Special Episode: Philip Eil & Prescription for Pain

This Podcast Will Kill You

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Health & Fitness, Science

4.8 • 17.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2024

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In February 2012, Paul Volkman was sentenced to four consecutive terms of life imprisonment for his role in illegally prescribing and dispensing pain medications that resulted in the deaths of several individuals in his care. This was a remarkable case, both in terms of the lengthy sentence as well as the perpetrator. Paul Volkman was a highly-educated physician researcher, who earned both his MD and PhD and had decades of experience practicing medicine. How did he end up in a cash-only pain clinic in southern Ohio? In this TPWKY book club episode, journalist Philip Eil joins me to trace Volkman’s journey as outlined in Eil’s book Prescription for Pain: How a Once-Promising Doctor Became the “Pill Mill Killer”. Eil places Volkman’s actions in the broader context of the opioid epidemic and reflects on the lasting impact Volkman’s case has had on painkiller regulation and the communities most impacted by his crimes. Tune in for a fascinating conversation about what happens when a doctor decides he is above the law. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is exactly right.
0:06.4	Listen up. I'm Lisa Trager.
0:08.9	And I'm Kara Clank, and we're the hosts of the True Crime Comedy Podcast, That's Messed Up, an SVU podcast.
0:14.9	Every Tuesday, we break down an episode of Law and Order SVU, the true crime it's based on, and we chat with an actor from the episode.
0:21.7	Over the past few years,
0:22.7	we've chatted with series icons
0:24.1	like Beatty Wong,
0:25.1	Kelly Giddish, Danny Pino,
0:26.5	and guest stars like Padgett Brewster
0:28.0	and Matthew Lillard.
0:28.9	And just like an SVU marathon,
0:30.8	you can jump in anywhere.
0:32.4	Don't miss new episodes every Tuesday.
0:34.6	Follow That's messed up an SVU podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Dun-Dun! The
0:57.0	The Hi, I'm Erin Welsh, and this is this podcast Will Kill You. You're listening to the latest episode in the TPWKY Book Club series this season, our ongoing miniseries where we bring authors onto the podcast to chat about their fascinating books in science and medicine. So far this season, we've explored
1:45.7	topics all across the realm of science, from how roads affect our lives and the lives of wildlife,
1:53.5	to how our brain picks and chooses what's important to remember, from why fungi rule the
1:58.7	world, to how unsung heroes at a hospital on Staten Island
2:02.6	helped to bring about a cure for tuberculosis. And we've got more topics to venture into
2:08.5	this season, but just a couple. That's right, we've got just two more book club episodes
2:15.0	left after this one for the season. But don't worry, we'll be back next season with more book club episodes left after this one for the season. But don't worry, we'll be back next
2:20.5	season with more book club episodes. And you can always check out our website, this podcast will
	...

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