Sober Curious

Ruby talks to the brilliant Nina Renata Aron about her new book Good Morning Destroyer of Men's Souls, a memoir about love addiction and codependency.

Ruby talks to author, teacher and activist Lama Rod Owens about his new book, Love and Rage, which offers a new perspective on anger as a powerful tool for liberation—and an emotion that is deeply interwoven with the subject of substance abuse.

Ruby talks to Pastor Ron Buford, founder of Racists Anonymous - a 12-step program for "recovering" from internalized racism.

Seedlip founder Ben Branson created a whole new category when he launched the world's first distilled non-alcoholic spirits in 2015, making him a bit of a legend in the Sober Curious movement. In this conversation, he discusses where this shift in attitudes towards alcohol came from, where it is going, and how it plays into a wider culture of conscious consumption.

Changing how you drink can shine a light on how you eat. This week's guest is Victoria Moran, an author, activist, and podcaster, who has been a pioneer of veganism since her first book on the subject was published in 1985—and I invited her on the show to talk about what she sees as the common ground between being sober curious and veg-curious.

Writer, actor, and model Yrsa Daley-Ward is best known for her emotionally raw poems about mental health, sexuality, love, grief ... and addiction. Having used alcohol and other substances to make life feel "larger," she talks to Ruby about finding an even fuller sense of self in her subsequent sobriety.

Aaron Rose is an activist, coach and spiritual guide, who's mission is to help create a world "where we all thrive as ourselves." Positioning optimism as a key component of meaningful and progressive social change, Aaron credits his sobriety with helping him hone this message.

What makes us feel like we belong? Ruby talks to author and Mystic Toko-pa Turner about "belonging" as a skill that we practice when we are able to welcome home parts of ourselves that we have cut off in order to fit in.

Peter Grayson is Executive Director of BIGVISION NYC, a community that supports young adults in their recovery with free events online and throughout New York City. I invited him on the podcast to get into the nitty-gritty of some questions relating to addiction, recovery, and being Sober Curious that come up consistently—and which I don't always feel qualified to answer myself.

Psychiatrist Will Siu is a leading voice in the realm of psychedelic therapies, said to be especially effective in addressing addictions of all kinds. In this interview, he responds to the question about whether these substances are appropriate for somebody who is living a “sober” life, as well as discussing the trending topic of microdosing—the practice of imbibing minute amounts of psychedelics, and which is said to help with everything from social anxiety, to productivity, and creativity.