Inventing maladies and marketing drugs to relieve them isn’t a new m.o. for pharmaceutical companies. OxyContin is its fullest and most terrible expression.
esquire
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Secretive Family Making Billions From the Opioid Crisis
Do you know that the company that makes OxyContin and reaps the billions of dollars in profits it generates is owned by one family?
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Sports
Should Youth Football be Banned?
Esquire writer Luke O’Neil recalls playing tackle football as a kid, where “you can hit so hard that you knock yourself out.”
Posted inNonfiction, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Rana Dasgupta, Whitney Joiner, Jesse Barron, Kiese Laymon, and David Roth.
Posted inCurrent Events, Nonfiction, Quotes
A Roll of the Immigration Law Dice
Captain Noorullah Aminyar has been in detention for three years now, his asylum application subject to a system of immigration law both complex and capricious.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Fight of His Life
Afghan Noorullah Aminyar was a valuable ally to the American military. Now, after a failed defection attempt and three years in detention, his asylum claims rests on the argument that the U.S. has lost the war in Afghanistan.
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Libby Copeland, Patrick Blanchfield, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Cory Taylor, and Tabitha Blankenbiller.
Posted inArts & Culture, Nonfiction, Quotes
Miles to Go Before You Sleep
“When the safety crew came to retrieve him, Brandon was adamant he’d been underground for two full days. In reality, he’d only been below for twelve hours.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Shot in the Dark
Spending six days in a cave without any light means hallucinations, hypothermia, and the potential for fatal falls. Why would anyone volunteer for one of the most extreme reality shows ever?
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Lizzie Presser, Linda Villarosa, Maurice Chammah, Mike Giglio, and Will Storr.