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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Millions of Americans use cannabis and would like to think the products they buy are safe. But regulation is state by state and full of holes. NPR's new series digs into the risks and solutions. -
The White House says fentanyl smuggled to the U.S. justifies tariffs against Canada, China and Mexico. But fentanyl deaths and smuggling have been dropping fast — and Canada plays almost no role. -
Fact checking RFK Jr.: No, antidepressants are not harder to quit than heroin. -
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. survived heroin addiction and says that if confirmed as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, he'll build treatment "farms" to help people recover. -
As Ukraine's line of defense grows thin, this unit is using a modernized Soviet-era vehicle to stop Russian forces from crossing the river and taking Kherson. -
Local government officials around the U.S. signal they won't assist — and in some cases they'll actively oppose — the Trump administration's efforts to conduct a massive deportation of migrants. -
State AGs have reached a new opioid settlement worth $7.4 billion with Purdue Pharma and its owners. The settlement does not give Sackler family members immunity from future opioid lawsuits.
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The ruling bars U.S. agencies from implementing the order to end birthright citizenship for children born to migrants in the U.S. temporarily or without legal status while the case is under review. -
The Trump administration says it will no longer consider churches and schools off limits to agents tracking down and arresting migrants without legal status.
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Russia appears to be using drone attacks on civilians to train young pilots, says a Ukrainian lawmaker with ties to Ukraine's military. One city has been hit by hundreds of drone strikes this year.
