Joan Mackenzie: Before You Knew My Name and Empire of Pain

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline BublitzListen to Bublitz talk about her story hereEmpire of Pain by Patrick Radden KeefeAn extraordinary piece of investigative journalism about the Sackler family who are well known philanthropists, having donated billions of dollars over many years to the arts, science, medicine, and education.They were, until recently, also the owners of Purdue Pharma which developed OxyContin – a drug widely acknowledged as being in large part responsible for America’s opioid epidemic which has caused 450,000 deaths in the last 20 years.The family’s persistent refusal to acknowledge the harm their drug was causing and their determination to maintain the billions of dollars of revenue to which they were accustomed is made very clear. It’s an astonishing story of greed and wilful neglect while all around them personal tragedies were being played out every day.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.