Heart of the Matter

May 9, 2023 is National Fentanyl Awareness Day, a day to spread awareness and education about this deadly substance that is increasingly affecting young people. Award-winning author and journalist Sam Quinones, whose books “Dreamland” and “The Least of Us” explore the nation’s opioid epidemic, returns to “Heart of the Matter” to talk with Elizabeth Vargas about some of the most popular questions o...

“Big Sky” actress Dedee Pfeiffer speaks to Elizabeth Vargas about how she silently struggled with an addiction to alcohol, stemming from years of unresolved trauma. But with support from her family, she sought out professional help and has been in recovery for nearly five years. They discuss how Dedee’s family continues to support her in her recovery, how she helped her sister – actress Michelle P...

Elizabeth Vargas is joined by “Desperate Housewives” actress Madison De La Garza to talk about marijuana use disorder and the role her famous family plays in her recovery. While starring as Juanita on “Desperate Housewives” at just six years old, she was a victim to vicious cyberbullying comments about her appearance, which caused her to develop anxiety, an eating disorder and a marijuana use diso...

“Same Love” singer-songwriter Mary Lambert opens up to Elizabeth Vargas about how experiencing childhood trauma, including sexual assault, being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and a difficult relationship with the church as a queer woman, led to her intentionally misusing alcohol for many years. Now two years without alcohol, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter explains how writing music and...

Elizabeth Vargas sits down with actor Matthew Perry for an emotional conversation recorded during his book tour for his bestselling book, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.” Matthew shares an incredibly honest, inside look at his decades-long struggle with an alcohol and substance use disorder. Despite his wildly successful career, things were not as perfect for Matthew as they appeared...

Tommy Davidson’s childhood was anything but textbook. Discovered on the streets as a toddler by his adoptive white mother, he faced alienation from those who looked down on his interracial upbringing, and strife from a society clinging to racial barriers. But a breakout role on the now-iconic ‘90s sitcom “In Living Color” soon thrust him into fame—and into the throes of addiction.  Tune into the l...

As a child, best-selling author David Magee felt that his life purpose was to write a book that could change lives. He recently told his remarkable journey of triumph in the face of trauma in his book “Dear William: A Father’s Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love, and Loss.” A few years ago, David lost his son William to an accidental overdose just one year after his other son Hudson was in a three...

This week on Heart of the Matter, actor and author Cameron Douglas, son of Michael Douglas, opens up to Elizabeth Vargas about his incredible recovery journey, as told in his book, “Long Way Home.” Cameron began using substances at 13-years-old, which quickly progressed into a serious addiction. He recounts that even after many years of struggling, including nearly seven years in prison, his paren...

As an actress, comedian and Playboy model, Jessica Landon appeared to have the perfect life. But deep down, she was silently suffering from unresolved childhood trauma. Jessica began drinking as a pre-teen and didn’t stop. She became so reliant on alcohol that it became “the only way I could survive in the world,” as she describes it. After experiencing a 16-day stay in the ICU involving multiple...

Bravo’s “Below Deck” star Captain Lee Rosbach opens up to Elizabeth Vargas on the season three premiere of Heart of the Matter about the excruciating pain he experienced after losing his son Joshua to a fentanyl poisoning. Captain Lee discloses that he and his family did not discuss Joshua’s substance use with friends or his fellow crew members for nearly 20 years. Now, he wants to help other fami...

In our latest episode of Heart of the Matter , host Elizabeth Vargas is joined by Harold Koplewicz, president and medical director of the Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit focused on helping children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders. Harold shares that one in five children and adolescents struggle with mental health or learning challenges and unfortunately, over 70...

In the latest episode of Heart of the Matter , Elizabeth Vargas is joined by actor Zachary Levi, who opens up about his lifelong struggle with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts while starring in hit television shows like Chuck and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and blockbuster movies like Shazam! and Tangled . Zachary shares that after living with anxiety and depression for most of his life, he...

In the latest episode of Heart of the Matter , Elizabeth Vargas is joined by investigator Paul Holes, New York Times bestselling author of “Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases.” Paul is known for his role in helping to solve high-profile homicide cases, including the notorious Golden State Killer. But his crime fighting success was masked by what was going on with Paul personally. He sp...

Join us for a bonus episode! Elizabeth recently joined Katie Couric for her podcast Next Question with Katie Couric to discuss the increasing use of alcohol, particularly among women, during the COVID-19 pandemic -- why women are drinking more now than ever; what factors may cause an increase in alcohol consumption; and what recovery looks like. Elizabeth and Katie also speak with two women in rec...

Like many families, Dr. Nora Volkow’s had kept it a secret that her grandfather had a substance use disorder and eventually committed suicide. Today, as the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health, she speaks out regularly about how important it is to share these stories to help other families impacted by addiction.   Dr. Volkow sits down with Heart of...

After a counterfeit tablet purchased on social media took their son Charlie’s life, Ed and Mary Ternan were determined to take action. Rather than blame social media companies for sales of dangerous substances, Ed and Mary saw an opportunity to make a change. They created the nonprofit Song for Charlie to raise awareness about fentanyl and fentanyl-laced substances being sold to young people on so...

After losing his son Danny Jr. to a substance-related shooting, Louisiana pharmacist Dan Schneider was determined to hold the powerful figures behind the nation’s opioid epidemic accountable. The critically acclaimed Netflix docuseries The Pharmacist recounts Dan’s rigorous quest to find answers about his son’s death, and his mission to stop the overprescribing of opioids taking place in his commu...

Physician and author Carl Erik Fisher is both a doctor who specializes in addiction treatment and a person who is very public about his own struggles with substance use, who is currently in recovery himself. With his highly praised book The Urge: Our History of Addiction , Dr. Fisher embarks on a feverish search for answers to age-old questions: What does it mean to struggle with addiction? Why is...

In 2015, award-winning author and journalist Sam Quinones took the world by storm with his heavily lauded book Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opioid Epidemic , an investigative work that helped awaken the nation to the devastation wreaked by OxyContin. With his newest release, The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth , Sam turns his attention to the r...

To many who knew him in his college days, Darren Waller had the ideal life: a star football player at Georgia Tech who had caught the eye of NFL scouts, he seemed predestined for a picture-perfect future. However, beneath this glossy veneer was someone who was struggling with opioid use, whose self-confidence was flagging, and whose passion for the game he had loved since he was a boy was evaporat...

In many ways, Michelle Lipinski is the principal of a high school just like any other. Students rush from class to class from the morning to afternoon, study hard for quizzes and exams, and wait for their senior prom with bated breath. However, one thing sets Northshore Recovery High School apart from most other schools in the nation: All of its students have a diagnosed substance use disorder.  ...

When the miniseries Dopesick premiered on Hulu in late 2021, it was to a world reeling from the conclusion of Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy proceedings – a settlement that infamously absolved the Sackler family of any opioid-related liability. The show, based on author Beth Macy’s eponymous account of the opioid crisis and starring Michael Keaton in his Golden Globe-winning return to television, dram...

This week, we’re re-airing one of our favorite interviews from Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas , featuring Anne and Sam Lamott . Bestselling novelist and essayist Anne Lamott had more than her share of experience with substance use disorders: Growing up with family members with addiction, she also had distinct memories of drinking as a child. Decades later, she watched as her son Sam beg...

This week, we’re re-airing one of our favorite episodes of Heart of the Matter , featuring author and founder of The Luckiest Club, Laura McKowen. When Laura first stopped drinking, she thought of it as “the end of all the color” in her life. But after weathering one particularly challenging night, she realized the magic that comes with being in recovery and feeling fully present in her life. Toge...

This week, we’re re-airing one of our favorite interviews from Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas featuring Emmy Award winner Patricia Heaton, star of Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle . While Patricia was working long hours on TV sets and taking care of her four young children, she kept her drinking at bay. But when those shows ended and her children had left the house, she started lo...