
03 October 2025
From bank robber to scholar: the Knoxville dropout fighting to change how we see addiction
The Audio Long Read
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Kirsten Smith was 19 when she first tried heroin; within a few years she was in prison. She says she willingly made bad choices and wants society to stop treating addiction as a disease By Xi Chen. Read by Katherine Fenton. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod