As America is beginning to wrap its arms around the fentanyl crisis, a new kind of drug epidemic is emerging. It is faster, more addictive, more lethal and powered by synthetic drugs — substances that can be made almost anywhere. Matt Richtel, a science and health reporter, and Azam Ahmed, an international investigative correspondent, have been pursuing a series of stories looking at the rise of ultra-potent lab-made drugs. On today’s episode of “The Daily,” Azam explains how these drugs are beginning to take hold and brings us inside the effort to do something about it. Guest: Azam Ahmed, an international investigative correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading:  No pills or needles, just paper: This is how deadly drugs are changing. Photo: Meridith Kohut for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.