#24 — Travis Rieder on Opioid Addiction in Modern Medicine

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Travis Rieder, PhD, about his struggle with prescription opioid withdrawal after a motorcycle accident. Although Travis had access to world-leading doctors and a supportive partner, going through withdrawal took his thoughts to dark and dangerous places. Travis Rieder, PhD, is a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics where he directs the Master of Bioethics degree program. His research program concerns ethical and policy issues surrounding America’s opioid epidemic. Travis has published works concerning doctors responsibility for safely weaning patients off prescription opioids and is author of In Pain: A Bioethicist’s Personal Struggle with Opioids. His TED Talk, The agony of opioid withdrawal — and what doctors should tell patients about it, has been viewed over 2 million times. Episode links at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/travis-riederSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.