We curated a list of podcasts that we believe can assist all of us in gaining more knowledge and perspective as we look to find solutions and provide support around addiction and mental health.
Here’s what we love about podcasts: they help us feel the stories being told. In the case of addiction and recovery, podcasts give us access to a deeper level of connection, understanding, and empathy with the storytellers and topics.
You’ll hear from experts and people with lived experience who provide different perspectives on addiction and add important considerations to how we can approach the incredible diversity among people who struggle with substance use.
Let’s start with podcasts centered around substance use disorder and mental health: both show how we got where we are today and what we can do about it.
Recovery & Addiction
In Recovery
“If you have a heart attack, you go to the hospital. Kid is sick? Call the pediatrician. So why do the rules change when it comes to addiction? When you or a loved one needs immediate help, it’s hard to know where to go or what to do. Start here.”
No matter how much we think we understand about another person’s challenges, there’s always room to learn more — especially when it’s Dr. Nzinga Harrison’s compassionate podcast. A physician board-certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine, Harrison takes on myriad issues including what it’s like growing up around addiction and recovery, mental health during COVID, and grieving our losses from 2020.
Links: Apple Podcasts / Spotify
Last Day
“Let’s talk about what’s killing us, the stuff that’s hard to comprehend and getting worse every day. Lemonada co-founder and author Stephanie Wittels Wachs confronts massive epidemics with humanity, wit, and a quest for progress. Starting with overdose deaths and the opioid crisis, we zoom in on a person’s last day of life, exploring how they got there and how we, as a society, have gotten here.”
Last Day is an incredibly open look at one topic within the addiction epidemic and mental health. In the midst of the pandemic, host Stephanie Wittels Wachs revisited each episode from their first season with new updates from previous guests. A staff favorite is “Trauma with Dr. Gabor Mate,” which digs into how we can better understand our lives in order to unlock new doors to addressing addiction. Note: Last Day contains strong language, mature themes, and may not be appropriate for all listeners.
Links: Apple Podcasts / Spotify
Narcotica: Maia Szalavitz on Harm Reduction
This may be one of the most unfiltered and honest conversations you hear about personal experience with harm reduction. Maia Szalavitz, award-winning author of Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction, has just released Undoing Drugs, her latest book on the history of harm reduction. Szalavitz, who is in long-term recovery, talks with hosts Zach Siegel, Troy Farah, and Chris Moraff about how she was first introduced to harm reduction. Szalavitz details the rise of harm reduction since the ’80s, and how those early life-saving interventions during the AIDS crisis evolved into today’s social movement.
Links: Apple Podcasts / Spotify
On Drugs
“Each week, On Drugs looks through the lenses of history, pop culture and personal experience to understand how drugs have shaped our world. Because even if it’s just caffeine or ibuprofen, there’s a good chance you’re on drugs right now.”
Geoff Turners’ podcast concluded last year but remains an incredible resource for learning how substances are intertwined with many aspects of our lives and society. The early episodes of the podcast are dedicated to a cultural staple, from war, to sex, to fun, and the way substance use intersects with it. There is truly no wrong episode to get started with this podcast. Staff favorites include “The Spell of the Poppy,” “The Trouble with Rehab,” and “Race, On Drugs.” Note: Turner provides content warnings before episodes and sections of episodes that may not be suitable for everyone.
Links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify / CBC Podcasts
TED Talks Daily: Johann Hari
Since it was posted in 2015, Johann Hari’s TED Talk titled “Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong” has been viewed 15 million times. This podcast episode is the audio from that talk. In this 15-minute speech, Hari pushes us to challenge some of the long-standing misconceptions about addiction and the War on Drugs. Its conclusion, that we must approach addiction through hope and compassion, is always a welcome reminder.
Links: Apple Podcasts / Spotify
Prevention & Mental Health
Yeah, No I’m Not Okay: Demi Lovato
“Growing up, I was taught to say that I was ‘ok’ when I really wasn’t. Mental health just wasn’t something that anyone in my family or community talked about or even had access to. Yet pretty much everyone was affected by it. Today, young people of color are disproportionately affected by mental health issues and are not getting the resources they need, and I want to change that.”
That’s how host Diane Guerrero sets the stage for her series on mental wellness and related issues, including addiction. She talks with singer Demi Lovato about her near-fatal 2018 overdose, misconceptions about addiction, and the tools and resources Lovato now uses to cope. You’ll also hear about unrealistic expectations about perfection, not just in Hollywood, but in our day-to-day lives.
Links: Apple Podcasts / Spotify
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard Macklemore
Host Dax Shepard’s show is rooted in his fascination in the “messiness of being human.” His vulnerable and honest conversations help us learn more about influential people, and Dax credits his capacity to do so to his experiences as a person in recovery. It’s almost inevitable that recovery and addiction will come up in every episode in some way as Dax shares pieces of his journey to set the stage for his guests to do the same. While the podcast as a whole isn’t dedicated to recovery, we recommend his episodes with John Gottman (on relationships), Brene Brown (on shame), and his candid conversation about sobriety and relapse with artist Macklemore.
Links: Spotify
Pathways 2 Prevention
Join us for Drug Free America Foundation’s ‘Pathways to Prevention’ podcast as we engage stakeholders from across the drug demand reduction spectrum including government, academia, clergy, preventionists, treatment professionals, and persons in long-term recovery. Topics of discussion include current trends in the global substance use pandemic, strategies to reduce drug demand, and how to best adapt those strategies to the ever-shifting substance use landscape.
Links: Spotify
Prevention Matters
“Let’s talk about what’s killing us, the stuff that’s hard to comprehend and getting worse every day. Lemonada co-founder and author Stephanie Wittels Wachs confronts massive epidemics with humanity, wit, and a quest for progress. Starting with overdose deaths and the opioid crisis, we zoom in on a person’s last day of life, exploring how they got there and how we, as a society, have gotten here.”
Last Day is an incredibly open look at one topic within the addiction epidemic and mental health. In the midst of the pandemic, host Stephanie Wittels Wachs revisited each episode from their first season with new updates from previous guests. A staff favorite is “Trauma with Dr. Gabor Mate,” which digs into how we can better understand our lives in order to unlock new doors to addressing addiction. Note: Last Day contains strong language, mature themes, and may not be appropriate for all listeners.
Links: Apple Podcasts
PreventED Podcast
“Let’s talk about what’s killing us, the stuff that’s hard to comprehend and getting worse every day. Lemonada co-founder and author Stephanie Wittels Wachs confronts massive epidemics with humanity, wit, and a quest for progress. Starting with overdose deaths and the opioid crisis, we zoom in on a person’s last day of life, exploring how they got there and how we, as a society, have gotten here.”
Last Day is an incredibly open look at one topic within the addiction epidemic and mental health. In the midst of the pandemic, host Stephanie Wittels Wachs revisited each episode from their first season with new updates from previous guests. A staff favorite is “Trauma with Dr. Gabor Mate,” which digs into how we can better understand our lives in order to unlock new doors to addressing addiction. Note: Last Day contains strong language, mature themes, and may not be appropriate for all listeners.
Links: Apple Podcasts / Spotify
Drug Prevention Power Hour: Empowering Leaders in Youth Drug Prevention
“Let’s talk about what’s killing us, the stuff that’s hard to comprehend and getting worse every day. Lemonada co-founder and author Stephanie Wittels Wachs confronts massive epidemics with humanity, wit, and a quest for progress. Starting with overdose deaths and the opioid crisis, we zoom in on a person’s last day of life, exploring how they got there and how we, as a society, have gotten here.”
Last Day is an incredibly open look at one topic within the addiction epidemic and mental health. In the midst of the pandemic, host Stephanie Wittels Wachs revisited each episode from their first season with new updates from previous guests. A staff favorite is “Trauma with Dr. Gabor Mate,” which digs into how we can better understand our lives in order to unlock new doors to addressing addiction. Note: Last Day contains strong language, mature themes, and may not be appropriate for all listeners.
Links: Apple Podcasts
Get Smart About Drugs – A DEA Resource for Parents, Educators, and Caregivers – Awkward Conversations Podcasts
“Let’s talk about what’s killing us, the stuff that’s hard to comprehend and getting worse every day. Lemonada co-founder and author Stephanie Wittels Wachs confronts massive epidemics with humanity, wit, and a quest for progress. Starting with overdose deaths and the opioid crisis, we zoom in on a person’s last day of life, exploring how they got there and how we, as a society, have gotten here.”
Last Day is an incredibly open look at one topic within the addiction epidemic and mental health. In the midst of the pandemic, host Stephanie Wittels Wachs revisited each episode from their first season with new updates from previous guests. A staff favorite is “Trauma with Dr. Gabor Mate,” which digs into how we can better understand our lives in order to unlock new doors to addressing addiction. Note: Last Day contains strong language, mature themes, and may not be appropriate for all listeners.
Links: Website
SAFE Project Podcast Features
America’s Work Force Union Podcast
Continuing our coverage of Mental Health Awareness Month, Cal Beyer, Senior Director of Safe Workplaces for the Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic (SAFE) Project, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the intersection of substance abuse, mental health and suicide prevention in the construction industry.
Drawing from his personal experience with opioid misuse as a teenager, Beyer stressed the construction industry’s vulnerability to substance abuse and mental health challenges. He noted that the industry’s overdose death rate is significantly higher than other industry sectors, largely due to musculoskeletal injuries leading to opioid prescriptions. Beyer emphasized the need for increased awareness and proactive measures to address these issues, citing the industry’s delayed recognition of the problem due to a lack of data and stigma.
Get kNACk
Construction workers have been considered nearly twice as likely as those in other industries to experience substance-use challenges, with alcohol playing a particularly prominent role. To spotlight alcohol awareness in the construction industry, host Kevin Hilton welcomes back Cal Beyer, Senior Director of SAFE Workplaces for SAFE Project (Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic). In this conversation, Kevin and Cal discuss current trends surrounding alcohol use in the construction industry and the urgent need for greater awareness, support, and prevention. The episode emphasizes the human impact of alcohol use, addresses the stigma surrounding recovery, and calls for meaningful action to create safer, healthier workplaces across the industry.
Links: Buzzsprout
Killer Drugs: How to fight Addiction, Heroin and Fentanyl
Last year 100K Americans died from a drug overdose. Several years ago, (Ret.) Navy Admiral and former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Sandy Winnefeld’s son overdosed and died while in college. Adm. Winnefeld and his wife Mary, directed their grief toward finding solutions to this epidemic.
They founded the SAFE Project, and together with Navy veteran and CEO Jeff Horwitz, they are showing cities, campuses, and military vets how to stop OD deaths … and it’s not just telling them to get clean. They offer some surprisingly candid and raw advice for addicts in the grips of addiction.
Links: Apple Podcasts
SA Voices from the Field
In a revealing conversation on the “Student Affairs Voices from the Field” podcast, experts Dylan Dunn and Sydney Chifetz from the SAFE Project delve into their experiences and strategies in collegiate harm reduction and recovery, providing invaluable insights for higher education professionals.
Dylan and Sydney emphasize the significance of placing students at the forefront of harm reduction efforts. Encouraging students to take charge of their health decisions, the duo highlights the importance of respecting student autonomy. By adopting motivational interviewing techniques and fostering open dialogue, professionals can aid students in discerning their relationship with substances and empower them to make informed choices.
Links: Website / Apple Podcasts
More Than Life Podcasts
Jeff Horwitz, CEO of SAFE Project, talks about how we need to work together to stop 80,000 to 100,000 people from dying every year. We need to come together to stop this!
Links: YouTube
Free Online Training
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