In Addicted America, Unreported World is on the streets of St Louis and inside a fentanyl epidemic that has killed more people than Covid and is disproportionately affecting Black people. Across the United States, for the first time ever, over 100,000 people have died from drug overdoses in a 12-month period, the vast majority from fentanyl, an opioid painkiller 50 times more potent than heroin and much cheaper to buy. It’s a grim reality that is only getting worse, with its devastating effects being felt everywhere. Not least in rust belt middle-America towns like St Louis, which not only has one of the highest murder rates in the US, but last year also saw 436 overdose deaths. Reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy explores the efforts being made to save St Louis from the deadly synthetic opioid. Guru-Murthy meets residents trying to dull the pain of their life on the streets with fentanyl. He learns that many of St Louis’ addicts are homeless or prostitutes. Made in China and smuggled via drug cartels in Mexico, fentanyl is flooding America at an alarming rate. One St Louis dealer describes making thousands of dollars a day selling to regular customers. In St Louis, the racial disparities are stark. A fifth of all city residents live in poverty, but Black people are three times more likely than White people to be affected. And in North St Louis, derelict buildings have become the hallmark of a fast-shrinking deindustrialised city. Guru-Murthy meets Pastor Bryan Moore, who explains how drug use has become a form of self-medication for a neglected, fearful community. Now his church tries to instil a sense of discipline in those he’s trying to save. He tells them: ‘No one is going to save you. You are responsible for yourselves.’ Prod/Dir: Nick Blakemore; Series Prod: Andy Lee; Exec Prod: Ed Fraser; Prod Co: Channel 4