A Different Kind of Weekend Recommendation

My conversation with Jack Carr on investigative journalism, PHARMA, Case Closed, hidden archives, reluctant sources, and the stories behind decades of reporting.

Hi everyone,

I don’t often use this newsletter to recommend interviews I’ve done, but this one felt different.

If you’ve ever been curious about how I actually do the work—how stories begin, how sources are cultivated, how archives yield secrets, and how books come together—this is one of the deepest conversations I’ve had about it.

Earlier this week I joined Jack Carr on his podcast, Danger Close: The Fourth Option, for what turned into one of the longest and most in-depth interviews I’ve done in years—nearly one hour and forty minutes.

I’ve done hundreds of interviews over the past four decades, including conversations with some legendary interviewers. Yet I have to admit I was especially excited when Jack invited me onto his new podcast.

If you don’t know Jack, he’s a former Navy SEAL, a #1 New York Times bestselling author, and the creator of The Terminal List, the thriller series that became the hit Amazon Prime show starring Chris Pratt. His podcast brings together authors, journalists, military veterans, historians, and other people whose work depends on getting beneath the surface of a story.

What struck me almost immediately was how thoroughly Jack had prepared. Before we even began the interview, he reached for a stack of my books—many filled with notes—and talked about how he has used them in his own research and writing. He singled out PHARMA, explaining that he still keeps it within reach whenever pharmaceutical issues arise in one of his novels, and he generously encouraged viewers to read it for themselves.

I’ve included that brief opening exchange below because I think it says more about Jack—and about the conversation that followed—than anything I could write.

The conversation ranged far beyond any single book. We talked about:

• How investigative journalism actually works—from tracking down forgotten archives and reluctant sources to building a case that can withstand years of scrutiny.

• Working side-by-side with Trisha Posner and why our reporting has always been a true collaboration.

• The hidden history behind PHARMA, including COVID, Operation Warp Speed, the pharmaceutical industry’s unprecedented financial windfall, and how key intellectual property language disappeared from the first COVID relief legislation.

• Arthur Sackler’s transformation from psychiatrist to the father of modern pharmaceutical marketing—and how the techniques he pioneered forever changed the way drugs are sold.

• How OxyContin evolved from a niche cancer pain medication into one of the biggest public health disasters in American history, including the FDA decisions and marketing strategy that helped fuel the opioid epidemic.

• The Sackler family’s philanthropic empire, why it became a form of reputational protection, and how the Supreme Court ultimately dismantled the legal shield they hoped would end the litigation against them.

• The McKinsey consulting role in helping Purdue Pharma boost OxyContin sales even after the addiction crisis was well established—and how that story first came to light.

• The inside story of Case Closed—why Random House initially rejected it, how my conclusions evolved during years of research, and why defending the lone-assassin evidence remains one of the least popular positions in America.

• Reflections on God’s Bankers, several of my other books, and where my reporting is headed next.

It’s less an interview than a master class on investigative reporting, writing nonfiction, and staying with a story long enough to uncover something genuinely new.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of my books and reporting—the dead ends, the breakthroughs, the research process, and the conversations that never make it onto the page—I think you’ll find it worthwhile.

You can watch the full interview here:

If you do watch it, I’d love to know what you think.

Back to the regular dispatches next week.

—Gerald

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