Ep. 505 — Beth Macy

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

CNN

News

4.6 • 7.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2022

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When journalist and author Beth Macy first pitched a book about the opioid crisis in 2014, her publisher and editor rejected the idea. But Beth kept following the story, publishing “Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America” in 2018. The book has since been adapted into an Emmy Award-winning Hulu miniseries. Beth joined David to talk about her upbringing in Urbana, Ohio, how the loss of manufacturing jobs and opioid use intersect, the stigmatization of addiction, Trump’s appeal in former factory towns, her thoughts on the Sackler family of Purdue Pharma, and her new book, “Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of the Overdose Crisis.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	And now, from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN Audio, the Axe Files, with
0:12.6	your host, David Axelrod.
0:19.0	You may not know the name Beth Macy, but you should, because she's one of our country's
0:23.9	most compelling and impactful journalists.
0:26.5	Her book Doepsyk and the widely praised mini-series on Hulu that was based on it, shined a bright
0:31.6	light on the scourge of opioid addiction in America, and on the predatory practices of
0:36.4	a family-owned pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma, that helped ignite it.
0:41.1	Now Beth's written a follow-up book raising Lazarus, to share the stories of valiant efforts
0:46.4	across the country to confront the drug crisis with effective patient-centered answers.
0:52.0	Her brilliant work is infused with humanity and insights that flow from her remarkable
0:56.7	story.
0:57.7	I'm telling you, I love this conversation, and I hope you will too.
1:00.9	Here it is.
1:08.7	Beth Macy, it's good to see you.
1:11.4	Good to see you.
1:12.4	Thanks for having me.
1:13.4	You grabbed me in an airport in Nashville.
1:18.5	We were both waiting for a plane for Chicago, and I was so happy that you did, because you've
1:24.3	been so impactful as a journalist, and as someone who grew up in journalism myself, I really
1:31.6	appreciate what great journalism can do.
1:35.3	It's a pleasure to meet you, but before we get into the stories that you've written, I really
1:40.4	want to talk about your story, because it seems so fundamental to the work that you've
	...

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