The latest episode of The Read Smart Podcast features Prize Director Toby Mundy speaking to Patrick Radden Keefe, who won the prize in 2021 with Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Radden Keefe and Mundy together explore the dark and murky methods of the Sackler family, as well as the consequences of the crisis that are still seen in America today. Detailing the story of 21st century greed, the book explores the family’s creation and marketing of Oxycontin, a painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis that nearly killed half a million people. Listen now to hear all about it. The podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. For more podcasts from The Baillie Gifford Prize, click here. Follow @BGPrize on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube. The winner of the award will be announced on Thursday 27 April at an event held at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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