Dr. Andrew Kolodny, medical director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, frames the opioid crisis as an epidemic of opioid addiction rooted in aggressive prescribing, pharmaceutical influence, regulatory failure, and inadequate access to treatment. The episode moves beyond blame toward a systems-level examination of what failed, what remains unrepaired, and what would be required to prevent similar public health crises in the future. Dr. Kolodny consistently returns to the same solutionary structure: prevent opioid use disorder and ensure people already suffering from it can access effective treatment. The episode also raises difficult questions about pharmaceutical accountability, sealed litigation records, settlement funds, cannabis legalization, kratom, chronic pain, and the need for more nuanced policy than sim ...