Society & Culture

Drug Story

by Thomas Goetz

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Latest episodes

Bonus Episode: Thomas talks with STAT

April 29, 2026 · 30 min

A bonus episode! Here is a conversation that I had recently with STAT, the excellent publication about health and medicine. If you are in the business of health and medicine, you surely know about STAT - For a decade they have been doing…
On fluoride and tooth decay

March 31, 2026 · 50 min

You may not think of fluoride as a drug, but it fits the bill: The FDA classifies fluoride as a drug, an essential nutrient to human health, and regulates its use. So yeah. It’s a drug. Fluoride used to be boring. 75% of US water is…
On ivermectin and parasites (and other things)

March 24, 2026 · 48 min

This episode is all about ivermectin - which truly is a wonder drug! A veritable miracle cure. For, ahem, river blindness. And for some other parasitic diseases, like hookworm. Mostly in animals. But in the US, you have likely heard of…
On patent medicines (with Tim Harford)

March 17, 2026 · 39 min

Today we’re sharing an episode of Cautionary Tales, by Tim Harford. This show concerns Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound - one of the most popular patent medicines of the late 19th century. Mrs. Pinkham’s compound was sold as a “women’s…
On medicine, with Dr. Eric Topol

March 10, 2026 · 30 min

20 years ago, pharmacogenomics was all the buzz: matching specific drugs to our personal DNA was supposed to transform medicine and human health. But here we are 20 years later, and much of that excitement has fizzled. Very few doctors are…

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On Ambien and insomnia

March 3, 2026 · 48 min

Ever heard of neurasthenia, aka Americanitis? It was the first epidemic of the 20th century - and it's number one symptom was insomnia. It may have just been the electricity. In this episode of Drug Story, we step into that sweet oblivion…
On chronic pain

February 24, 2026 · 51 min

Pain is probably the oldest problem in medicine. It’s the way our bodies tell us that something is wrong here. But pain has long been considered a symptom. So when medicine can’t find what’s wrong, or when medicine can’t fix the pain…
On tuberculosis (with John Green)

February 17, 2026 · 45 min

The idea of drug patents makes a lot of sense: The company that put the effort and resources into developing the medicine is the first to reap the benefits. That company gets a limited monopoly for 20 years, when it is the only company…
On testosterone and Low T

February 10, 2026 · 57 min

It used to be that getting older meant slowing down. A little less pep, a little less zip, a little less zest. So it goes. For men, this was partly about testosterone. After 40 or so, our bodies produce less and less testosterone, the…
On Xanax and anxiety

February 3, 2026 · 46 min

Do you feel that? That doubt and dread and worry? That’s anxiety - and lucky for you, there’s a pill for that. It’s called Xanax. And it works. Really well. And really fast. Prescribed for panic attacks and anxiety, one dose of Xanax…
On Ozempic & obesity

January 27, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min

For decades, obesity was treated as a matter of self-control and free will: If you were fat, it was your own fault. You could try a diet - but the diet companies were also in on the fix: For years, Weight Watchers was owned by Heinz food ……
On Zoloft & depression

January 20, 2026 · 46 min

There’s no blood test for depression, no MRI or CT scan that can detect it. Because depression, like a lot of things involved with mental health, is invisible. Still, depression is the most common mental health issue in the US and…

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About the show

Every episode of Drug Story uses one prescription drug to tell surprising, true tales about the business of disease and health. Hosted by award-winning science journalist Thomas Goetz, MPH, this podcast asks the big question: What happens when we use drugs to fix our big problems? www.drugstory.co