Brian Mann
Brian Mann is NPR's first national addiction correspondent. He also covers breaking news in the U.S. and around the world.
Mann began covering drug policy and the opioid crisis as part of a partnership between NPR and North Country Public Radio in New York. After joining NPR full time in 2020, Mann was one of the first national journalists to track the deadly spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, reporting from California and Washington state to West Virginia.
After losing his father and stepbrother to substance abuse, Mann's reporting breaks down the stigma surrounding addiction and creates a factual basis for the ongoing national discussion.
Mann has also served on NPR teams covering the Beijing Winter Olympics and the war in Ukraine.
During a career in public radio that began in the 1980s, Mann has won numerous regional and national Edward R. Murrow awards. He is author of a 2006 book about small town politics called Welcome to the Homeland, described by The Atlantic as "one of the best books to date on the putative-red-blue divide."
Mann grew up in Alaska and is now based in New York's Adirondack Mountains. His audio postcards, broadcast on NPR, describe his backcountry trips into wild places around the world.
-
CBS and Paramount backed away from copyright challenges to limit distribution of Stephen Colbert's appearance on a Michigan cable access show. He ended his run as host of "The Late Show" on Thursday. -
The U.S. military announced strikes against Iranian positions just hours after President Trump says more countries should normalize ties with Israel in any Iran deal, tempering expectations of peace. -
After 250 years, 44 Continental Army soldiers are being buried with honors in Lake George, N.Y., after their remains were found in a construction site. -
State officials in New York say the Salmon River district's special education program confined young children with disabilities in wooden boxes. Parents weren't notified. -
The U.S. health secretary says he wants to shift addiction care toward an approach that includes rural farms or camps for people in recovery. Many addiction experts say the idea is outdated.
-
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says a farm community in Italy for people with addiction is a model for wellness camps designed to ease the U.S. overdose crisis. Critics say the idea is dangerous. -
Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is home to the world's largest urban rain forest. Woven among the city's bustling neighborhoods are soaring tree canopies, waterfalls, and miles of hiking trails. -
Drug overdose deaths are plummeting in the U.S. in ways never seen before. Experts worry new, toxic "synthetic" street drugs could derail the recovery. -
The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN reported multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. Swalwell calls them false but apologized to his supporters and family. -
Americans are having fewer and fewer children. New numbers out today show the continuation of a trend that could change many things about life in the United States.
