AA Grapevine's Podcast

Victim or Victorious? [Season 11, Episode 18]

Beth tells Olis and Sam that in her drinking years impending doom became the norm. Trips to jail didn't scare her, she just blamed everyone else. In AA she learned not to

AA Gatherings [Season 11, Episode 17]

Don and Olis discuss the many types of AA gatherings, including assemblies, conferences, conventions, forums, workshops. Don describes his recent experience at the Southe

Planting Seeds [Season 11, Episode 16]

Rito tells Don and Sam that he played the blame game in prison — everyone else was at fault for him being locked up. He did go to AA meetings while doing time because the

Hot Topic: Sponsorship [Season 11, Episode 15]

Meg and Leslie join Don and Sam and describe their recovery from alcoholism. The four then discuss different approaches to sponsorship — from giving 1000 chances to pract

The Right Door [Season 11, Episode 14]

Christina, whose story appears in the October 2026 issue of Grapevine, tells Olis and Don that when drinking she saw everyone else living these normal lives, but it never

In AA We Talk Truth [Season 11, Episode 13]

Rachel tells Don and Sam that drinking was a big part of her family life and she too followed that path. While friends were starting families, going to college, getting f

Gated Communities [Season 11, Episode 12]

Matt tells Don and Sam that he came to his first AA meeting at 17, but needed several more years of drinking before the internal bankruptcy and demoralization brought him

Endless Bottles [Season 11, Episode 11]

Tiombe found sobriety at a young age and was blessed to find a group of caring young people who helped her. They were the type who if you couldn't read the Big Book, they

New Freedom [Season 11, Episode 10]

Allison felt like a late bloomer starting drinking at 14, her friends were already at it. She tells Don and Sam that her first drinks were part of her people pleasing ten

Two Way Prayer [Season 11, Episode 9]

Father Bill tells Olis and Sam about hitting a botttom and intentionally living in a shelter for a year. He stresses the importance of prayer and meditation in his sober

No More "On My Own" [Season 11, Episode 8]

Ann tells Olis and Don that fear drove her, and that she tried to control her drinking — often unsuccessfully. A marriage counselor told her to look at her own drinking,

Stick with Us [Season 11, Episode 7]

David tells Don and Sam that he was very shy, but with booze in him he would offer to sing to women. David was a full blown alcoholic at 24—when hung over he learned to d

Struck Sober [Season 11, Episode 6]

Heidi tells Olis and Sam that she thought she'd found the solution early on, and didn't need all the tools found in the twelve steps. She learned later that alcoholism is

Mother Earth, Father Sky, God & Me [Season 11, Episode 5]

Ronnie, whose article appears in the August 2026 issue of Grapevine magazine, tells Don and Sam how drinking was a solution for him to hide away from his emotions. He sto

Hi Marissa, It's Jack [Season 11, Episode 4]

Marissa sits down with Don and Sam on her 13th sober anniversary. Lots of troubles followed Marissa into sobriety, and she says she learned slowly in AA that by taking ac

Crutches and Casts [Season 11, Episode 3]

Scott started drinking at 11, and says that alcohol was at the foundation of all he did. He chose to attend college in a party town, and it took seven years to get a bach

My Operating System Was Broken [Season 11, Episode 2]

In his drinking years Leonard felt like life was punishment. He tells Olis and Don how a woman kindly asked him if he thought his drinking was a problem, and he soon foun

The No Matter What Club [Season 11, Episode 1]

Nina, a self-described raging alcoholic, tells Don and Sam that she did not understand that she could not stop and had no conception of the obsession or allergy of the bo

This is Alcoholism [Season 10, Episode 26]

Even though Dana experienced anxiety, perfectionism, self hate, depression, loneliness and no hope with drinking, taking the suggestion of a therapist to try AA did not h

You Don't Know Me, But You Know Me [Season 10, Episode 25]

Trevon was born into alcoholism and suffered through a chaotic childhood. He tells Don and Sam that when he first drank he felt like he could breathe for the first time.