Sober Friends

The Sober Friends Podcast: Two Guys Talking Recovery

Matt and Steve have been sober for over a decade each. They still don't have it all figured out.

This is a podcast about recovery - AA recovery specifically - but it's not your sponsor's recovery podcast. It's two friends talking through the stuff that actually matters:

What do you DO when you're not drinking? How do you handle control issues 15 years in? Why does calling someone in recovery feel so goddamn hard? What happens when you remove alcohol but don't replace it with anything? And seriously, do you miss drinking or do you just miss the relief?

Every week Matt and Steve work through these questions together - sometimes they have answers, sometimes they're figuring it out in real time, and sometimes they just need to talk it out like you do with a friend who gets it.

If you're in recovery, thinking about recovery, or just trying to figure out how to live without alcohol as your coping mechanism - welcome. Grab some coffee. Let's talk.

Topics: Alcoholics Anonymous, 12-step recovery, sobriety, addiction, relapse, service work, early recovery, staying sober, and everything in between.

Matt and Steve work AA programs but speak only for themselves. This show isn't affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous.

New episodes weekly at soberfriendspod.com

Podcasting since 2019 • 298 episodes

Sober Friends

Latest Episodes

E278: The Disease Model Doesn’t Let Me Off the Hook

In this episode, Matt and Steve talk about the disease model of alcoholism—not as an excuse, but as a way to understand why alcohol affected them differently than it does other people. The conversation starts with the idea of “getting better an...

June 02, 2026 • Episode 278 • 36:23

E277: The Voice Didn’t Go Away When I Got Sober

Getting sober does not automatically make the voice in your head disappear. In this episode, Matt and Steve talk about the part of the mind that used to minimize drinking — you’re not that bad, other people drink more, you’re overreacting

May 26, 2026 • Episode 277 • 30:30

E276 Learn to Sit With Yourself

There’s a weird part of sobriety where nothing is technically wrong, but you still feel uncomfortable in your own skin. In this episode, Matt and Steve talk about what happens when alcohol is gone, but the restlessness, anxiety, expectations, a...

May 19, 2026 • Episode 276 • 33:58

E275: Stop Arguing With Reality for One Day

In this episode, Matt and Steve talk about acceptance in sobriety — not as approval, not as giving up, and not as pretending everything is fine. It is about getting honest with reality instead of wasting energy trying to control people, outcome...

May 10, 2026 • Episode 275 • 30:58

E274: Sober Twelve Years. Still Avoiding the Phone

Matt and Steve talk about what happens when old alcoholic thinking shows up without the alcohol. Matt shares what it has been like tapering off medication, including the dark, isolating feeling that reaching out would not help — even when he kn...

May 05, 2026 • Episode 274 • 32:54

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Fan Mail

Good morning Matt and Steve, I hope that your day is going to plan... Really enjoyed the podcast this week. Just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know you guys are my meeting in between meetings. When I need some connection I can put my headphones on and check out sober friends. Thank you for that. Truly a gift. As far as planning I find if I keep my plans to a minimum and don't set unrealistic timelines in my mind the day before or 2 weeks before I make it through much better I let go and I let God and I'll get there when I get there or I'll get it done when I get it done. Thanks fellas. Keep doing what you're doing

Pekin, Illinois