How did a marketing campaign lead to one of the worst public health disasters in American history?
In this episode, I investigate the rise and fall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical empire they built, and the marketing tactics that got millions addicted to opioids.
You’ll learn:
How reframing turned OxyContin from a last resort into a “safe” everyday drug.
Why a vague letter (not a study) became the foundation for Purdue’s 1% addiction claim.
How the Sacklers used doctors, pain groups, and celebrities to exploit authority bias.
Why repeating a false claim makes it more believable (feat. the mere exposure effect).
How behavioural science helped sell a deadly drug—and what we can learn from it.
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Shatterproof non-profit: https://shatterproof.org/
Empire of Pain:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612861/empire-of-pain-by-patrick-radden-keefe/
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Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/
Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/
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Sources:
ABC News. (2025). Purdue Pharma, Sackler family to pay $7.4 billion opioid settlement [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n2uuX1NaQo
LastWeekTonight. (2016). Opioids: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pdPrQFjo2o
CBS News. (2019). OxyContin maker facing over 2,000 opioid death-related lawsuits [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwGGlEFKrSs
ABC News. (2019). Local governments file lawsuit against the family behind OxyContin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSDhuhLedg
CBS News. (2022). Trump Organization’s accounting firm cuts ties over financial statements [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csAS4WLvMao
BBC News. (2013). Serpentine Sackler Gallery Opening [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YThcpSZIN0c
CBS New York. (2021). Metropolitan Museum Of Art Will Remove Sackler Name From Galleries [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_u29BL2CQE
CBC News. (2019). Dozens Storm The Guggenheim Museum In Protest Of Donor [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci_yOI3Wyto
CBS News. (2019). Protestors stage a “Die In” at the Guggenheim Museum in New York [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYVvIwbxX2I
CNBC Television. (2020). Would have done ‘nothing’ differently in opioid crisis: Kathe Sackler says [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRl-Zjyf2UE
STAT. (2017). 1998 Purdue Pharma marketing video [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaxlJXpwkzs
GoLocal LIVE. (2019). Purdue Pharmaceutical Commercial 1998-Oxycontin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCOl1exq3IM
CBS News. (2017). Behind Purdue Pharma’s marketing of OxyContin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-jxKPpMvmA
LastWeekTonight. (2019). Opioids III: The Sacklers: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaCaIhfETsM
LastWeekTonight. (2021). McKinsey: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOUojVd6xQ
CBS News. (2018). Whistleblower: Purdue Pharma continued deceptive sales practices after guilty plea [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5qQf3Po31M
Washington Post. (2019). Inside the opioid industry’s marketing machine [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlpd40CpT0
CBC News. (2018). How One Man Made The Opioid Crisis Possible [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2AUIBB34nI
CBC News. (2019). Nan Goldin ‘Blizzard of Prescriptions’ Sackler Pain Guggenheim Protest & Die-In 2/9/19 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2A4Tb8cOxE
Keefe, P. R. (2021). Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Doubleday.
Cialdini, R. B. (2006). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Revised ed.). Harper Business.