Podcast Summary: The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Episode: Newt Gingrich and Patrick Kennedy Talk to David Remnick About Fighting Opioid Abuse
Date: January 9, 2017
Host: David Remnick
Guests: Newt Gingrich (former Republican Speaker of the House), Patrick Kennedy (former Democratic Congressman)

Main Theme

David Remnick moderates a rare bipartisan conversation with Newt Gingrich and Patrick Kennedy, who have joined forces to tackle the opioid crisis in America through their nonprofit, Advocates for Opioid Recovery. The episode explores the roots of the opioid epidemic, the impact of stigma around addiction, challenges in public policy, and the prospects for bipartisan action in a polarized era.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Unlikely Collaboration

• Both guests, a “godfather of gridlock” (Gingrich) and scion of a liberal dynasty (Kennedy), are working together to fight opioid addiction.
• Previous collaborations on health issues—such as electronic medical records and Alzheimer's research—established mutual trust.
  • Gingrich: “I had...co-chaired with Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey a three-year study on Alzheimer's. So I was very deeply interested in the brain and advances we're making in brain science.” (03:18)

2. Personal Connection and Stigma Around Addiction

• Kennedy shares the deep personal roots of addiction in his family, highlighting societal shame.
  • Kennedy: “Not only does [mental illness and addiction] run in my family, it gallops...because of the shame and stigma that exists still in this country.” (04:29)
• Both believe public policy and medical systems lag behind modern brain science.

3. How the Crisis Escalated

• Gingrich outlines two key developments from the 1990s:
  • New England Journal of Medicine called for improved pain management.
  • Pharmaceutical companies, notably OxyContin’s producer, aggressively pushed opioids.
  • A supply of cheap heroin filled the gap as prescriptions waned.
  • Gingrich: “You could give a card to the drug addicts, they could call your telephone person, and suddenly you had this intersection of OxyContin...with heroin. And the heroin is much cheaper.” (06:08)

4. Barriers to Recovery and Policy Gaps

• Kennedy: Aggressive prescription measures weren’t matched by expanded access to addiction treatment.
  • “We have no limitation, really, on the prescribing authority of doctors for pain meds. But...prohibitions on their prescribing the antidote for addiction...that’s opiate replacement therapy.” (07:43)

5. Racial and Social Disparities in Approach

• Remnick asks whether the epidemic’s shift to white, suburban populations affected the move from criminalization to treatment.
• Gingrich acknowledges past policy mistakes, supports criminal justice reform, and notes the crisis’s broad demographic range.
  • Gingrich: “We made a huge mistake as a country in locking up people for nonviolent crimes who should have been sent to treatment centers.” (08:21)
  • “It’s scattered all across middle America now...One of the most famous people to die from this is Prince.” (08:47)

6. Prospects for Bipartisan Progress

• Both cite the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act as a sign of possible cooperation.
  • Kennedy: “This really doesn’t know any partisan boundaries. I do think it offers a great opportunity for common ground for this president to take a leadership role...” (10:38)
  • Gingrich: "It's a substantive bill...Obama signed it...with the support of the Trump team, who could easily have blocked it if they wanted to." (11:22)

7. Science, Policy, and Partisanship

• Discussion turns to the Trump administration’s views on science:
  • Gingrich separates support for brain research from skepticism about climate science.
  • Admits he is “not convinced” by climate science but advocates for “prudential” risk management.
  • Gingrich: “As a conservative, I believe you ought to be conservative on risk, and...look at times at mitigation rather than prevention.” (13:26)

8. Worries About the New Administration

• Kennedy voices concerns about constitutional freedoms and the nation’s deepening divides.
  • “We have an obligation...not to inflame people’s prejudices and bigotry, but to tamp those down and bring connection and community.” (15:25)
• Gingrich is concerned by Cabinet’s lack of government experience and potential exhaustion from political strife.
  • He predicts, “this election will never be over” due to persistent partisanship. (16:49)

9. Presidential Temperament

• The episode closes with a lighter but pointed depiction of Trump’s energetic and sometimes erratic communication style.
  • Gingrich (on Trump’s Twitter use): “That he has the energy of Theodore Roosevelt and...you can expect him to routinely do things.” (17:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Patrick Kennedy (04:29):
  “Not only does [addiction] run in my family, it gallops...because of the shame and stigma.”

• Newt Gingrich (06:08):
  “You had this intersection of OxyContin...with heroin. And the heroin is much cheaper. In Columbus, Ohio...it was cheaper to buy heroin than it was to buy cigarettes.”

• Gingrich (08:21):
  “We made a huge mistake as a country in locking up people for nonviolent crimes who, in fact, should have been sent to treatment centers.”

• Kennedy (10:38):
  “This really doesn’t know any partisan boundaries...It offers a great opportunity for common ground for this president to take a leadership role...”

• Gingrich (13:19):
  “[On climate change science] No, I am not convinced.”

Key Timestamps

• [03:06]—How Gingrich & Kennedy began collaborating; their motivation.
• [04:23]—Kennedy speaks on personal connection and the stigma of addiction.
• [05:42]—Gingrich describes the origins of the opioid epidemic and the intersection with heroin.
• [07:09-07:58]—Barriers to treatment and changing policy attitudes.
• [08:18-08:47]—Race, demographics, and the shift from punishment to treatment.
• [10:38-11:22]—Prospects for bipartisan progress and the success of the 21st Century Cures Act.
• [13:11-14:00]—Gingrich and Remnick debate science and climate change.
• [14:41-16:17]—Both guests express their fears for the future under the Trump administration.
• [17:28-17:55]—Trump’s energy and communication style compared to Theodore Roosevelt.

Tone & Flow

The conversation is frank, occasionally tense, but ultimately cooperative in tone—well-captured by Remnick’s understated humor (“agree to disagree”). Kennedy’s deeply personal candor on stigma and Gingrich’s pragmatic approach to bipartisan policy anchor the discussion in realism and a shared urgency around the opioid crisis, contrasting with the ideological gridlock that typically characterizes Washington.

This summary provides a thorough overview of the episode’s content and themes, organized for easy navigation for listeners and non-listeners alike.