Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

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Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe: 2. A Revolutionary Medicine

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

2. A Revolutionary Medicine

BBC Radio 4 - Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe, 2. A Revolutionary Medicine

The second generation Sackler have ambitions for the family's pharmaceutical business.

In Patrick Radden Keefe's book about America's opioid crisis, the second generation Sacklers seek out new opportunities for the family's pharmaceutical business. Kyle Soller reads.

Patrick Radden Keefe's award winning telling of America's opioid epidemic tells the story of the Sackler family, how they amassed their fortune, and the role of their pharmaceutical company in the public health crisis that spanned the nation. Today, it's the 1970s and the second generation Sacklers are seeking out new opportunities for the family business. Kyle Soller reads.

The Sackler family are famed for their philanthropy. The Sackler name adorns the walls of many of the globe's most prestigious institutions, from Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, and the British Museum to name just a few. Less well known is that much of their wealth derived from the powerful painkiller, OxyContin. While it wasn’t the only opioid behind this public health emergency, it is regarded as the pioneer. What follows is the story of an immigrant family struggling to survive during the depression, and who, as the 20th century progressed made their way into the pharmaceutical business. It was Arthur Sackler's role in the marketing of Valium that made the first Sackler fortune. Later, the lessons learned in making this blockbuster drug a success were applied to OxyContin, leading to phenomenal wealth for the family. Meanwhile, on the eve of the new millenium, families across America were beginning to fall victim to what would become the opioid epidemic.


Patrick Radden Keefe is the winner of the 2019 Orwell Prize for Political Writing and the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize.

Kyle Soller is an American film, stage, and television actor. His accolades include an Olivier Award, and three Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

Abridger: Katrin Williams.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard.

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The story of the Sackler family's role in America's devastating opioid crisis.

Book of the Week. Patrick Radden Keefe investigates how the Sackler family acquired their phenomenal wealth, and their role in the America's opioid crisis. Kyle Soller reads.

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Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

2. A Revolutionary Medicine

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