The Sackler family owns Purdue Pharma, which made billions of dollars selling OxyContin, an opiate painkiller stronger than morphine. Introduced in 1996, OxyContin has been largely blamed for the opioid addiction crisis that followed. The Sacklers and the company are currently facing more than 2,500 lawsuits related to its practices. We talk with journalist Patrick Radden Keefe about the development of OxyContin, what the family knew about the danger of the drug, and how they have tried to thwart his reporting. His book is 'Empire of Pain.'

The 'Secret History' Of The Sackler Family & The Opioid Crisis

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Our Fragile Food System

Alua Arthur works with families, caretakers, and people close to death who want to be intentional about the end of life. She's learned through her work and her own experiences with loss that facing the inevitable can help lessen the anxiety and fear so many of us have around death. Her new book is called, Briefly Perfectly Human. 

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A Death Doula Says 'Get Real' About The End

Rushdie was onstage at a literary event in 2022 when he was attacked by a man in the audience: "Dying in the company of strangers — that was what was going through my mind." His new book is Knife.

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Salman Rushdie On Surviving Attempted Murder

Growing up, when Diarra Kilpatrick watched murder mystery shows with her grandmother, she never saw Black women driving the narrative. Her new BET+ series seeks to change that. It's called Diarra From Detroit.

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A First Date Turns Into A Whodunit In 'Diarra From Detroit'

Andrew Scott stars as a con artist with no conscience in the new Netflix series Ripley. It's an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. He spoke with Terry Gross about tapping into his darker side for the role — and playing the "hot priest" in Fleabag.

Also, we hear about how cars became our most gendered technology. Women used to be considered unqualified to drive, or just terrible drivers. Glamorous women were used to advertise cars. And yet cars have been designed for male bodies, in ways that put women drivers at risk. Journalist Nancy Nichols is the author of Women Behind the Wheel. 

Maureen Corrigan reviews Lionel Shriver's latest novel, Mania.

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The 'Secret History' Of The Sackler Family & The Opioid Crisis

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