Who Leads, Who Decides, Who Gets Trusted?Who Leads, Who Decides, Who Gets Trusted?
Alcoholics Alive!
Shank and Wayne talk through AA trustee agenda items, motions to censure, pamphlet debates and proposed animated videos, all with their usual humour and straight talk. The conversation focuses on trusted leadership, clear process and why real step work matters more than slogans.
50:09•28 Apr 2026
Who Leads AA? Shank and Wayne Talk Trust, Service and Sober Fun
Episode Overview
- Strong AA leadership should be rooted in the book Alcoholics Anonymous, the Traditions and the Concepts, rather than drifting into purely psychological recovery models.
- Motions to censure provide a formal way to call out misconduct or poor decisions by the General Service Board, but need a clear process that avoids becoming a weapon.
- Usage figures for "Do You Think You’re Different?" and other pamphlets suggest that claims about it being less relevant are not supported by the numbers.
- Producing animated videos of the Twelve Steps and Traditions raises questions about cost, usefulness and whether simple audio or personal help might serve Alcoholics better.
- Slogans, stickers and sayings cannot replace actually working the Twelve Steps and demonstrating sobriety through consistent action.
“Bumper sticker AA is not a substitute for working the steps.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? Alcoholics Alive! keeps that question front and centre as Shank and Wayne mix AA history, service structure chat and plenty of cheeky humour in this episode, "Who Leads, Who Decides, Who Gets Trusted?" Aimed squarely at people already in Alcoholics Anonymous – especially those curious about how AA is run – the conversation walks through current General Service Conference trustee agenda items.
You’ll hear them talk candidly about choosing trustees and board members, stressing the need for leaders who are "well-grounded in the book Alcoholics Anonymous and our traditions and our concepts" rather than drifting into a purely psychological style of recovery. They unpack motions to censure the General Service Board, explaining it as "basically a judgment involving condemnation… an official reprimand" and tracing past attempts tied to issues like lack of transparency and leadership resignations.
The tone is honest rather than angry, with a focus on how AA can handle serious criticism without turning the process into a weapon. The pair then turn to literature and media, challenging plans to revise or retire the much-used pamphlet "Do You Think You’re Different?" and questioning the push for animated step and tradition videos.
They argue the numbers simply don’t back up claims that some pamphlets are less relevant, and suggest AA might be better off "leaving the literature alone" for a decade and focusing on helping Alcoholics face-to-face.
Rounding things off, the "Meeting Shrapnel" segment pokes fun at popular sayings, keeping "We are not a glum lot" but firmly binning "Your higher power will move mountains…" and reminding everyone that, as they put it, "Bumper sticker AA is not a substitute for working the steps." If you care about both strong sobriety and strong AA service, this episode might get you thinking: who would you trust to carry your group’s voice?
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