Roughly one in eight Americans use some kind of anti-anxiety medication. Take Your Pills: Xanax looks specifically at the proliferation of Xanax in the US, featuring interviews with mental health experts and people who currently use or have used the drug.

Dr. Anna Lembke

Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University and an addiction medicine specialist. She says drugs like Xanax are helpful in moderation in the short term but are often overprescribed and overused to the point of dependency.

Lembke has appeared in the 2020 Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma about the human impact of Big Tech and the 2021 HBO docuseries The Crime of the Century about Big Pharma’s role in the national opioid addiction.

Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary

Dennis-Tiwary is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Hunter College in New York City. She provides insight into the neurological processes that occur from anxiety and the usage of anti-anxiety medications like Xanax.

Dennis-Tiwary appeared as a mental health expert in the 2021 documentary I Am Gen Z, about the psychological impact of the digital revolution on the first generation to be born in the 21st century.

Scott Stossel

Stossel is a journalist and an editor for The Atlantic magazine. He also wrote a book about his personal struggle with anxiety. In this documentary, he discusses his use of Xanax over the years and offers broader observations about anti-anxiety drug usage in the US.

Stossel has previously spoken on this topic as a guest on The Colbert Report and Charlie Rose.

You can follow Stossel on Twitter.