Patrick Radden Keefe on the Opioid Crisis, criminal career longevity and why access is overrated.

Louis Theroux· Host0:00

[upbeat music] Hello, and welcome back to "The Louis Theroux Podcast." [gentle music] Today, I'm joined by esteemed writer and investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe. A staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of several acclaimed books, including Say Nothing, which explores the legacy of the troubles in Northern Ireland, and Empire of Pain, his deep dive into the Sackler family and the opioid crisis. Patrick's reporting often sits somewhere between investigative journalism and narrative storytelling. He writes about, quote, I think this is his quote, "Crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane separating licit and illicit worlds, the bonds of family, the power of denial." Patrick is also the host of the popular 2020 podcast, Wind of Change, in which he investigates whether or not the song of the same name by the Scorpions was secretly written by the CIA. Personal note, I've read several of Patrick's books. I'm a reader. You know this about me. The first one was the Sackler family one, Empire of Pain. I'd made my own documentary about the opioid crisis called Heroin Town, so I was already interested. Then I read the one about Northern Ireland, then I read the collection of profiles, and