KQED's Forum ‘Drug Story’ Explores the Disease Business one Med at A Time
Jan 6, 2026
Thomas Goetz, journalist and entrepreneur behind the podcast Drug Story, dives deep into the complexities of modern medicine. He discusses how commonly prescribed drugs often represent trial-and-error solutions rather than guaranteed fixes. The conversation highlights the profit motives behind drug pricing, the rise of childhood food allergies, and the over-prescription of medications like statins. Goetz also explores the balance between lifestyle changes and pharmaceutical dependence, challenging listeners to rethink the narrative around health and medicine.
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Drugs Reveal Bigger Social Stories
- Drugs act as a MacGuffin to reveal larger stories about health, society, and expectations.
- Thomas Goetz argues we expect magic fixes but medicine is messy and complex.
Prescription Use Is Massive And Messy
- Seventy percent of Americans take at least one prescription drug, exposing systemic scale and complexity.
- Goetz emphasizes trial-and-error, patient variation, and the human element behind prescriptions.
EpiPen's Military Origins
- The EpiPen device pairs generic epinephrine with a patented injector mechanism developed from military work.
- It originated from Vietnam-era nerve gas antidote research repurposed for anaphylaxis.