Since 2020, The New York Times Presents has provided eye-opening documentaries investigating the biggest stories of the day to the public, earning a slew of accolades for their journalism. Fresh off of their Emmy-nominated film Framing Britney Spears, their latest documentary, Move Fast & Vape Things, is a deep dive into the rise of the e-cigarette company Juul, now available to stream on Hulu.
Directed by John Pappas, this latest film covers how Juul grew from a novel idea from two Stanford students to help prevent smoking to a, at one point, multi-billion dollar corporation with addiction controversies of its own. The film includes insider interviews, including with former F.D.A. commissioner Scott Gottlieb and the creative director behind the viral marketing campaign that helped put Juul on the map — and garner lawsuits. The New York Times also got a hold of a new source in the Juul story — a member of a public health journal who resigned upon hearing Juul sponsored an issue defending vaping.
It seems full of stunning revelations regarding how Juul conducted business and switched its image to capitalize on addicts, but also on how the F.D.A. and other sources failed to stop it. Gottlieb’s interview focuses on the regrets he had from his time as commissioner and his impression of Juul and vaping when they rose in popularity. The trailer also highlights the concern that Juul and vaping, in general, would attract kids. Expect a long, illuminating breakdown of how this modern addiction crisis began in the first place.
Move Fast & Vape Things is the eighth film from The New York Times Presents, a series that began as a manner of bringing modern news stories closer to viewers and in great depth. It’s a product of the crew behind The Weekly, a weekly docu-series from The New York Times that visualizes a contemporary news story in a typical half-hour TV show format. Aside from Framing Britney Spears, The New York Times Presents also released the NAACP Image Award-winning film The Killing of Breonna Taylor.
Check out the trailer below for The New York Times’ exploration into the world of vaping, now available to stream on Hulu: