Medical Debt
Today on The Sunday Story host Ayesha Rascoe explores the growing crisis of medical debt in America. Nationwide, 100 million people have health care debt, according to a KHN-NPR investigation, which has documented a crisis that is driving Americans from their homes, draining thei ... Show More
23m 21s
Sep 2023
Sacramento Neighborhood Takes Different Approach To Fentanyl Crisis
Fentanyl-related deaths are up in California. By a lot. And it's no different in Sacramento County, which jumped from 17 fentanyl related deaths in 2018, to 227 last year. One neighborhood nonprofit is trying to save lives, by getting drug users to recognize what might be causing ... Show More
10m 38s