Our cultural stereotype of "typical addict" is someone who is homeless, jobless, whose life is visibly broken. But who are the people behind that stigmatized label and how can we best help them? Liz Evans has spent her career learning and living out those answers.

Heroin-Assisted treatment, giving pure heroin to heroin-addicted people in a clinic alongside support services, is DECREASING addiction and death. Why is something so counter-intuitive working? Johann Hari walks us through the research on legalized heroin and recovery, and the vision for each of us using the voice we have to effect change, because "Courage calls to courage everywhere." 

Johann Hari, author of "Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs" joins us to talk about how the US exported the Drug War globally, and why chaos and violence don't have to be part of the drug market. Also addressing the objection that just because we legalize drugs doesn't mean gangsters will go away. Will they?

For most of history, all drugs were legal. Johann Hari, author of "Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs" explores why we started the Drug War 100 years ago. If you've thought, "Surely there were solid reasons for prohibition in the beginning, even if there have been harms," this is a great introduction to historical evidence for prohibition.

Mike & Christina spent much of their lives as supporters of tough-on-crime, tough-on-drugs policies. From Christina who's still never seen an illegal drug in real life, to Mike riding for hours in delivery trucks with formerly incarcerated people, our paths were different. This is the story of what changed our minds. 

We delve into three common questions about reform and their answers, including the question of morality.

James Moore, from Hattiesburg, MS, shares what he learned through his son's addiction and tragic death from an overdose, and how he uses his small business to bring life and hope to other families. Challenging, helpful, and hopeful. 

We answer 4 of the most common objections to changing our drug laws, including if we're giving up on "law and order," and whether our children will have more access. 

We make the case for why a regulated market is the best way forward so we have less death, addiction, destroyed families, and crime. Not only do we drastically decrease harm, we increase the opportunities for people to improve their lives, families, and communities. 

On the one-year anniversary of the podcast, zoom all the way out to get the big picture of why drug criminalization hasn't worked and can't work, as we chart a new course towards more people alive with better opportunities to thrive.