Special Episode: What Came Out of the 76th General Service ConferenceSpecial Episode: What Came Out of the 76th General Service Conference
Alcoholics Alive!
Shank and Wayne review selected outcomes from the 76th General Service Conference, including Big Book changes, literature updates and the purchase of the Everything AA app. They mix humour with concern as they talk about what these decisions might mean for service, fellowship and personal recovery.
1:01:27•12 May 2026
AA Politics, Big Book Changes and the ‘Everything AA’ App Shake-Up
Episode Overview
- Helping other alcoholics through hospital visits, detox outreach and family support is presented as a direct continuation of early AA practices.
- The Fifth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous has been approved, including a change to remove the word "Eskimo," which the hosts say alters the founders’ writings without wider fellowship review.
- Several pamphlets and sections of AA literature are being updated, with terms like "substance use disorder" expected to appear in future materials.
- AA World Services has bought the Everything AA app without prior conference discussion, raising questions from the hosts about finances, transparency and future content changes.
- New projects such as animated videos for the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions and a paid print Final Conference Report are highlighted as examples of how AA is investing time and money.
“They just changed the first 164 pages of the book Alcoholics Anonymous without the fellowship's approval or the fellowship's voice.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This special instalment of Alcoholics Alive! zeroes in on service, literature, and technology inside Alcoholics Anonymous, with plenty of laughs and a fair bit of ranting along the way.
Shank and Wayne kick off by reading from the AA Big Book about early members “gladly devot[ing] their spare hours to fellow sufferers,” then compare that spirit to what their own home group does today – visiting detoxes, helping with treatment and halfway houses, and sometimes even letting people crash at their homes a bit longer than planned. It’s a reminder that AA service can still be very hands-on, messy and, as they joke, occasionally marriage‑testing.
From there, they run through highlights from the 76th General Service Conference results. You’ll hear their reactions to the upcoming Fifth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous and, in particular, the decision that “the word eskimo be removed… and replaced with a neutral, non-racial term.” They argue this quietly shifts the founders’ writings without broad fellowship discussion and worry it opens the door to bigger changes later.
They also cover pamphlet updates, new videos on the Twelve Steps and Traditions, and the decision to produce a paid print version of the Final Conference Report. But the real shocker for them is AA World Services’ acquisition of the “Everything AA” app. They say this purchase, made without prior conference or fellowship discussion, is being justified as giving AA “a significant advantage in the digital space,” and they question both the cost and the direction.
True to the show’s style, the episode wraps with “Meeting Shrapnel” – a rapid-fire run of cheesy AA slogans that mostly get gleefully scrapped. If you’re sober, newly sober, or simply curious how AA’s structures and decisions might affect your recovery, this one gives you plenty to think about – and maybe a reason to ask, how do you want AA to look in the future?
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