As a follow-up to our series The Prescription Drug Playbook — all about how you can get the meds you need at a price you can (maybe) afford — we’re stepping back to look at the big picture.

From the start of this podcast, we’ve been trying to answer a major question: Why do my meds cost so freaking much? And we’ve highlighted the profit-seeking games that insurance, pharma, and middlemen play all around us in more than a half dozen episodes.

But there’s one set of players on the field that we’ve never talked about: drug distributors, and how they play a role in another reason you may not be able to get your medicine: drug shortages.

This story comes from our friends at Organized Money, a podcast about monopolies, from writers and journalists David Dayen and Matt Stoller.

We think you’re going to like it.

In the meantime, check out the latest installment of our First Aid Kit newsletter for a rundown of our previous coverage of drug costs.

Here’s a transcript of this episode.

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