Every day, drug overdoses kill 142 people. That’s more than car crashes and gun homicides -- combined. Prescription opioids and heroin are the prime contributors to these statistics. Heroin use in the U.S. has more than doubled, and heroin deaths have more than quadrupled just in the past decade. So, we ask ourselves, what will it take to beat this epidemic? In the latest episode of Spit, host Baratunde Thurston explores addiction, the relationship between genetics and the environmental experiences that may have led to early drug use and, ultimately, the journey to recovery. Baratunde speaks first-hand with the people who are actively using their experience, their influence and their voices to help understand what it takes to overcome addiction. In part one, Baratunde sits with Nikki Sixx -- The founding member and bassist of Motley Crue and Sixx A.M, a three-time New York Times best-selling author, a philanthropist and an addiction recovery advocate; and Dr. Adi Jaffe, mental health and addiction specialist, lecturer at UCLA and author of The Abstinence Myth. In part two of this episode, we go further to understand the science of addiction. Whether addiction is something we are born with and what triggers we need to avoid. Baratunde speaks with Drs. Abraham Palmer and Sandra Sanchez Roige from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry to understand their latest research where they discovered a genetic signature that correlates a person’s ability to delay gratification with reduced chances of addictive behavior. Could we be closer to having more answers? Join us for a real, raw and powerful conversation that calls on all of us to do our part in understanding the science behind addiction and what it takes to beat it. Nikki Sixx continues to advocate for greater awareness, research and financial support to end the opioid addiction. For more on his journey, check out his book The Heroin Diaries  Visit Dr. Adi Jaffe is currently supporting the launch of his latest book dedicated to helping others overcome addiction The Abstinence Myth. Visit Dr. Palmer and Dr. Sanchez Roige continue to develop breakthrough research on the science of addiction and the relationship between Genetics and Alcoholism Research Study Spit is an iHeartRadio podcast with 23andMe. Enjoy this episode and subscribe, rate and review Spit on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to tell your friends all about it. Find out more about our host Baratunde Thurston at Baratunde.com or sign up for his text messages at 202-902-7949.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers