“I Have One Goal: Keep You Alive”

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.

This episode is brought to you by ChatGPT Work. You know that feeling when feedback, notes, and data are coming in from every direction? ChatGPT Work can make sense of it all, turning scattered context across the apps you use every day into docs, sheets, slides, and more. With your permission, ChatGPT Work can gather context from apps and files, summarize incoming messages, rebuild decks, and help finalize high-quality documents for your team or clients. Stay in control as you move from a goal to polished work faster with ChatGPT Work. Download the ChatGPT desktop app today and take on your most ambitious work.

I recently received a Spoonful of Comfort package, and it was such a great surprise. Homemade soup, fresh rolls, cookies, and the sweetest presentation. I ended up sending one to my lead producer and friend, Megan Louvin, because I love her, and I love working with her to make a slight change of plans. She said it brought her a lot of comfort. So for moments big and small, recovery, celebration, or simply thinking of you, send a Spoonful of Comfort at sendaspoonful.com. Let's talk about something everyone has an opinion on, healthcare. We all know it should work better than it does. Optum believes that too, and they're trying to improve it. They're helping healthcare teams and pharmacy services work together, like bringing primary care and prescription drugs straight to your home so you can stay on top of your health. Optum's also building technology that connects the whole healthcare system so it can better take care of the whole person, you. Optum is making healthcare work as one for everyone. See what Optum's up to at optum.com. Pushkin.

He said, "I'm addicted to OxyContin, and I've been spending $4,000 a month on pills, and I'm taking care of it, and please don't tell Mom and Dad."

Stephanie Wittels Wachs and her little brother, Harris, shared everything with each other growing up. Girl problems, boy problems, friend drama, issues at school. So when Harris confessed to her as an adult that he was struggling with opioid addiction, she assumed they'd find a way forward, just like they always had. But Harris didn't survive his addiction, and in the years after his death, Steph immersed herself in research to learn as much as she could about this disease.

You know, I, I think everything I did wasn't, wasn't what I would have done now, and I think my entire understanding of what he was going through was completely opposed to what I believe now.

On today's episode, what one woman wished she knew about addiction before it took her brother's life. I'm Maya Shankar, a scientist who studies human behavior, and this is A Slight Change of Plans, a show about who we are and who we become in the face of a big change. When Harris died, he was a comedy star on the rise. He landed his first television job on the Sarah Silverman program at just 22 years old. From there, his career took off, leading him to the role he's best known for, writer and co-executive producer on NBC's Parks and Recreation. Steph talks candidly about her complicated journey navigating her brother's addiction. She wrote a beautiful