Brian Mann
Brian Mann is NPR's first national addiction correspondent. He also covers breaking news in the U.S. and around the world.
Mann began covering drug policy and the opioid crisis as part of a partnership between NPR and North Country Public Radio in New York. After joining NPR full time in 2020, Mann was one of the first national journalists to track the deadly spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, reporting from California and Washington state to West Virginia.
After losing his father and stepbrother to substance abuse, Mann's reporting breaks down the stigma surrounding addiction and creates a factual basis for the ongoing national discussion.
Mann has also served on NPR teams covering the Beijing Winter Olympics and the war in Ukraine.
During a career in public radio that began in the 1980s, Mann has won numerous regional and national Edward R. Murrow awards. He is author of a 2006 book about small town politics called Welcome to the Homeland, described by The Atlantic as "one of the best books to date on the putative-red-blue divide."
Mann grew up in Alaska and is now based in New York's Adirondack Mountains. His audio postcards, broadcast on NPR, describe his backcountry trips into wild places around the world.
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Opioid Companies Try To Reach Settlements Before TrialNegotiations are underway as the drug industry scrambles to avoid a high profile national opioid trial set to begin on Monday.
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As autumn colors peak in New York's Adirondack Mountains, we paddle a wilderness river busy with migrating ducks, kingfishers and flocks of chickadees.
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The $20 million settlement involving the drugmaker and two Ohio counties comes as a massive federal trial is scheduled to begin in the state later this month.
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"The Sackler family does not belong in bankruptcy court," Rep. Max Rose said of Purdue Pharma's owners. "They belong in handcuffs." He and others want charges for drug companies linked to the crisis. -
As the cases proceed, critics say blame for the addiction crisis should be shared by government officials, who saw that opioid sales were skyrocketing years ago but failed to raise the alarm.
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Maker Of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, Files For Bankruptcy ProtectionsPurdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy as it settles lawsuits with states and governments over the opioid crisis. Purdue's board of directors approved the litigation settlement on Sunday.
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Sackler Family Transferred Money To Swiss Bank Accounts, New York AG SaysThe New York state attorney general says the Sackler family has transferred $1 billion overseas as it negotiated a settlement over its company, Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin.
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The pending settlement likely means Purdue will avoid going to trial in the sprawling and complicated case involving some 2,300 local governments across 23 states. -
Purdue Pharma, the company that makes Oxycontin, has reached a tentative deal to settle thousands of lawsuits stemming from the country's opioid epidemic. Some state officials may not agree to the terms of the deal.
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A Purdue Pharma spokesperson has revealed to NPR that the Sackler family, which owns the company, is willing to give up the "entire value" of the firm to settle claims, plus $3 billion in cash.
