Alcoholism & Drug Addiction

Gregory Pardlo's new memoir, Air Traffic, chronicles his complicated relationship with his father, a labor organizer who lost his job following the air traffic controllers' 1981 strike.

Vox.com drug policy reporter German Lopez details the scope of the opioid epidemic, and Bobby Allyn, a reporter at WHYY in Philadelphia, discusses the idea of safe injection sites.

Music critic Anthony DeCurtis has written a new biography of Lou Reed who was also his friend.

West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the country. New Yorker writer Margaret Talbot interviewed addicts, their families and health professionals to understand why.

Susan Burton has dedicated her life to stopping the cycle of recidivism, not just in her life, but in the lives of other women like her. She founded the organization A New Way of Life which helps women released from prison.

John Hudak examines the history of attitudes and policy toward marijuana in the U.S.

In her new memoir, Forward, Abby Wambach writes about playing soccer, growing up as the youngest of seven children, her romantic relationships and her struggles with alcohol and prescription drugs.

Enter Me

After starring in Broadway shows like The Music Man and Candide, Cook struggled with addiction, then staged a successful second career as a cabaret singer. Her new memoir is Then and Now.

Commentator Sarah Hepola explains how she came to realize that drinking and casual sex don't mix - at least for her.

Writer-director Trey Edward Shults cast his own family in his home-for-Thanksgiving psychodrama. Reviewer David Edelstein says Krisha "marks the arrival of a truly adventurous, humanist filmmaker."

At the height of her addiction to heroin, Tracey Helton Mitchell lived in an alley and sold her body. Now she works as an addiction specialist helping others. Her new memoir is The Big Fix.

Daniel Genis, son of Soviet emigre writer Alexander Genis, served 10 years for armed robbery. The crimes fueled his heroin addiction. "It was so obvious I didn't fit in," he says.

Carr, media columnist for The New York Times, died Thursday after collapsing in the newsroom. He was 58. Carr talked with Fresh Air in 2008 about his memoir and in 2011 about the future of journalism.

The Huffington Post's Jason Cherkis investigated the heroin epidemic in Kentucky, and found that the abstinence-based approach used in most treatment centers was leading to many fatal relapses.

"No comedian wants to have to analyze and defend" jokes, says Rock, who wrote, directed and stars in the new film Top Five. He adds: "I'm not a politician; I'm not a thinker. I'm a comedian."

Falco plays ER nurse Jackie Peyton, who is competent at her high-stress job but struggles with addiction. The sixth season of Nurse Jackie begins Sunday on Showtime.

From the writers of 500 Days of Summer, The Spectacular Now examines the not-so-spectacular markers of teenhood: the awkwardness and anxiety that everyone must endure. Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller are the two lovers at the forefront of this story based on a novel by Tim Tharp.

The singer-songwriter earned a name for himself while playing with Drive-By Truckers and The 400 Unit, but on his new album — written after he got sober — Isbell finds a new level of emotional honesty. Here, he talks with Terry Gross about his life and plays songs from Southeastern.

The country singer, known for "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and many other hits, died Friday at age 81. Fresh Air remembers Jones with excerpts from a 1996 conversation with Terry Gross about his autobiography, his addictions and his perspective on his celebrated but troubled marriage to Tammy Wynette.