ESH: Speaker PotluckESH: Speaker Potluck
Sober Cast: An (unofficial) Alcoholics Anonymous Podcast AA
Two AA members, Josh and Akita, share candid stories of heavy drinking, drugs, lost dreams and spiritual disconnection, then describe how meetings, sponsors, service and home groups support their ongoing sobriety. Their talks mix humour with hard truths and focus strongly on practical AA actions rather than theory.
59:32•18 Apr 2026
Speaker Potluck: Two Raw AA Stories of Sobriety, Service and Starting Again
Episode Overview
- Coming from a loving, non-alcoholic family does not exclude someone from alcoholism or AA.
- Sponsorship, frequent meetings and early service work provide vital structure in early sobriety.
- A home group offers consistency, connection and a place to give and receive help each week.
- Trying to manage life with constant "head changes" eventually breaks health, relationships and dreams.
- Using a meeting schedule and committing to specific meetings can carry someone through the most fragile early days.
“"My biggest problem was that I can't make it through the day without a head change."”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober? This Speaker Potluck episode pulls together two unfiltered AA talks from Josh and Akita, giving you that "real meeting" feel straight through your headphones. You’ll hear Josh, sober since 2010, reflect on growing up in a loving family yet still ending up in AA, puncturing the myth that you have to come from chaos to qualify.
He talks about crippling people-pleasing, hiding his drinking and drug use behind a "nice guy" image, and using faith and later atheism as armour. A key turning point comes when he realises, "I was never able to give up alcohol until I came here," and how sponsorship, service, a home group and daily meetings slowly rebuilt his spiritual life and self-worth. Akita, sober since 2006, brings a grittier, often darkly funny story.
From loving his first 40oz at 13 to huffing glue at flight school and drinking while flying planes, he describes a life that gradually collapses into motels, hard drugs and a body that simply gives out.
His honesty is stark: "My biggest problem was that I can't make it through the day without a head change." A near-death scare, a broken childhood dream of becoming a military pilot, and the sight of his son sleeping beside him finally push him into detox. Both talks lean heavily on AA basics: get to a lot of meetings, pick a home group, get a sponsor, show up for service and other people, and build a routine that replaces chaos.
The tone swings between raw, funny and quietly hopeful, especially as Akita describes learning how to be "a normal human being" again and building a life he once only fantasised about. If you like your recovery stories honest, messy and packed with AA nuts-and-bolts, this potluck might be just what you need today. Which part of their story sounds most like yours?
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