Drug overdose has become the leading cause of accidental death, and many public health, medical, and law enforcement officials are calling it an epidemic. Many of us either know someone who has been affected by addiction, in particular to opioid painkillers like OxyContin or to heroin. How did it come to this? Who is affected? And what’s being done to address the problem?

This hour-long documentary attempts to answer these questions. We dive deep into the world of addiction and recovery, hearing directly from users and overdose survivors. We explore the epidemiology of overdose with a researcher who studies drug abuse and overdose like you would a disease outbreak. And we ride along with police officers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; in the former, they’re considering equipping police with an overdose antidote called Narcan, and in the latter, they’ve already done it and are saving lives.

We also learn about additional efforts to prevent addiction and overdose from the doctors who prescribe painkillers to the policy experts who are looking for ways the state and other organizations can battle the problem. And we check in with addicts in recovery about what it takes to get sober.

The documentary takes place in New England but references to place are minimal; it would be relevant for listeners almost anywhere in the country.

We tell the story through scenes and characters, music and moments, and rigorous reporting.

All music used in this documentary is copyright free.

One infectious disease – Ebola – is dominating the headlines now. But there’s another that affects far more people around the world, including here in the U.S.

Baby boomers make up the majority of the estimated five million people who have hepatitis C. Most caught the disease – from sharing needles, or a blood transfusion - years before we even knew about the virus. And long before we learned to keep it out of our blood supply. It can take decades before symptoms emerge. Now their liver disease is so advanced, a wave of boomers are getting sick and dying from the disease.

But new infections are on the rise among young adults, mainly those who inject drugs. More than a dozen states have reported a 200 percent increase in new cases in the past couple of years. Call it a second boom of hepatitis C infections, a second epidemic quietly on the rise.

“And although it’s scary to look at this tidal wave of cirrhosis and end stage liver disease and liver cancer ahead of us, it’s a phenomenal and very unique opportunity in US history, in the global history, to say, you know what, we see this ahead, let’s come together now, let’s do something now," says one clinician who treats patients with hepatitis C.

In just a few weeks, another pharmaceutical company will likely win FDA approval for a new drug to cure hepatitis C. That makes three breakthrough medications hitting the market in less than a year. It’s big news for the estimated five million Americans living with chronic hepatitis C, because some have been waiting decades for a cure.

Next in our series “At The Crossroads: The Rise of Hepatitis C and the Fight to Stop it,” health care reporter Kristin Gourlay has the story of why one man waited so long for treatment.

Hep C is three times more prevalent among vets than in the general population. The Veterans Health Administration has the country’s largest hepatitis C screening and treatment program in the country. But that program is struggling to pay for new treatments – and the rising number of veterans who need them.

In 2014, tens of thousands of Americans died from accidental drug overdoses. Many more remain addicted to prescription painkillers and heroin. For those who inject the drugs, there’s another risk: hepatitis C. In the final story in our series “At the Crossroads,” we meet a team of outreach workers determined to find new infections before it’s too late.

On a summer morning in July three years ago, I was getting ready to go to work when my water broke. We headed to the hospital. And after laboring for a few hours, doctors said I needed an emergency C-section. When they pulled my son out, he wasn't breathing. And that's when my world turned upside down. I decided to go back and review the medical records from that day, interview those who were there, to do my own reporting about the worst - and best - day of my life.