Soberful – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, we are going to learn what it's like to be in a relationship with someone who is deep into addiction. Imagine being a young woman who gets involved with an older man who dazzles her. Imagine that you get pregnant by that man, and despite promising that he would stand by you, he, in fact, abandons you and denies paternity. Imagine that man gets sober and remarries, and his whole family pretends that you and your child don't exist. Imagine that man is the son of the most powerful man on earth. Today, we are going to hear Lunden Roberts's story. Lunden is the mother of a little girl named Navy, whose father is Hunter Biden and whose grandfather is President Joe Biden. Lunden Roberts has written a book called Out of the Shadows, which details her dysfunctional relationship with Hunter, his constant fear of being the family black sheep, and Lunden's fight to have the Biden family recognise her daughter. To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you know if you are one? Chip takes Veronica through the criteria you need to meet to find out how serious your alcohol problem is. The outcome will shock you. To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social media is addiction by design. Dr. Nicholas Kardaras joins Veronica to talk about social media addiction and how it was deliberately designed to hijack our dopamine system and get us hooked. It's digital candy and we are enticed into displaying our idealised internal lives. Dr. Kardaras explains how predatory algorithms work and how they are responsible for creating a mental health crisis for young people. To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celeste Yvonne is a writer and sober mother who used to write cute 'mommy needs wine' memes and blogs. One day she realized she couldn't parent and drink alcohol so reluctantly she quit. Now she is taking on the 'mommy needs wine' trend.   To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Delaney is a journalist and broadcaster. Entrenched in the British binge drinking culture, he felt like he was living the life until he wasn't. In today's episode, he discusses the 'toxic' and 'dysfunctional' British drinking culture and how he left it behind.   To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is codependency is it a good thing or a bad thing? How do I know I am codependent? Veronica answers questions on this subject.   To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie LeVoir is the host of The Way Out Podcast. He describes himself as an alcoholic from the first drink. We discuss his addiction and recovery and why he had to do whatever it took to get sober.   To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian Cuban is the younger brother of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. He talks candidly about his battle with alcohol and cocaine addiction and how he overcame an eating disorder. His latest book, 'The Ambulance Chaser' is out now.   To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Casey Davidson was fully signed up to the mommy needs wine culture, here she tells her story of leaving it behind and finding freedom.   To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Getting sober in rural environments presents its own unique challenges. In this episode, Veronica interviews Shanna Whan founder of Sober in the Country a charity that helps people in rural places to stop drinking. Driven by desperation Shanna saw there was simply no support for people in rural Australia so she set about creating her own. Australian woman Shanna Whan is the pioneer of change in the bush when it comes to our love affair with booze. The founder and CEO behind national bush charity Sober in the Country spent 15,000 hours going against the grain to ''be the change'' and now her advocacy, raw and often irreverently funny conversations have seen the life-saving message that it's ''OK2SAYNO'' (to beers in the bush) go national and international. Shanna was recognised formally in 2021 by her peers and the public as a ProBono Australia winner in the ''Impact 25'' awards. Shanna Whan is a rural woman and in her own words a ''very unlikely'' national spokesperson for change when it comes to the complex subject of our great love affair with booze in the bush. The founder behind now nationally recognised brand and not-for-profit Sober in the Country Ltd (SITC) created the 'OK2SAYNO' campaign to ensure we are putting our mates and their health first. Far from being an anti-alcohol message; SITC is simply focused on advocacy, awareness, and ensuring those who choose to say 'no thanks' or 'not today' (no matter their reason) are supported fully. After almost losing her own life to alcohol addiction in 2015 and spending seven years of working tirelessly to support others she is now regularly referred to as a pioneer who cracked the lid on this yarn in the remote sector of Australia. Shan is not someone you'll ever find accepting labels like 'influencer,' or 'guru' spoken over her, though. She stands extremely firm on insisting she's just one of (too) many in the bush fighting a battle - sometimes for survival - without help, education, information, or even any appropriate support. So she said she simply decided to make it her life's work to change that. These days she is using her national media profile to boldly fight for us on a national level and to challenge our leaders to open their eyes, look west, and to see that for remote Australians, ''ISO'' is our reality.   To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices