Award-winning investigative reporter Ben Westhoff joins us to discuss his book, 'Fentanyl, Inc: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic.'

On today's show: Flashback: Kavanaugh lying to Blumenthal about "Renata Alumnus" yearbook. Bethany Mandel defends Kavanaugh putting his penis in Debie Ramirez's face. Roommate Avi Smolen says Mandel is not remembering correctly.

Author and investigative reporter Ben Westhoff joins us to discuss his book, 'Fentanyl, Inc: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic.' While heroin deaths have gone down in recent years, deaths from fentanyl and other drugs continue to climb. "Synthetic" drugs like K2, whereby chemists continuously change a drug's molecular make-up to stay a step ahead of the law, are also a problem. For this book, Westhoff investigated this phenomenon in detail, speaking with users, dealers, and law enforcement, even going so far as to pretend to be a drug dealer so he could tour the Chinese chemical factories that sell the precursors to fentanyl and other drugs. To fight overdose deaths, he recommends decriminalization, supervised injection facilities, free testing strips, and other harm reduction measures.

Dave Rubin finally blocks Sam; the crew looks back on the good times.

On the fun half: Chris Coons and Kilmeade come together for war with Iran. Brian Kilmeade says we must protect the world's oil supply. Schiff says intel director's refusal to reveal a whistleblower complaint is "deeply troubling." 2017: Biden retells the Corn Pop saga at Wilmington pool. Bernie explains fair housing and real estate reform. Chris Christie says Bernie was "visually unappealing" during debate. Buttigieg doesn't want policies that will "polarize" the country.

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Get your tickets to the Michael Brooks live show in Philadelphia on Saturday, November 23rd (the weekend before Thanksgiving) with special guests Krystal Ball and Emma Vigeland! Get your tickets here.

Get your tickets to the Goth Socialist Variety Hour w/ The Antifada and Pod Damn America at Littlefield NYC on Saturday, October 12 here!

Check out Jamie’s write-up of the 2019 DSA convention at Commune Magazine

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Check out Matt’s podcast, Literary Hangover, at Patreon.com/LiteraryHangover, or on iTunes.

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Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Several Democratic presidential candidates call for Brett Kavanaugh to be impeached after new allegations of sexual misconduct against the Supreme Court Justice.

Meanwhile, a new poll from CBS News finds that a majority of Americans want climate change to be addressed immediately.

And lastly, Purdue Pharma, the pharmaceutical company that raked in billions by addicting Americans to opioids is filing for bankruptcy. 

And our QUICKER QUICKIES HEADLINES:

Politico is reporting that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have warned Donald Trump that any firearm legislation that falls short of universal background checks for gun sales “will not get the job done.” The hard line from Democratic leadership comes as negotiations continue between the president and a group of rank-and-file senators.

A Census Bureau report found that the number of uninsured in the U.S. rose by 1.9 million people in 2018, which the Associated Press reports could be linked to Trump’s persecution of undocumented immigrants. The Census report found that the Hispanic community was the only major racial and ethnic category with a significant increase in their uninsured rate.

The Trump administration has released satellite photographs that it claims prove Iran was behind an attack on a Saudi oil field over the weekend. The Houthi militia, which operates in Yemen, has claimed responsibility for the strikes and Tehran has denied any involvement.

And nearly 50,000 members of the United Auto Workers walked off General Motors factory floors or set up picket lines early Monday as contract talks with the company deteriorated into a strike. The AP reports that workers shut down 33 manufacturing plants in nine states across the U.S., as well as 22 parts distribution warehouses.