More Than One Way: Moderation Management 🏳️🌈 A Queer Recovery Podcast 🎙️More Than One Way: Moderation Management 🏳️🌈 A Queer Recovery Podcast 🎙️
At The CCC
Anthony, Jordan and Louis unpack Moderation Management as an alcohol-specific, peer-led alternative to abstinence and harm reduction. Their candid chat questions who moderation might suit, how honesty fits into any path, and what queer people in recovery might realistically need.
31:11•30 Mar 2026
More Than One Way: Queer Voices Talk Moderation Management
Episode Overview
- Moderation Management is a peer-support approach aimed at reducing alcohol use without immediately committing to lifelong abstinence.
- The programme focuses on self-defined limits, honest tracking of drinking, and regular review of whether moderation is still realistic.
- Harm reduction is framed as life-saving, practical support for any substance, while moderation management is self-driven and alcohol-specific.
- The hosts highlight that some people may need abstinence, especially when repeated attempts at moderation keep failing.
- Honesty with oneself and others is presented as crucial, whether choosing moderation, harm reduction, or traditional 12-step recovery.
“My sick mind couldn't heal my sick mind, so I can't be the person to determine, because I'm always going to take the easy way out.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? At The CCC turns that question towards moderation this week, as Anthony, Jordan and Louis chew over whether cutting down on alcohol can really work, especially for queer folks used to all‑or‑nothing thinking. Kicking off with birthday banter and 17 years of sobriety jokes ("Actually, no.
I do crack on the weekends to cut the drama"), the trio soon get serious about their ongoing series on “More Than One Way” to approach recovery. This time the focus is Moderation Management (MM) – a peer-led, alcohol‑only approach for people who want to reduce their drinking rather than jump straight into lifelong abstinence.
Jordan lays out the basics: MM assumes people have different levels of problem drinking, believes some *can* learn to drink moderately, and leans heavily on honest self‑monitoring. Meetings are practical and present‑focused: what limits did you set, what actually happened, what worked, and is moderation still the right goal?
As Anthony puts it, MM "challenges the idea that all alcohol problems require abstinence." From there, the three compare MM with harm reduction (needle exchanges and test strips versus self‑set drink limits), and with 12‑step recovery, which they note is rooted in ideas of powerlessness, spirituality and hierarchy. Louis openly questions whether someone with a “sick mind” can safely self‑police their alcohol use, while Jordan champions the grey area and the idea that not everyone responds well to extremes.
They also address controversy head‑on, mentioning that MM’s founder died in an alcohol‑related incident, and what that might mean for people choosing a path. Again and again, they circle back to honesty: can you really "check yourself," or do you need a sponsor and a structure to do it with you? If you’ve ever wondered whether full abstinence is the only answer, this chat might get you asking: what genuinely works for *you*?
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