To the Point
Opioids, doctors and drug addiction
Medical advances should be driving America's average life expectancy up. But instead, it's going down. The cause is an epidemic of deadly overdoses, driven by doctors -- over-prescribing legal painkillers that make their patients addicted to drugs. We hear about prevention… and treatment.
By Warren Olney • • 51m ListenPhoto by Elizabeth Roy
In this episode
3 storiesUS withdraws embassy staff from Cuba, issues travel warning
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the safety of American employees in Havana cannot be guaranteed. He's ordered more than half of the US staff in Havana withdrawn from the island and ordered travel warnings for all Americans. Josh Lederman, who covers foreign policy for Associated Press , says US officials are not being very specific…
Read the story6 minOpioids, doctors and drug addiction
Drug overdose become the leading cause of death in America, and President Trump has declared a "national emergency." The White House has yet to explain what that means, but there's no doubt doctors have over-prescribed opioids once thought to be safe for treating severe pain. The cure has been worse than the problem.
Read the story32 minWhat will American democracy look like after Trump?
Norman Ornstein is co-author of the new book One Nation after Trump , and yesterday we heard him describe how "Trumpism” has been decades in the making. Today we turn to the future of democracy and what Ornstein calls "a contract for social responsibility" involving American corporations. Listen to Part I .
Read the story11 min
