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

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In this episode we talk to Dr James Nicholls about how drinking came to be such a significant part of many modern cultures. We discuss how alcohol use and problems have evolved over recent centuries, and how this reflects various political and social pressures. This includes how drinking escalated with the development of alcohol production, and how laws, consumers and attitudes have shaped drinking practices to the current day.

Dr James Nicholls is a Senior Lecturer in Public Health at Stirling University and author of The Politics of Alcohol. He has worked in alcohol and drug research and policy for over 20 years, including former roles as CEO of Transform and Director of Policy at Alcohol Change UK. 

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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

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

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In this episode we talk to Prof Katie Witkiewitz about non-abstinent recovery and the role of drinking reductions in reducing alcohol-related harm. We discuss this from both a public health perspective, and the role of abstinence or drinking reduction goals in the context of treatment and recovery. 

Professor Katie Witkiewitz is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Center on Alcohol, Substance use, And Addictions at the University of New Mexico. Professor Witkiewitz is also a licensed clinical psychologist and has worked extensively on the development, evaluation, and implementation of mindfulness-based treatments for substance use disorder. She serves on the United States National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Professor Witkiewitz is Editor of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, and serves on the editorial boards of Substance Use and Misuse, Alcohol and Alcoholism, Annual Reviews: Clinical Psychology, and Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. Her research has been supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, totaling over $90 million in research funding since 2004. She has authored 6 books and over 300 peer-reviewed publications, and has given over 100 presentations and invited talks. 

Support the show

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

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

Follow us at @alcoholpodcast on X and Instagram

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 In this episode we speak to Jon Ashworth MP about his experience and views of parental alcohol problems and affected others, as well as parliamentary drinking culture, alcohol policy and related issues.

Jon has spoken openly about his father's alcohol problems which lead to his death in 2010. He has campaigned and supported a range of action to help people affected by parental drinking, including having run multiple marathons in support of NACOA.

Jon is currently Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, having previously been Labour’s longest running Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Support and further information relating to parental alcohol problems can be found at:

https://nacoa.org.uk/

https://adfam.org.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

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

Follow us at @alcoholpodcast on X and Instagram

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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

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

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In this episode we talk to Dr Cassie Boness about the idea of ‘Alcohol Use Disorder’ (AUD) as a widely applied concept in the identification and treatment of alcohol problems.

Alcohol Use Disorder is the basis for identifying an alcohol problem in the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM, but also used as a broader term for alcohol-related problems including by the UK’s National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE).

Cassie is a  Research Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico's Center on Alcohol, Substance Use and Addictions (CASA) and a clinical psychologist. 

We discuss the basis of Alcohol Use Disorder and some of the issues around such attempts to identify the very complex nature of alcohol use and problems. This includes discussion on Cassie and others work on developing a new framework to better identify AUD - the  The Etiologic, Theory-Based, Ontogenetic Hierarchical Framework of Alcohol Use Disorder. 

Support the show

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

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

Follow us at @alcoholpodcast on X and Instagram

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In this episode we talk to Dr Lucy Foulkes about labelling and language in the context of mental health and alcohol issues.  We discuss how labels like alcoholic or schizophrenia may serve an important role for people to identify or respond to problems, but also carry important implications for stigma and recovery. We explore how there are many similarities between the pros and cons of labelling in mental health and for alcohol issues, but some important differences.

Dr Lucy Foulkes is a senior research fellow at the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families and an honorary lecturer in psychology at UCL. Her research focuses on mental health and social cognition, particularly in adolescence. She is the author of the book Losing Our Minds: What Mental Illness Really Is And What It Isn't (Penguin Random House, 2021), which explores how we talk about mental health and illness.

Support the show

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

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

Follow us at @alcoholpodcast on X and Instagram

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In this episode we explore alcohol use and problems amongst older adults. Alcohol problems have been rising in recent decades amongst older drinkers, despite falls in consumption in other age groups.

We talk to Dr Sarah Wadd, a researcher at the University of Bedfordshire, about some of the reasons behind alcohol problems amongst older adults and what can be done.

John Slater also talks about his lived experience of developing an alcohol problem and his path to recovery, with help from the Drink Wise Age Well programme which ran from 2015-2020.

WARNING: This episode contains mention of childhood trauma/abuse. If you may be upset by this you may not wish to listen.

If you need help or want support relating to alcohol use in the UK, please visit the NHS support page or Alcohol Change UK pages, or call Drinkline on  0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am to 8pm, weekends 11am to 4pm). 

Support the show

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

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

Follow us at @alcoholpodcast on X and Instagram

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In this episode I talk to two guests about the risks of alcohol use and attempts to communicate these via the UK's recommended guidelines of 14 units a week.

Firstly I talk to Tom Chivers,  science editor at UnHerd and author. We talk about how the risks of alcohol use can or should be evaluated and communicated. Tom recently co-authored a book How to read numbers which includes a Statistical Style Guide  for journalists.

Next I speak to Colin Angus,  a Senior Research Fellow in the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group within ScHARR. We talk about the science and development of the UK’s 14 units a week recommended guidelines. 

Support the show

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

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

Follow us at @alcoholpodcast on X and Instagram

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In this episode I talk to Chelsey (CJ) Flood, a novelist, lecturer, and the creator of Beautiful Hangover, a blog/community about alcohol and recovery.

Chelsey talks about how alcohol came into her life, how it became problematic, the role of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in her recovery and coping strategies she has found post-alcohol. We discuss the pros and cons of peer support, abstinence vs moderation goals, how alcohol problems can develop, how we became aware of our problem drinking and other recovery reflections.

Chelsey has two books authored as C.J Flood, Infinite Sky and Nightwanderers published by Simon and Schuster, and you can find her writing about sobriety/drinking at www.chelseyflood.com/beautiful-hangover.

Support the show

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

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

Follow us at @alcoholpodcast on X and Instagram

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In this episode we talk to Dr Melissa Oldham about why alcohol consumption appears to have fallen amongst children and young people over recent decades. Evidence shows that overall falls in UK consumption have been driven entirely by young people abstaining more frequently from alcohol, and when they do drink drinking less, and less often. However, the reasons for the these falls remain uncertain. For instance what role have changes in parenting, availability, social media and other cultural shifts affecting children and young people had, and what can we learn from this?

Dr Melissa Oldham is a Research Fellow at University College London's Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group. If you are interested in taking part in research about drinking less, please visit www.ideastrial.co.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

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

Follow us at @alcoholpodcast on X and Instagram