What did Meta and YouTube know about the harm they were causing to children — and when did they know it? The evidence just went before a jury for the first time, and the verdict is in.

In this episode, attorney and consumer safety advocate Whitney Di Bona sits down with Nicki Petrossi, host of the Scrolling 2 Death podcast and former social media marketing executive, who spent nearly every day inside the Los Angeles courtroom during the historic bellwether trial against Meta and YouTube. Nicki took nearly 600 pages of notes and shares what she witnessed firsthand.

Meta and YouTube were found liable for addicting a young woman who began using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9. The verdict is now setting the precedent for thousands of cases to follow, and families across the country are taking notice.

Topics covered in this episode:

• How Nicki went from running a global social media marketing business to becoming one of the leading advocates warning parents about platform harm

• The story of Kaley, the 20-year-old plaintiff at the center of the bellwether trial, and what she alleged Instagram and YouTube did to her mental health

• Internal documents revealed at trial, including employees calling Instagram "a drug" and themselves "basically pushers"

• How YouTube's own internal presentation stated its vision was to build a platform that is addictive

• Meta's strategy of targeting children under 13 as tweens while publicly claiming kids that age were not allowed on the platform

• Adam Mosseri's testimony comparing a teenager's 16-hour daily Instagram use to staying up too late watching Netflix

• The specific platform features alleged to drive addiction: the algorithm, infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and cosmetic filters

• Why these cases are product liability lawsuits and how plaintiffs successfully argued around Section 230 immunity

• The school district lawsuits and what Breathitt County Schools is alleging against Meta

• What parents can do right now if their child has access to a smartphone or social media

If your child has been harmed by social media, you are not alone. To learn more about your legal options, visit: https://www.consumernotice.org/legal/social-media-harm-lawsuit/

To keep up to date with some of the biggest developments in dangerous product lawsuits, sign up for the Drugwatch Newsletter. After highlighting the growing number of Ozempic lawsuits in June, July's issue will focus on social media addiction.

Resources & Links:

• Scrolling 2 Death podcast and parent resources: scrolling2death.com

• Tech-Safe Learning Coalition: techsafelearning.org

• Nicki Petrossi on Instagram: @scrolling2death

Note: Always consult with health and legal professionals for personalized advice. The information provided reflects current research and advocacy efforts. Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal or medical advice. The opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect those of Drugwatch.

Discover the alarming evidence linking glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide, to serious health risks, including cancer. Join attorney Whitney Di Bona and Kelly Ryerson, also known as the Glyphosate Girl, as they unpack the ongoing courtroom battles, regulatory failures and urgent need for reform in our food system. 

To learn more about Roundup lawsuits, visit https://www.drugwatch.com/legal/roundup-lawsuit/. 

Topics covered in this episode:

• The scientific consensus that glyphosate is a carcinogen and its presence in rainwater, urine and even children's bodies

• The implications of the Supreme Court case Monsanto v. Durnell and potential corporate immunity

• How Bayer's legal strategies, including legislation and industry lobbying, threaten consumer rights

• The impact of glyphosate in food through GMO crops and pre-harvest spraying practices

• The differences between regenerative and organic farming, and how soil health influences nutrient density

• The potential for regenerative agriculture to replace harmful chemical reliance

• How public awareness and consumer choices can influence policy and industry practices

• Kelly Ryerson’s personal journey from illness to activism and her efforts to raise awareness

Resources & Links:

• Roundup: Controversies, Health Risks and Industry Failures

• Stoppoison.org - mobilize against pesticide legislation

Connect With Kelly Ryerson:

• https://www.instagram.com/glyphosategirl/

• https://www.americanregeneration.org/ 

Note: Always consult with health and legal professionals for personalized advice. The information provided reflects current research and advocacy efforts. Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal or medical advice. The opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect those of Drugwatch. 

In the final episode of Big Pharma Behind the Scenes, Drugwatch Investigates explores what it would take to fix the system. Hosts Terry Turner and attorney Whitney Ray Di Bona dig into the Depo-Provera meningioma warning, FDA funding, and industry influence over regulation.

Plus, they ask the bigger question at the heart of the series: Can regulators keep up, or will patients always have to rely on lawsuits to get answers?

You can read more about Big Pharma Behind the Scenes: Patients, Profits and Penalties on Drugwatch.com here: https://www.drugwatch.com/featured/big-pharma-behind-the-scenes/ 

In this episode, we go inside some of the biggest drug and device mass torts in U.S. history. Terry Turner and Whitney Ray Di Bona explore how multidistrict litigations (MDLs) — some involving tens of thousands of lawsuits — helped expose hidden risks, uncover internal company documents and drive record settlements in cases involving Roundup, Vioxx, talc, mesh and more.

You can read more about Big Pharma Behind the Scenes: Patients, Profits and Penalties on Drugwatch.com here: https://www.drugwatch.com/featured/big-pharma-behind-the-scenes/ 

This episode of Big Pharma Behind the Scenes looks at the price of corporate misconduct and the billion-dollar settlements that keep repeating. Terry Turner and Whitney Ray Di Bona break down why companies like Pfizer, GSK, Johnson & Johnson and others keep showing up in enforcement actions — and whether fines, lawsuits and whistleblowers actually change behavior or just become the cost of doing business.

You can read more about Big Pharma Behind the Scenes: Patients, Profits and Penalties on Drugwatch.com here: https://www.drugwatch.com/featured/big-pharma-behind-the-scenes/ 

Drugwatch Investigates follows the money behind blockbuster drugs and toxic products to uncover a bigger pattern of socialized risk and privatized profit. 

The episode looks at how slow regulation, aggressive marketing, thin approval evidence and delayed transparency can leave patients, taxpayers and insurers paying the price while companies keep selling and fighting in court.

Hosts Terry Turner and Whitney Ray Di Bona interview experts to explore how advertising, orphan-drug pricing and litigation shape what the public sees — and what it doesn’t — about drug safety and value.

You can read more about Big Pharma Behind the Scenes: Patients, Profits and Penalties from Drugwatch.com here: https://www.drugwatch.com/featured/big-pharma-behind-the-scenes/ 

Hosts Terry Turner and Whitney Ray Di Bona unpack how companies plan for legal risk long before products reach patients — from trial design and FDA strategy to marketing, lobbying and bankruptcy maneuvers like Johnson & Johnson’s failed “Texas Two-Step” talc strategy. 

The episode features investigative reporters Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer on how drugmakers shape the evidence behind approvals. Cardiologist Dr. Peter Kowey weighs in on the profit motives that influence research and prescribing, while whistleblower advocate Louis Clark discusses the legal pressure companies use to silence critics. Former pharma insider William Soliman talks about how litigation, compliance and transparency factor into every launch. 

It’s a look at how Big Pharma's profits and lawsuits are often linked from the very start.

You can read more about Big Pharma Behind the Scenes: Patients, Profits and Penalties from Drugwatch.com here: https://www.drugwatch.com/featured/big-pharma-behind-the-scenes/ 

Drugwatch reveals how the legal system steps in when drug safety fails. Hosts Terry Turner and Whitney Ray Di Bona investigate new lawsuits over rare, permanent vision loss tied to GLP‑1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. This discovery uncovers a wider trend — drugs approved on limited evidence, safety risks surfacing only after millions of prescriptions and families seeking answers in court. 

Stanford law professor Nora Freeman Engstrom highlights how opioid litigation forced open the DEA's secret ARCOS database, which she calls the "Rosetta Stone" of the opioid crisis. Whistleblower advocate Louis Clark and former Merck insider William Soliman explain how Vioxx stayed on the market despite heart‑risk warnings. 

Through these stories, this episode showcases how lawsuits can serve as a shadow regulator for Big Pharma, exposing hidden data, reshaping public understanding, and sometimes, finally removing dangerous drugs from the shelves.

You can read more about Big Pharma Behind the Scenes: Patients, Profits and Penalties on Drugwatch.com

In this special bonus episode, hosts Terry Turner and Christian Simmons revisit the topic of GLP-1 drugs to dive into emerging health concerns for Saxenda and Victoza.

New research has uncovered a potential link between liraglutide, the active ingredient in those drugs, and permanent vision loss.

To better understand the impact of this issue, Terry and Christian once again speak with attorney Danielle Gold from Weitz & Luxenberg, who is working on vision loss cases involving GLP-1s.Learn more at ⁠Drugwatch.com⁠.

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have reshaped how we treat obesity and diabetes — but what’s on the horizon? In this final episode of Beyond the Scale: The Ozempic Effect, hosts Terry Turner and Christian Simmons explore the future of these groundbreaking medications through insights from top experts. 

Dr. William Hsu discusses the possibility of diabetes remission without lifelong medications. Dr. Elizabeth Van Dril sees GLP-1s becoming standard care, while Dr. Ashley Dwyer warns about disordered eating habits. 

Dr. Lauren Cunningham emphasizes the importance of metabolic health over numbers on a scale. Rob Andrews explains how Medicare must adopt value-based pricing to ensure cost-effective access. And Dr. Steve Boyd warns that, unless we fix the healthcare system, the GLP-1 surge may not be sustainable. 

Whether you’re taking these drugs, considering them, or just following the conversation, this episode offers essential insights into what lies ahead.

Learn more at Drugwatch.com.