Encore Presentation: Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the American Drug War

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the American Drug War

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the American Drug WarApril 15, 2015 – Segment 2

Listen in to my interview with Johann Hari, author of the fascinating and revealing book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the American Drug War, which tells the tale of Harry Anslinger, the first head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, and his personal war to destroy Billie Holliday. Holliday struggled with heroin addiction but was also emblematic of the fearlessness of standing up against racism. Anslinger was a racist and he hated jazz, so Billie Holliday embodied all that he loathed.

Chasing the Scream is the premium for the second hour when you donate at the $100 level.