Johann Hari (The Healing Power of Community, Addiction Myths and the Failed War on Drugs) - Episode 317

Johann Hari is the author of "Chasing the Scream" and "Lost Connections", two of the most powerful books ever written on addiction and mental health. We discuss his childhood trauma, the mental health crisis, the history of drug prohibition, the failure of the "War on Drugs", learning from other countries and much more.

Johann Hari is the author of two New York Times best-selling books. His first, ‘Chasing the Scream: the First and Last Days of the War on Drugs’, is currently being adapted into a major Hollywood film by Oscar-winning director Lee Daniels, and into a non-fiction documentary series. His most recent book, ‘Lost Connections: Uncovering The Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions’ is being translated into 28 languages and has been praised by a very broad range of people, from Oprah to Hillary Clinton to Tucker Carlson, from Elton John to Naomi Klein to Glenn Greenwald. It was described by the British Journal of General Practice as “one of the most important texts of recent years”, and shortlisted for an award by the British Medical Association.

His first TED talk, ‘Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong’, has been viewed more than 40 million times across all platforms. His second Ted talk, ‘This Could Be Why You Are Depressed or Anxious’, was viewed 3.5 million times in its first two months. He has written over the past decade for some of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, the Spectator, Le Monde Diplomatique, the Melbourne Age, and Politico. He is a regular panellist on HBO’s Realtime With Bill Maher.

Johann was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and when he was a year old, his family moved to London, where he grew up and where he has lived for most of his life. His father – a Swiss immigrant – was a bus driver and his mother worked in shelters for victims of domestic violence. Johann studied Social and Political Science at King’s College, Cambridge, and graduated with a Double First. Johann was twice named ‘National Newspaper Journalist of the Year’ by Amnesty International. He has also been named ‘Cultural Commentator of the Year’ and ‘Environmental Commentator of the Year’ at the Comment Awards. He lives half the year in London, and spends the other half of the year traveling to research his books.