Why recovering from addiction is so hard in America

When Christine was 9, her mother began having delusions that upended their family’s life. Her mother was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia, but treatments had no effect. Nearly two decades later, after she started medication for cancer, her psychosis suddenly vanished. In the New Yorker, staff writer Rachel Aviv tells this remarkable story — and what it reveals about how schizophrenia is diagnosed and treated. The piece was selected as an Apple News Story of the Month. Aviv spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how evolving science is challenging long-held beliefs about schizophrenia and its causes.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans seek help for opioid addiction each year, but too often, they’re met with a rehab system that fails them. Many programs operate with little oversight, prioritizing profit over care, while proven medications remain out of reach. Shoshana Walter, author of Rehab: An American Scandal, spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about what actually works in treating addiction — and why even well-intentioned programs so often fall short.

This is an episode from our archives.Reality shows — like Survivor, The Bachelor, and Love Is Blind — are some of the most-watched TV series in the U.S. But how much “reality” is actually being shown? In her book Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV, New Yorker staff writer Emily Nussbaum reveals how this industry came to be and takes people behind the scenes of some of the top reality series. Nussbaum speaks with guest host Sam Sanders about the most surprising aspects of this divisive genre.

When Sudan’s civil war broke out in 2023, two military factions violently dismantled the country’s infrastructure, causing devastation for civilians. Now millions face famine, sexual violence, and mass displacement as international aid has dwindled after U.S. funding cuts. Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum and photojournalist Lynsey Addario traveled to Sudan to report on the crisis. Applebaum sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about what she saw on the ground, and what Sudan’s war reveals about the collapse of the liberal world order.

“No tax on tips” is a provision in President Trump’s new tax-and-spending bill that promises a tax break for tipped workers. But nearly 40% of these workers don’t earn enough to pay federal income tax and won’t directly benefit from the policy. In his latest piece for the New Yorker, contributing writer Eyal Press explains how the “no tax on tips” proposal originally came from the National Restaurant Association — known to some labor advocates as “the other NRA” — a powerful industry lobby that has long fought against raising wages. Press spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how the association has shaped labor laws behind the scenes, and why a policy that looks like a win for workers might actually serve their bosses instead.

The immigration landscape in the U.S. has shifted dramatically since President Trump began his second term. ICE raids and arrests have surged — including among migrants without criminal records — leaving detention facilities overflowing and families in crisis. NPR senior immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd has been reporting from Florida, a state that has taken the lead in advancing Trump’s agenda. She sat down withApple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to share what she’s seeing on the ground — and why Florida offers clues of what’s to come for the rest of country.

Maternity homes are resurging in the post-Roe era. These facilities are meant to provide temporary housing and other services to pregnant people in need. But many are rooted in restrictive Christian ideology — and some former residents say they were coerced into placing their babies for adoption. In the new Wondery podcast Liberty Lost, journalist T.J. Raphael investigates this system through the story of one teenager, Abbi Johnson. Raphael joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to share what she uncovered and what Johnson’s experience reveals about adoption and reproductive choice in America.

Public support for the death penalty has been slowly declining in America. But under President Trump, executions have spiked. In her recent piece, “Inside America’s Death Chambers,” Atlantic staff writer Elizabeth Bruenig describes witnessing five executions — including two failed attempts — and what those experiences taught her about justice, mercy, and redemption. Bruenig spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about her reporting and her own experience as the relative of a murder victim. 

New York Times critic Amanda Hess has spent years writing about the internet, technology, and culture. But when she became pregnant, and then a new parent, she was surprised by how much tech infiltrated — and tried to optimize — every aspect of her life. In her book Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, Hess chronicles that experience. She sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about the promises and pitfalls of parenting technology, and the tools that actually helped her family.

Americans have a long history of obsession with the ultrarich, from Carnegie and Rockefeller to Bezos and Musk. And today, the gap between the rich and the poor is bigger than ever as the billionaire class has ascended to new heights. In his new book, The Haves and Have-Yachts, New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos explores the extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy and their outsize influence on politics. He sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about this unique moment — when billionaires are both resented and envied by the public — and what it means for the rest of us.