403. The Opioid Tragedy, Part 2: “It’s Not a ...

It brings strangers together. It teaches probability, strategy, and emotional control. It has even helped N.F.L. teams win the Super Bowl. Stephen Dubner explores why this ancient game is having a renaissance. (Part two of a series, “We Are All Gamers Now.”) SOURCES: Remington Da ...  Show more

As the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations, we revisit a 2022 episode that explored the hidden cost of an invisible threat: air pollution. SOURCES: Angela Duckworth, psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Michael Greenstone, economist at the Univers ...  Show more

In the U.S. doctors often prescribe opioids for pain management, and it's no secret that these substances are a big business for pharmaceutical companies -- and, increasingly, it's no secret that exposure to these legal pills are turning patients into unwilling addicts. So how ex ...  Show more

Fentanyl is a potentially deadly synthetic opioid. The other month, a drug enforcement official in the country described it as the single deadliest drug threat the US has encountered. It’s been around since the 1960s and small doses are used safely every day by medics for pain re ...  Show more

In the 1980s and 90s, pharmaceutical companies began to market opioid painkillers aggressively, while actively downplaying their addictive potential. The number of prescriptions skyrocketed, and so did cases of addiction, beginning a crisis that continues today. What makes opioid ...  Show more

Where’s the line between an addiction and a bad habit? Why do definitions of mental illnesses change over time? And what’s the most addictive thing in the world?

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