[Janae Pierre] New York City nurses returned to work a couple weeks ago after the union's longest strike ever. On today's episode, we dive into what caused thousands of nurses to walk off the job in the first place and what negotiations were made to get them back into hospitals.

“When you're in addiction, you live in a dark place. You don’t associate with too many people,” said Quidone, who credits her online followers with helping her kick a drug habit that lasted more than 20 years. “But seeing that there was people that really cared about my wellbeing and was willing to help me, it really made me wanna change the way I was living.”

Before the pandemic, Alisha had a marketing job at a cosmetics company and spent her free time exercising, baking and going out with friends. Since getting COVID at the end of 2020, she has been dogged by chronic fatigue and other long-term symptoms that prevent her from working or even walking to the end of her block on most days. Many of her outings involve commuting to doctors’ appointments like this one via Uber.

Dr. Joanna Fried’s first client of the day on a recent hot June morning in East Harlem was a woman sitting on the curb in a wheelchair under a heavy blanket, which she pulled over her head when she saw Fried approach from across the street. As a psychiatrist with Janian Medical Care, a group that describes itself as the largest provider of psychiatric services to homeless and formerly homeless New Yorkers, Fried’s work is often an exercise in patience.

In this area, used needles are easy to come by. Zyre Howard, who’s staying at a nearby homeless shelter, turned in 55 during a “buy back” Monday and got $10, the maximum amount one can earn per day at one of the locations where the van stops. “It’s awesome,” Howard said of the city’s recently launched Community Syringe Redemption Program. “It's a way for people to make money and we’re cleaning up the streets. So that's a win-win.”

In recent years, there's been an increase in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids and cocaine. Is this phenomenon mostly driven by unsuspecting cocaine users getting spiked drugs? Or are people intentionally using more than one substance to get high? From member station WNYC, Caroline Lewis investigates.

VICE writer Caroline Lewis explains in her recent article that now many DIY cultural spaces are trying to pivot from the underground to the mainstream in order to survive. She asks, “Can they fix their finances and legal status without letting The Man get them down?” We find out on this episode of The VICE Guide To Right Now Podcast.

A dawn concert series at the DIY space and artist collective known as the Silent Barn created a new soundtrack for waking up in Brooklyn.