Drug Story
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?
Episodes
Bonus Episode: Thomas talks with STAT
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 fantastic reporting from the frontiers of biotech, public health, and policy.STAT really has been a key resource for Drug Story, so I was honored to talk with STAT
On fluoride and tooth decay
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 fluoridated, and it has greatly reduced the rate of tooth decay in this country and worldwide. Fluoridation has been among the biggest success stories in medical histor
On ivermectin and parasites (and other things)
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 ivermectin not as a treatment for parasites but for different purposes altogether. There are thousands of videos on YouTube and Instagram extolling ivermectin for vir
On patent medicines (with Tim Harford)
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 tonic,” ideal for menopause or menstrual pain. The package promised big: "It cures bloating, headaches, nervous prostration, general debility, sleeplessness, depre
On medicine, with Dr. Eric Topol
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 actually tailoring their treatments to individual patient DNA in the clinic.In this special episode, I talk with Dr. Eric Topol, author of the new book Super Age
On Ambien and insomnia
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 called sleep, and that infernal torment called insomnia. We visit hustle culture, where sleep is just an obstacle to crushing it.And we learn about Ambien: the mos
On chronic pain
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, well, that’s usually the end of the story. And that’s left a lot of people with chronic pain suffering in silence.In this episode, we learn why pain is one of the gre
On tuberculosis (with John Green)
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 allowed to manufacture and sell that drug.The deal is that after that patent expires, other companies can manufacture and sell the drug, too. The drug goes “generic
On testosterone and Low T
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 hormone that helps give men energy and vigor and sex drive. Lower testosterone was just part of growing older.But that was then! Nowadays, “Low T” is a bonafide medic
On Xanax and anxiety
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 usually kicks in within 15 or 30 minutes. Just like that, a sense of calm sets in, and your concerns fall away. It’s not a high, more like the opposite. You feel relaxed,
On Ozempic & obesity
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 … and Jenny Craig was owned by Nestle. But it was still up to you. You made your choices, and you had to live with them. And so the obesity rate in the US soared f
On Zoloft & depression
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 worldwide. Nearly 30% of Americans will be diagnosed with depression in their lifetimes. Many people wind up taking an antidepressant. You’ve probably heard of these dru
On Lipitor & heart disease
Once you turn 40, it seems like half the people you know are taking a statin drug. You know, because their cholesterol is high, and to prevent heart disease down the line. It makes sense: better safe than sorry.This is a huge triumph for preventive medicine. Statin drugs have saved (or improved) the lives of millions of people because they acted early. This is how medicine (and public health) is s
On Epipen & food allergies
Epipen is an exquisitely engineered, expertly marketed, totally modern drug. And it’s an amazing success story, especially if you count success through dollars - Epipen sales rose from $200 million in 2007 to $1 billion a year in 2015 to more than $2 billion in 2023. Epipen is what they call in the pharma business, a blockbuster.The story of Epipen is also a story of unintended consequences and u
Drug Story: Trailer
Diabetes and anxiety and insomnia and depression and food allergies. For every modern malady, there are drugs promising to fix it. SO MANY DRUGS.But they never really fix the problem, do they? Yes, drugs can help people manage their disease. They treat the symptoms. But they rarely remedy what caused the disease in the first place. And therein lies a story. Launching Jan. 6, 2026. Get full access
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