Skip to main content
Back to Show
PBS News Hour

How the opioid crisis became the biggest drug epidemic

Every day brings another story about the depth of the country’s opioid crisis. A rise of pain killer prescriptions from doctors and a pharmaceutical industry eager to boost sales in the 1990s sparked a wave of addiction that shot up by almost 500 percent in the last 15 years. As a prologue to our series covering the opioid crisis, “America Addicted,” William Brangham reports on how we got here.

Support Provided By
Season
April 18, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
57:46
April 18, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
April 17, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
57:46
April 17, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
April 16, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
57:46
April 16, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
April 15, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
57:46
April 15, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
April 14, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
57:46
April 14, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
April 13, 2025 - PBS News Weekend full episode
26:44
April 13, 2025 - PBS News Weekend full episode
April 12, 2025 - PBS News Weekend full episode
26:45
April 12, 2025 - PBS News Weekend full episode
April 11, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
57:46
April 11, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
April 10, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
57:46
April 10, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
April 9, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
57:46
April 9, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
April 8, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
57:46
April 8, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
April 7, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
56:38
April 7, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode
Active loading indicator