Maiz Szalavitz is the author of the New York Times bestseller Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction.
Below are current articles by, and interviews with, Maia Szalavitz.
Photo by Bettina Hansen of The Seattle Times
Harm Reduction as a Public Health Strategy for Pandemics, presentation, Cato Institute, 6/3/20 (forthcoming)
Brain Implants to Treat Addiction Are Dangerous and Promising, Vice, 5/5/20
People Who Take Opioid Painkillers Are Getting Screwed Thanks to Coronavirus, Vice, 3/24/20
A Vending Machine in Canada Is Dispensing a Drug Twice as Strong as Heroin, Vice, 2/10/20
What Happens When a ‘Progressive’ Democrat Refuses to Help People with Addiction, Vice, 12/20/19
Affluenza, Radio Health Journal, interview, 12/15/19
Drug Truth Network, interview, 12/5/19
Doctors Are Still Denying People Pain Meds and the Results Are Deadly, Vice, 11/4/19
The Bankruptcy Money From the Makers of Oxycontin Might Actually Save Lives, Vice, 11/24/19
The DEA Shares Blame for the Opioid Crisis, Vice, 9/16/19
Weed Is Way Stronger Than It Used to Be. That’s Why It Should Be Legal, Vice, 9/12/19
Democrats Are Racing to Look Progressive on Drugs, Vice, 8/30/19
Johnson & Johnson Twisted the Truth. Here Are the Facts., The New York Times, 8/29/19
291: Maia Szalavitz – A Different Lens on Addiction – Re-Release, The One You Feed, podcast, 7/30/19
Remembering Mark Kleiman, a Relentlessly Thoughtful Scholar of Drug Policy, The Intercept, 7/28/19
An Unprecedented Drop in Overdose Deaths Is Sadly Not Reason to Celebrate, Vice, 7/22/19
Media Frame: Fentanyl Panic Is Worsening the Overdose Crisis, with Zachary A. Siegel, The Appeal, 7/16/19
Facebook Is Censoring Posts That Could Save Opioid Users’ Lives, Vice, 7/2/19
Encore: Is Addiction a Learning Disorder with Maia Szalavitz, Beyond Addiction Show with Dr. Josh King, interview, 6/13/19
The Mysterious Consequences of Repeatedly Overdosing on Opioids, Vice, 6/5/19
After Leaving Thousands in Agony, the CDC Is Finally Clarifying Its Painkiller Restrictions, Vice, 4/25/19
Fentanyl Speedballs Are the Latest Disturbing Trend in America’s Opioid Crisis, Vice, 4/25/19
Big Pharma’s Millions Won’t Solve the Opioid Crisis, Tonic/Vice, 4/10/19
Compassion Not Contempt: Interview with Maia Szalavitz, interview with Adi Jaffe, Ph.D., Psychology Today, 3/18/19
How One Group Is Expanding Access to Overdose-Reversing Drugs Through the Mail, Tonic/Vice, 3/1/19
A Tale of Two Cities in the Grips of the Opioid Crisis, The Nation, 2/21/19
The Deadly Worst Case Scenario for America’s Xanax Obsession, Vice, 2/13/19
When the Cure Is Worse Than the Disease, The New York Times, 2/9/19
Treating Addictions with Compassion, podcast interview, Ruthless Compassion with Dr. Marcia Sirota, 1/31/19
What makes addiction a disease?, interview, WHYY, 1/11/19
The dos and don’ts of helping a drug-addicted person recover, Big Think, interview, 1/16/19
All the Things the New Anti-Weed Crusade Gets Horribly Wrong, Vice, 1/14/19
Addictive Drugs Should Not be Marketed, Period, Tonic/Vice, 1/18/19
We could cut the opioid death rate by 50% – but we’re not, Big Think, interview, 1/8/19
19-01 Segment 1: Personality and Drug Abuse, Radio Health Journal, 1/6/19 – 1/12/19
What’s worse than drug addiction? The cruelty of drug treatments, Big Think, interview, 12/16/18
An Influential Think Tank Suggested That Harm Reduction Doesn’t Work, Tonic/Vice, 12/13/18
Insurance Is Supposed to Cover Addiction Treatment, But It’s Still a Nightmare, Tonic/Vice, 12/10/18
Drug prevention advice for parents, Big Think, interview, 12/10/18
This Is How to Get Health Insurance to Cover Treatment for Opioid Addiction, Tonic/Vice, 11/6/18
Net Worth v Self Worth: Do We All Need Inequality Therapy?, Inequality.org, 11/2/18
Public Workshop of the Committee on Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, presentation, 10/30/18
Deep Systemic Change: My 10 Steps to Transform Addiction Treatment, Filter, 10/8/18
If a Woman Drinks, It’s Her Fault. If a Man Drinks, It’s an Excuse, Vice, 9/24/18
Let’s Not Overstretch Neuroplasticity, Medium, 9/21/18
Big Pharma’s Opioid Greed Was Even Worse Than We Thought, Vice, 9/13/18
Addiction Doesn’t Always Last a Lifetime, The New York Times, 8/31/18
Forcing Pain Patients Off Their Meds Won’t End the Opioid Crisis, Tonic/Vice, 8/21/18
These Drug Users Don’t Want Their Dealer Prosecuted if They OD, Vice, 8/20/18
What the Media Gets Wrong About Opioids, Columbia Journalism Review, 8/15/18
What Makes You Vulnerable to a Gambling Addiction?, Addiction Help, 8/8/18
Labeling People Video Game ‘Addicts’ Could Be a Massive Mistake, Vice, 7/23/18
There’s No Rational Way to Justify America’s Drug Laws, Tonic/Vice, 7/13/18
Drug Truth Network, interview, 7/12/18
Doctors Should Be Handing Out Addiction Meds On Demand, Tonic/Vice, 6/26/18
The Link Between Childhood Trauma and Addiction, Tonic/Vice, 6/20/18
This Is Why Xanax Is Blowing Up in America, Vice, 6/12/18
The Feds Are Raiding the Offices of Doctors Who Prescribe Addiction Medication, Tonic/Vice, 6/6/18
Episode 82: The Unbroken Brain with Maia Szalavitz, Healing Paths, interview, 5/21/18
Walmart’s Dumb New Opioid Policy Could Cost Lives, Vice, 5/8/18
Just Because You Can’t Stop Taking Antidepressants Doesn’t Mean You’re Addicted, Vice, 4/25/18
What Happened When a Writer Who Idolized Drunk Authors Got Sober, Vice, 4/5/18
The White House Is Hosting a Tasteless Opioid Crisis Memorial, Vice, interview, 4/4/18
New Opioid Memorial Demeans People Who Died From Painkiller Overdoses, Vice/Tonic, 3/29/18
Why Trump’s Opioid Plan Will Harm More People Than It Will Save, Self, 3/28/18
Why it’s not ‘enabling’ to make drug use safer, The Washington Post, 3/13/18
What makes you vulnerable to a gambling addiction?, Big Think, video, 3/10/18
Understanding addiction: Why your brain gets hooked on gambling, Big Think, interview, 3/10/18
Why we’re psychologically hardwired to blame the victim, The Guardian, 2/27/18
Why These People Took Drug Combinations That Nearly Killed Them, Vice, 2/21/18
Rhode Island Cut Post-Prison Overdose Deaths in Half, Tonic/Vice, 2/14/18
Women Are Leading the Fight Against the War on Drugs, Vice, 2/5/18
What’s behind rich people pretending to be self-made?, The Guardian, 1/29/18
What Can I Do to Help People With Opioid Addiction?, interview, NHPR, 1/25/18
The Wrong Way to Treat Opioid Addiction, The New York Times, 1/17/18
Episode 119, HOME Podcast, interview, 1/16/18
Forced Rehab Isn’t the Solution, Tonic/Vice, 1/9/18
Going After Weed in the Middle of a Deadly Opioid Crisis Is Insane, Vice, 1/9/18
Last updated 3/24/20