Fresh Air

How Psychiatry Turned To Drugs To Treat Mental Illness

04.24.2019 - By NPRPlay

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The new book 'Mind Fixers' examines psychiatry's search for a biological understanding of mental illnesses, like depression and bipolar disorder. Science historian Anne Harrington talks about the revolution in medications — from Prozac to Xanax — and why pharmaceutical companies are leaving the psychiatric field.

Maureen Corrigan reviews Janny Scott's memoir 'The Beneficiary,' about growing up in a wealthy Main Line family in Philadelphia. Scott's grandmother was said to be the inspiration for the Katharine Hepburn character in the film 'The Philadelphia Story.' Also, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg talks about the true meaning of the s-word: "socialism."

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