Backfired: Attention Deficit

by Leon Neyfakh (Author, Narrator)

ADHD may be the defining diagnosis of our time. According to the latest data, more than 10 percent of American children (that’s 7.1 million kids) have been diagnosed with ADHD. And the number of stimulant prescriptions for adults in their 30s has shot up nearly threefold since 2012, hitting 15.3 million in 2021. It’s increasingly common to hear people who haven’t been diagnosed at all say they’re “so ADHD,” as if it’s more of a personality trait—or a zodiac sign—than a medical condition. In recent years, this explosion in demand has combined with other factors—including federally mandated limits on production—to create a widespread stimulant shortage in the US.

In the second installment of Backfired, cohosts Leon Neyfakh and Arielle Pardes look at the unintended consequences of the ADHD industry and trace the surprising path that brought us here.

Backfired: Attention Deficit is the latest podcast from Prologue Projects, the award-winning team behind Slow Burn, Fiasco, and Think Twice: Michael Jackson, and the second season of the Backfired franchise, a show about what happens when solving one problem inadvertently leads to a host of new ones. Backfired: Attention Deficit follows the acclaimed first season Backfired: The Vaping Wars.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Science, Adhd, Self Help, Health, Politics

6 pages, Audible Audio

Published October 3, 2024

Reviews

[Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

logging a podcast on here feels like cheating but i listened to it as one thing on audible so i’m going with it. honestly gets a lot of points for being one of the only pieces of media on adhd i have seen that actually takes a nuanced view about both the disorder and medication. as someone who is part of the group that got diagnosed as an adult after seeing a bunch of tiktoks (and having friends that were diagnosed as kids that i realized i shared like almost all of the same issues with) and does take stimulant medication to like do my laundry without nearly having a panic attack, it was pretty sweet to have something that recognized that the online communities surrounding adhd are pretty bad to pathologize like genuinely everything while also recognizing that those communities have genuinely helped people, and also recognized that while there is a huge stimulant abuse issue and those drugs have become way too normalized they do also genuinely really really help some people. basically, the fact that the authors didn’t see solely in black or white was refreshing.

[Michelle N · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well researched and balanced summary of the history of ADD and ADHD and our current understanding of this disease.
It is scary to hear about the marketing and social media strategies deployed by the pharmaceutical companies to exploit people's vulnerabilities in our modern age.
As always, it is vital to do your own research before following the prevailing societal narrative (following the money is usually also insightful 😉).

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Podcast series turned audiobook.

This is a well done history of ADHD and stimulants as treatment. As a mother of three kids taking ADHD meds over the past 10 years, this was fascinating. My oldest, was started on ADHD meds after entering foster care while living in a group home . . . All the kids took them. He is now down to a very low dose and will soon be off them. I’m not sure he ever had ADHD. My other two are absolutely ADHD.

Although this did not change any of my plans for my kids, it was fascinating information to add to my ten year of experience and research.

I remember the pandemic years when my husband would attend masterminds and everyone seemed to be newly diagnosed as ADHD. He was considering for a time getting a diagnosis, but knowing what I know, I laughed and said, “NO WAY!”

Glad we made it through that time without succumbing.

[Megan Pisula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Podcast turned “audiobook” but very interesting regardless.

[Soquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched. This series posed important questions about ADHD. It gave the history, the attempts to define what it is, the influence of big pharma, and how the 2020 pandemic played a part in the diagnosing of adults with ADHD. I appreciated the inclusion of controversial topics related to the science of ADHD and the types of medications used in its treatment.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting points, but I actually think a lot of the messaging is harmful.
I was left with the impression that it's over diagnosed, over medicated and that's a problem. I think it's trying to come off as balanced but it fails... I think the clue was in the name.
When I've shared I'm on the waiting list I've had people saying to me "oh did you diagnose yourself from tictoc?" I've had a life time of incremental diagnosis' and I've been medicated for anxiety and depression when what would have been a more appropriate diagnosis was ADHD and the relevant support, possibly including medications.
I just found this book a bit short sited. ADHD exists in a complex medical and sociological context, and whilst it touches on that it doesn't posit any solutions other than tut tutting at ADHD.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

End of 2023 I was diagnosed with adhd at the age of 46 with a serious concern about going down the medication route. Which is what lead me to listen to this story. I’ve ended up with more questions about this topic than I had prior to listening, the way the authors/hosts tell the story is ADHD is real but the medication side has created an ethical question who came 1st the chicken or the egg. While medication does help some which medication is right? While being diagnosed is helpful for some there are others who are using it for a privilege and like an enhancement drug.

[Ashlie Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD, and I’ve also tried medications, and I found this audiobook/podcast to be very fair and balanced, and really interesting. It hits on a point that I’ve felt for a while, that the diagnosing and treatment of ADHD needs work. I’ve been disenchanted with my experience getting diagnosed and treated to the extent that I’ve questioned my own diagnosis and become somewhat skeptical of the drugs, though they do seem to seriously help a segment of the population. ADHD is a divisive topic for a reason, we still don’t fully know what we’re doing.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audio book is broken into 10 podcast style chapters on ADHD and the medication prescribed. The history of ADHD and medication development for the diagnosis is interesting and helps guide listeners to a better understanding of the rise in diagnoses, as well as the benefits and side effects of medication use. The audio book consists of research discussion, past interviews, and conference panels, which prevents information in a way that is easy for most readers to comprehend.

[Sarah Meldrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave a fairly balanced history on ADHD as a diagnosis, special ed law, and medicine production. I liked hearing the varying perspectives of diagnosed children and adults, parents, teachers, and doctors regarding law, medicine, the human experience, etc. Super insightful, if a bit biased, last chapter on the effects of social media and the telehealth market as major components of the ADHD medicine shortage. The audible narrators did a great job too!

[Uka · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

Pretty well balanced book that talks about the problems of self diagnosis and big pharma, while also legitimizing ADHD as something that needs to be diagnosed and treated. Learnt quite a bit I didn’t know before and left me thinking.

I like primary sources too, which is always good for a book like this.

However I do wish they go deeper in some places. That’s just me being curious though.

[Samantha Laughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking, factual, and deliberate. Well balanced accounts of those living with ADHD, the impact of “Big Pharma” and its direct correlation with public perception, the rise of diagnoses post- COVID lockdown and in the age of social media, and the complexities of pegging an accurate description of symptoms, particularly in females, throughout the DSM and all of its revisions.

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of ADHD,

super interesting, as an ADHD person with neruodivergent kids.

Too funny that it all started with Sputnik! How dare those evil russians beat the US in the space race? How did this happen? Their children pay attention in school, while ours are allowed to play??? We should make them all sit still and stare at the blackboard.

4 stars

[Becka - Phee Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good, informative and short audiobook. I feel it did a strong job of highlighting the complex issues surrounding ADHD, and served as a good reminder that people, and the way they learn, are complicated. I enjoyed learning about the history of ADHD, including how it has been perceived, treated, and marketed.

[Nathan Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

About 80% through.... this one seems very pro-drug so far and I don't think it's presented the drawbacks of Ritalin or Adderal yet. I say that as a kid who was force-fed Ritalin by last school administrators for a better part of 12 years. I'll update my review if it gets better.

[AttackGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why is no one exp leftist not concerned why is a govt controlled doctors, medication… research? So why complain about WWII?

Why is a researcher concerned about medicine or business that is NOT his business,his is to do research unbiased, period!

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

The critique of the pharmaceutical industry is necessary, but there are more than a few times throughout where the “skepticism” is obviously coming from bias based on one of the reporters having abused ADHD meds in college. I mean…

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have anyone in your life that has ADD or ADHD this story brings out so many facts, about how this disorder became a diagnosis, the history of treatment and management, and if you ever been the parent that’s been so frustrated trying to get those meds filled it explains that also.

[lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable history, interviews, science.

[Angelica Roman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This…. This was everything.

[Danii Savage · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was informative, but the conclusion was a bit lacking.

[Tim Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history and very interesting start to finish!

[Deanna Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it a podcast or a book? I do find the topic fascinating and enjoyed the series!

[Taylor G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting listen. I listened to it because I have a daughter that has ADHD and I was hoping to learn more. I come away more confused about it then ever.

[Monica Abercrombie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed exploration of ADHD with informative context. As someone whose daughter was diagnosed at a young age I really related to Jericho licking the salt lamp.

[Leanne Paolazzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Podcast turned book

[Aderinola Adewopo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!

[Aldo Quispel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a book but a series of podcasts about the history and effects of ADHD medication. I originally picked it up on Audible thinking it was about perhaps about how current social media, tech and all is effecting our attention. But it clearly was not. Yet I sicked with it and really enjoyed it.

Its a very well researched and indepth look at the entire history of ADHD medication. Highlighting both its positives and negatives. And also just a good historical document. I of course am no expert on the subject. So I cannot say much about how correct it all is. But it sounds like they did they research.

From learning simply fun trivia facts where the name of Ritalin came from to how polical climate and action groups swayed both the views on ADHD itself and on its medication. Learning about the effects of the cold war on it, but also how actually Scientology was behind much of the misinformation even I believed as being 'medical facts' about the medication. Learing they simply are not true. But also how its became an industry just to push pills. With companies making the diagnosis of ADHD something just to sell more pills.

The true power is that these podcasts showcase all sides and that there is no clear preconception we, or at least I had, about ADHD medication that is correct. It simply 'is complicated' (but also not). Mainly its just not as you think it is.

I would recommend this for anyone interested in the subject. I actually had no original interest in it when starting it, but was captivated by it none the less.