John H. from the We Agnostics Group in Washington DC makes another appearance on the podcast to talk about deprogramming from AA. The word “deprogramming” may seem strong, but for those of us who have spent some time in traditional AA, didn’t we have to unlearn a few things? I know that I did, and […]

Angela B. provides an ICSAA update and talks about the One Big Tent Secular AA Conference to be held in Langley, British Columbia on May 16, 2020. Jamison M. joined in by phone to talk about starting a secular AA meeting in Lodi, New Jersey. It’s an interesting story that involves help from a person […]

As storm Ciara tore its path across the United Kingdom, somewhere in London, Jeremy P. hunkered down and spoke with me for this podcast. A few weeks prior to recording this episode, Jeremy sent me a very thoughtful email about his difficulty identifying with many of the AA speakers he hears on various podcasts. He […]

In this episode, I spoke with Erik Haines , a public health advocate in Canada who has studied and written about how changing attitudes regarding addiction and recovery are impacting public policy, treatment options, and new modes of support for people recovering from addictions of all kinds.   Links to some of Erik’s work: “We the […]

Jaren recently completed an ultra marathon, a 100 mile trek, and while running his thoughts took him back to when he was twenty-five years old and  went to his first AA meeting. The people in the room gave him hope because he could relate with them and they to him. At that first meeting, a […]

Tom S. was the featured speaker on January 5, 2019. Originally from Alabama, Tom shared his story of addiction and recovery. After he spoke, an interesting discussion ensued on the topic of the primary purpose in AA and whether or not drug addicts are welcomed to attend AA meetings. Transcript Well, thanks for coming, everyone. […]

Angela and I concluded our series on the Twelve Steps by live streaming this episode on YouTube and taking calls. Glenn G. from Jacksonville called in and talked about his work with his Area to have a secular AA workshop at the Florida State convention. It was a fun conversation fitting for this step, which […]

PJ, originally from Ireland, migrated to Sydney in in 1989 and got sober in 1993. Having come from an Irish tradition of oral storytelling he naturally gravitated towards the wonderful Sydney AA storytellers, who shared their experience, strength, and hope. This has proven to be a mainstay of his sobriety with the tried and tested […]

Continuing with our Wednesday Secular Speaker Series, today we present to you Lisa K. who spoke at the KC Secular AA Speaker Meeting on December 8, 2018. Lisa, a Korean adoptee shares her experience as an adoptee and how it impacted her alcoholism and recovery. Transcript Hi. Thank you. My name’s Lisa. I’m an alcoholic. […]

Angela and I had a nice conversation about Step 11, which in its traditional wording seems difficult for a secular person to even be interested in pursuing. However, for me and for Angela as well, this step wasn’t about making a conscious contact with a god. I liked the way that Angela described this step. […]