Nudge

• The most destructive ad campaign in history

  How did a marketing campaign lead to one of the worst public health disasters in American history?  In this episode, I investigate the rise and fall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical empire they built, and the marketing tactics that got millions addicted to opioids. You’ll learn: How reframing turned OxyContin from a last resort into a “safe” everyday drug. Why a vague letter (not a study) became the foundation for Purdue’s 1% addiction claim. How the Sacklers used doctors, pain groups, and celebrities to exploit authority bias. Why repeating a false claim makes it more believable (feat. the mere exposure effect). How behavioural science helped sell a deadly drug—and what we can learn from it. --- Shatterproof non-profit: https://shatterproof.org/ Empire of Pain:  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612861/empire-of-pain-by-patrick-radden-keefe/ Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ --- Sources: ABC News. (2025). Purdue Pharma, Sackler family to pay $7.4 billion opioid settlement [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n2uuX1NaQo LastWeekTonight. (2016). Opioids: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pdPrQFjo2o CBS News. (2019). OxyContin maker facing over 2,000 opioid death-related lawsuits [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwGGlEFKrSs ABC News. (2019). Local governments file lawsuit against the family behind OxyContin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSDhuhLedg CBS News. (2022). Trump Organization’s accounting firm cuts ties over financial statements [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csAS4WLvMao BBC News. (2013). Serpentine Sackler Gallery Opening [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YThcpSZIN0c CBS New York. (2021). Metropolitan Museum Of Art Will Remove Sackler Name From Galleries [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_u29BL2CQE CBC News. (2019). Dozens Storm The Guggenheim Museum In Protest Of Donor [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci_yOI3Wyto CBS News. (2019). Protestors stage a “Die In” at the Guggenheim Museum in New York [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYVvIwbxX2I CNBC Television. (2020). Would have done ‘nothing’ differently in opioid crisis: Kathe Sackler says [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRl-Zjyf2UE STAT. (2017). 1998 Purdue Pharma marketing video [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaxlJXpwkzs GoLocal LIVE. (2019). Purdue Pharmaceutical Commercial 1998-Oxycontin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCOl1exq3IM CBS News. (2017). Behind Purdue Pharma’s marketing of OxyContin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-jxKPpMvmA LastWeekTonight. (2019). Opioids III: The Sacklers: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaCaIhfETsM LastWeekTonight. (2021). McKinsey: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOUojVd6xQ CBS News. (2018). Whistleblower: Purdue Pharma continued deceptive sales practices after guilty plea [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5qQf3Po31M Washington Post. (2019). Inside the opioid industry’s marketing machine [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlpd40CpT0 CBC News. (2018). How One Man Made The Opioid Crisis Possible [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2AUIBB34nI CBC News. (2019). Nan Goldin ‘Blizzard of Prescriptions’ Sackler Pain Guggenheim Protest & Die-In 2/9/19 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2A4Tb8cOxE Keefe, P. R. (2021). Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Doubleday.  Cialdini, R. B. (2006). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Revised ed.). Harper Business.

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• Louis Grenier’s Extremely Uncensored Take on Marketing

  Today's episode of Nudge is a little different. The no-nonsense marketing expert Louis Grenier gives his uncensored, uncut, and explicit take on marketing (and life). ---  Buy Louis's book: https://link.stfo.io/amazon Sign up for STFO: https://www.stfo.io/newsletter Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/  Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/

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  1:04:29
• One simple trick to improve your memory

  There is one straightforward trick to help you remember more. Today, Dr. Ranganath reveals why testing yourself (even when you fail) can supercharge your memory.  You’ll learn: Why re-reading notes doesn’t work, but testing yourself does. How a study with dental students proved the power of error-driven learning. Why guessing the answer before hearing it makes information stick. The science-backed technique that beats cramming for exams. How I memorised my (embarrassing) best man speech  ---- Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ Charan’s book Why We Remember: https://charanranganath.com/  ---- Sources: Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Über das Gedächtnis: Untersuchungen zur experimentellen Psychologie. Duncker & Humblot. Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L., III. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science, 319(5865). Liu, X. L., O’Reilly, R. C., & Ranganath, C. (2021). Effects of retrieval practice on tested and untested information: Cortico-hippocampal interactions and error-driven learning. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 75, 125–155. Ranganath, C. (2024). Why we remember: Unlocking memory’s power to hold on to what matters. Doubleday. Roediger, H. L., III, & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3). Shotton, R. (2023). The illusion of choice: 16 ½ psychological biases that influence what we buy. Harriman House. Varghese, A. S., Sankeshwari, R. M., Ankola, A. V., Santhosh, V. N., Chavan, P., Hampiholi, V., Khot, A. J. P., & Shah, M. A. (2024). Effectiveness of error-based active learning compared to conventional lecture-based method among undergraduate dental students: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 13, 268.

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  22:40
• Will tips from a 102-year-old marketing book work in 2025?

  Back in 1923, Claude Hopkins wrote the definitive book on advertising. David Ogilvy said the book “changed his life,” and over eight million copies of the book have been sold. But are the 102-year-old tips still accurate today? In this episode of Nudge, I find out.  You’ll learn: Why the phrase “Food Shot Through Guns” helped sell more cereal.  How a sewing machine manufacturer increased his sales 9-fold.  The four predictions Hopkins got wrong.  And evidence-backed studies that reveal what he got right.  ---- Download the Reading List: https://nudge.kit.com/readinglist Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/  ---- Sources: BBC. (2016). Corsodyl: How an unnerving ad campaign works. BBC News. Behavioural Insights Team. (2013). Applying behavioural insights to charitable giving. Government & Society. Berger, J., Moe, W. W., & Schweidel, D. A. (2023). What holds attention? Linguistic drivers of engagement. Journal of Marketing, 87(5). https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429231152880 Berger, J., Sorensen, A. T., & Rasmussen, S. J. (2010). Positive effects of negative publicity: When negative reviews increase sales. Marketing Science, 29(5). https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1090.0557 Harris, K. [Kamala Harris]. (2024, March 1). Enemy Within | Harris-Walz 2024 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQnugO8SEx0 Hopkins, C. (1923). Scientific advertising. Printers’ Ink Publishing Company. Hüttel, B. A., Schumann, J. H., & Wagner, C. J. (2018). How consumers assess free e-services: The role of benefit-inflation and cost-deflation effects. Journal Name, 21(3). Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Monnier, A., & Thomas, M. (2022). Experiential and analytical price evaluations: How experiential product description affects prices. Journal of Consumer Research, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4046802 Pick, D. F., Sweeney, J., & Clay, J. A. (1991). Creative advertising and the von Restorff effect. Psychological Reports, 69(3, Pt 1), 923–926. https://doi.org/10.2466/PR0.69.7.923-926 Rogers, T., & Lasky-Fink, J. (2023). Writing for busy readers: Communicate more effectively in the real world. Schindler, R. M., & Yalch, R. (2006). It seems factual, but is it? Effects of using sharp versus round numbers in advertising claims. Advances in Consumer Research, 33, 586-590. Association for Consumer Research. Sutherland, S. (1992). Irrationality. Pinter Publishers. Trump, D. J. [Donald J Trump]. (2023, September 12). Wolves [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/pxz9sxUqgsE Weiner, M. (Writer), & Draper, M. (Director). (2008). Mad Men (Season 1, Episode 11) [TV series episode]. In M. Weiner (Producer), Mad Men. Lions Gate Television.

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  23:12
• Can you implant fake memories?

  In 1980, Michelle Smith published a book that triggered the Satanic Panic, a worldwide fear that Satan worshippers were recruiting millions to embrace satanism.  Today, I explore the surprising science of false memories with Dr. Charan Ranganath, author of Why We Remember. Dr. Ranganath reveals how memory is more imagination than recollection, why some people vividly remember things that never happened, and why the Satanic Panic was based on fiction not fact.  You’ll learn: How Michelle Remembers sparked the Satanic Panic and shaped public fear. Why memories “recovered” in therapy can feel real but be completely false. How a memory expert misremembered her own mother’s death. The shocking study where 40% of participants believed they committed a crime they never did. ---- Download the Reading List: https://nudge.kit.com/readinglist Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ Charan’s book Why We Remember: https://charanranganath.com/ ---- Sources: 60 Minutes Australia. (1989). Teens cruel ‘sacrificial’ offering to Satan in quiet country town [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/yiN27M0akuY Bartlett, F. C. (1928b). Types of imagination. Philosophy, 3(9), 78–85. Bartlett, F. C. (1932). Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychology. Cambridge University Press. KABC News. (1988). Devil worship: Satanic panic circa 1988 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/RGxf7G3Xpj4 Kassin, S. M. (2008). False confessions: Causes, consequences, and implications for reform. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(4), 249–253. Loftus, E. F. (2005). Planting misinformation in the human mind: A 30-year investigation of the malleability of memory. Learning & Memory, 12(4), 361–366. Loftus, E. F., & Pickrell, J. E. (1995). The formation of false memories. Psychiatric Annals, 25(12), 720–725. Loftus, E. F., Miller, D. G., & Burns, H. J. (1978). Semantic integration of verbal information into a visual memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4(1), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.4.1.19 Magnetic Memory Museum. (1994). Law enforcement guide to Satanic cults [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/VTJ0_BABexo Ranganath, C. (2024). Why we remember: Unlocking memory’s power to hold on to what matters. Doubleday. Roever, D. (1989). Exposing the Satanic web [Video]. Rcom Productions. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Hgymy7VlhT8 Shaw, J., & Porter, S. (2015). Constructing rich false memories of committing crime. Psychological Science, 26(3), 291–301. Unknown Author. (1990). Satanic cults & ritual crime [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/byUvJDXqxa4 Winfrey, O. (1989). Oprah Winfrey Show 1989: Ritual sacrifice of babies [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/BRninYpnlzM

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