
Every episode of Drug Story uses one prescription drug to tell surprising, true tales about the business of disease and health. Hosted by award-winning science journalist Thomas Goetz, MPH, this podcast asks the big question: What happens when we use drugs to fix our big problems? www.drugstory.co
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 15 | Founded | 6 months ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | Health & FitnessMedicineSociety & Culture | |||

A bonus episode! Here is a conversation that I had recently with STAT, the excellent publication about health and medicine.
If you are in the business of health and medicine, you surely know about STAT - For a decade they have been doing fantastic r... more
You may not think of fluoride as a drug, but it fits the bill: The FDA classifies fluoride as a drug, an essential nutrient to human health, and regulates its use. So yeah. It’s a drug.
Fluoride used to be boring. 75% of US water is fluoridated, and... more
This episode is all about ivermectin - which truly is a wonder drug! A veritable miracle cure.
For, ahem, river blindness. And for some other parasitic diseases, like hookworm. Mostly in animals.
But in the US, you have likely heard of ivermectin n... more
Today we’re sharing an episode of Cautionary Tales, by Tim Harford.
This show concerns Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound - one of the most popular patent medicines of the late 19th century. Mrs. Pinkham’s compound was sold as a “women’s tonic,” ide... more
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As a former pharmacist, I’m thoroughly enjoying the first season of Drug Story. I appreciate learning about the background and current socioeconomic impacts of some of the world’s most popular medications. Looking forward to the second season!
Great podcast overall, well-researched and genuinely engaging. But the Zoloft episode was a glaring miss. Thomas cites that 20% of American women are on antidepressants, making them the primary demographic for this drug, and then interviews zero women about their experience with it. Hard to overlook that gap on a show about how drugs affect real people.
Just discovered and listened to my first episode (Statins). Having worked in drug research (pre-clinical and development) I found the episode quite accurate and comprehensive. If you are looking for informative review of the history and the current state of our most commonly used medicines this is the place. I’m looking forward to catching up with previous episodes as well as upcoming entries.
Smart, accessible, honest, and refreshingly agenda-free. (That is, if you find the scientific method and rational thought agenda free…) When my GP inevitably recommends I get on a statin, I will make him listen to this first.
If you like Ologies, I think you will like this show. I like the format and the host.
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.










Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
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Long-form, documentary-style episodes use a single prescription drug as a lens to explore broader stories about disease, medicine, and the healthcare system. Across episodes, the show blends historical context, investigative reporting, expert interviews, and personal testimonies to reveal how public health, policy, and industry shape drug development, access, and perception. Notable strengths include rigorous sourcing, clear explanations of complex science, and a consistent structure that layers diagnosis, prescription, and societal impact with storytelling. A few episodes stand out for tackling controversial topics (drug pricing, patent practices, and public trust in institutions) while still aiming to illuminate systemic forces behind med... more
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These podcasts share a similar audience with Drug Story:
1. Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
2. It Turns Out
3. Radiolab
4. The Secret World of Roald Dahl
5. Revisionist History
Drug Story launched 6 months ago and published 15 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
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Recent guests on Drug Story include:
1. Thomas Goetz
2. Dr. Chase Kleinstecker
3. Dr. Esther Machen
4. David Bulwer
5. Tim Harford
6. Eric Topol
7. Dr. Andrew Crystal
8. Dr. Antje Barveld
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