EPISODE 060526

EPISODE 060526

How do different communities handle addiction when shame, culture and money all collide? This episode of Clean and Sober Radio lines up those tough questions and lets them land, with host Gary Hendler joined by guest co-host and long-time talk show host Randall Jefferson. Aimed at anyone curious about alcohol and drug recovery – especially those interested in how race, faith and class affect it – the conversation keeps things straight-talking, sometimes funny, and often uncomfortable in the best way.

Gary shares from his own Jewish background, recalling, “I was like, oh no, Jews don’t… they don’t drink, and they don’t take drugs. It’s such nonsense,” while Randall explains how, in many Black communities, people have “become so numb to the norm” that addiction can sit in plain sight. You’ll hear stark numbers about substance use across Black, Native American and Asian groups, and how less than 20% of people who need treatment actually get it.

Randall pulls from his work in healthcare and finance to show how insurance, grants and simple geography mean poor and minority communities often get left behind. Gary adds the reality from prisons and drug court, where people come out of rehab or jail only to find “now what?” because aftercare is missing.

There’s also a powerful look at stigma: Jewish families hiding addiction to protect their image, Black mums who “would tell everybody” and drag a child to help, and churches and mosques where meetings in the basement can feel both safe and shaming. The pair still keep things human – joking about alter egos, cigars and age – while returning again and again to one core message: addiction “has no discrimination”, and access to help shouldn’t either.

If you care about recovery and fairness, this one might leave you asking: who’s being left out of treatment in your own community – and what could change that?