This is the nineteenth episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.

Our author is award winning investigative journalist Ben Westhoff. We spoke with him as he was on tour in September of 2019 with his then brand new book “Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic” by publisher Grove Atlantic.

But after following that thread of information, he found himself tracking down the source of the additives to China, tracing the spread of the synthetic drug throughout the world, and testifying in the halls of the Congress about the manufacture, use, abuse, and effect of fentanyl in the United States.  We’ll learn about investigative journalist Ben Westhoff’s deep journey through the illicit drug world and hear some stories about the lives of the businesses and people effected by it on this edition Talking With Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.

Our host and interviewer this time is Brenda Madden.

HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.

Host and producer of this episode - Brenda Madden
Photography - Peter Foggy and Ken Calcaterra
Audio - Ben Smith
Editor and Graphics - Kerry Marks
Supervising Producer - Julie Winkle
Production Support - Christina Chastain and Jane Ballew
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer - Rod Milam
Podcast Host - Rod Milam

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