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.
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Oregon's state legislature voted to reverse a measure that decriminalized personal drug use. What does the Oregon experiment and its likely overhaul mean in the wider context of the U.S. war on drugs?
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A New York jury says National Rifle Association executives, including longtime head Wayne LaPierre, are liable for mismanagement.
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Portugal cut drug deaths by 80%, using free health care and addiction treatment. The U.S., meanwhile, focused on drug busts and tough crime laws. Overdose deaths keep rising catastrophically. -
New York Attorney General Letitia James has built a reputation targeting powerful national figures. Critics say her lawsuits are politically motivated, but she keeps winning in court. -
A jury in Manhattan has found three top executives of the National Rifle Association liable for widespread corruption at the gun rights group. This is another blow for the conservative organization.
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Top executives for the gun rights nonprofit were accused of using millions in NRA donations for private luxuries. A jury found former CEO Wayne LaPierre liable for more than $5.4 million in damages. -
People turned out for a vigil in Kansas City, Mo., to honor Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the 43-year-old mother, community leader and radio DJ who died at Wednesday's Super Bowl victory celebration.
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Portugal's focus on care and treatment over law enforcement and incarceration is widely viewed as a model for helping people recover from opioid addiction. But it's become a flashpoint in the U.S.
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Portugal has emerged as a promising international model for tackling a deadly drug and addiction crisis. The country has used a focus on health care and community support to save lives.
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Now that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva received a four-year doping ban, the U.S. will receive its first-ever team gold medal in figure skating from the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
