How did 13th stepping become so common in the recovery world and who can hold people accountable? Lauren looks into the history of the addiction treatment industry; goes in search of the people, government agencies, and industry groups that are supposed to oversee it; and does a deep dive into its most pervasive cultural force: AA and the 12 steps. She finds a lot of good intentions, alongside a lot of problems.

The 13th Step is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Document team. More at 13thsteppodcast.org.

To support investigative journalism like The 13th Step at NHPR, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices