The Alcohol 'Problem' Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode I speak to Nathan Joseph, an online fitness coach and author of The LCA method recipe book. 

Nathan discusses his own personal journey through battling mental health issues, and how alcohol has played both positive and negative roles in his life. In Nathan's experience, alcohol use has been a big part of his social life and important memories, but also a barrier to his fitness and wellbeing. Nathan talks with openness about his own experience and passion for helping others without judging people for their choices. 

Nathan posts regularly on Instagram, offers online fitness coaching and his recipe book can be purchased here. 

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If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

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For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

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In this episode I talk to Dr Gabriel Caluzzi about drink spiking, methanol poisoning & young people's drinking. 

Dr Caluzzi is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at La Trobe University. His interests include youth and gendered drinking practices, and he recently co-authored the book “Young People, Alcohol, and Risk: A Culture of Caution”.

For further reading on drink spiking, see:

• Burrell A, Woodhams J, Gregory P, et al. Spiking prevalence and motivation: A review of the literature: National Crime Agency, 2023.
• Caluzzi G, Wilson I, Riordan B, et al. Alcohol and legitimate victimhood: Analysing Reddit posts to understand perceptions of alcohol’s role in drink spiking and sexual violence. International Journal of Drug Policy 2025;138:104743. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104743

For further reading on youth drinking, see:

• Vashishtha R, Pennay A, Dietze P, et al. Trends in Adolescent Drinking Across 39 High-Income Countries: Exploring the Timing and Magnitude of Decline. European Journal of Public Health 2020:1-8. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckaa193
• Caluzzi G, Livingston M, Holmes J, et al. Declining drinking among adolescents: Are we seeing a denormalisation of drinking and a normalisation of non-drinking? Addiction 2022;117(5):1204-12. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15611 

Support the show

If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

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For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

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In this episode we talk to Millie Gooch, founder of Sober Girl Society. Millie talks about her journey to sobriety and how this led her to setting up alcohol free spaces and events for the sober curious. We discuss the current role of sobriety and possible reasons behind recent growth in sobriety movements, mindful drinking and other alcohol-free communities. 

As a journalist, Millie has written for a range of publications and has been featured everywhere from ELLE and Stylist to the BBC and British Vogue. Her debut book, The Sober Girl Society Handbook, was released in January 2021 and in 2022, she received the Media Award from the Research Society on Alcohol for her contributions in helping disseminate empirical research on alcohol and creating a safe space for people to explore alcohol-free living. She is an ambassador for Alcohol Change UK

Support the show

If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

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For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

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In this episode we talk to Joe Heeney about his life and experience of alcohol problems and recovery.

Joe is a former CEO of Resolve, a drug and alcohol treatment service based in Hertfordshire, which he founded in 2008 after experiencing his own drug and alcohol issues. Joe worked for 14 years in the Fire Brigade at a time when heavy drinking was normalised. Joe is now retired and lives in the Peak District with his wife. He now enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family and friends.

Support the show

If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

Sign up to receive new episodes to your inbox here. 

For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

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In this episode Dr James Morris evaluates the Huberman Lab's alcohol episode, particularly addressing why the language and terms used around alcohol problems are important. For instance, whilst the Huberman Lab's episode provides a detailed description of the ways alcohol can affect the brain, body and health, in using alcoholism terminology it overlooks a number of important issues. Notably, alcoholism is a non-scientific concept and embedded with stigma and myths about alcohol problems and their causes. Dr Morris therefore discusses why, except when people self-identify as 'alcoholics' (for instance as per Alcoholics Anonymous), scientists and the general public at large should avoid using alcoholism terminology, and instead consider terms like alcohol problems, alcohol dependence or alcohol use disorder.

You can view this podcast on Youtube here.

You can read more about the issues around how alcohol problems are understood in one of my articles here or one of my publications in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Support the show

If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

Sign up to receive new episodes to your inbox here. 

For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

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In this episode we explore what Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is and how it works.

First we talk to Dr Hannah Glassman, a qualitative researcher and psychologist who has published multiple studies on experiences of people in AA. Next we talk to Prof John F Kelly who has conducted extensive research into how recovery and AA groups work.

We examine a range of issues including the history of AA, expectations and traditions typically found in AA, who AA may or may not be suitable for, how AA may help those it does, and why it is not for everyone who experiences alcohol problems.

Dr Hannah Glassman's publications on experiences of AA can be found here.
Prof John F Kelly's publications on addiction and recovery can  be found here.

A Cochrane review into the effectiveness of AA can be found here.

References mentioned in the show include:

• Overlapping Mechanisms of Recovery between Professional Psychotherapies and Alcoholics Anonymous; Marcovitz et al. (2020)
•  Denial in addiction; Hannah Pickard (2016)
• Reconstructing ‘the Alcoholic’: Recovering from Alcohol Addiction and the Stigma this Entails; Hill & Leeming (2014) 

Support the show

If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

Sign up to receive new episodes to your inbox here. 

For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

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In this episode we talk to Prof. Matt Field about the evidence behind Dry January and temporary abstinence. We discuss what is known about the possible health and other benefits for drinkers from  temporarily abstaining from alcohol.  This includes who temporary abstinence may or may not be suitable for and implications for understanding drinking and alcohol addiction or dependence.

Professor Matt Field is a Professor of Psychology specialising in addiction at the University of Sheffield. He has published extensively on a range of addiction related topics including evaluations of Dry January, and is involved in ongoing research on the subject. 

Support the show

If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

Sign up to receive new episodes to your inbox here. 

For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

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In this episode Professor Tony Moss talks about key drivers of drinking behaviour and alcohol-related risks, problems and causes. This covers how alcohol use can develop into addiction, and the complex nature of associated problems and the range of psychological, social and sometime biological factors involved.

Prof Tony Moss is a  Professor of Addictive Behaviour Science in the Centre for Addictive Behaviours Research at London South Bank University. He has conducted a range of research related to the psychology of alcohol use and drinking behaviours. Prof Moss set up a 'pub lab' to improve validity of alcohol experiments and has appeared on multiple TV shows exploring the subject. He has recently co-edited a book on Evaluating the Brain Disease Model of Addiction and can be found on Twitter @tonymossuk

Support the show

If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

Sign up to receive new episodes to your inbox here. 

For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Follow us on Instagram 

Support the show

If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

Sign up to receive new episodes to your inbox here. 

For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Follow us on Instagram 

In this episode we talk to Dr Marc Lewis,  a neuroscientist and former professor of developmental psychology. We explore what addiction is from a neuroscience perspective, including why Marc does not consider it a disease, despite changes to the brain. We discuss how addiction relates to habit, compulsion, and how these can be understood as functions of the brain and human behaviour. Marc also talks about his own alcohol use and reflections about alcohol as a complex drug - both good and bad.

Marc has authored or co-authored more than fifty journal articles in neuroscience and developmental psychology.  His first book, Memoirs of an Addicted Brain, is the first to blend memoir and science in addiction studies. His last book, The Biology of Desire,  refutes the medical view of addiction as a brain disease through both neuroscience and real world explorations of addiction problems.

Support the show

If you are interested in one-to-one support for your drinking with Dr James Morris, contact him at DrJamesMorris.com

Sign up to receive new episodes to your inbox here. 

For more episodes visit https://alcoholpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Follow us on Instagram