Sober Friends
Ever feel like you’re the only one who thinks this way?
The Sober Friends Podcast is for people who are learning that recovery is about more than quitting drinking—it’s about learning how to live.
Every week, Matt and Steve have honest conversations about the challenges that don’t disappear when alcohol does: anxiety, control, relationships, fear, loneliness, resentment, people-pleasing, and the ongoing work of emotional sobriety.
Because getting sober doesn’t automatically make life easier. It just gives you the opportunity to face life differently.
No gurus. No perfection. No pretending to have it all figured out.
Just two friends with long-term sobriety sharing what they’ve learned, what they’re still learning, and how recovery continues to shape their lives years after their last drink.
Whether you’re questioning your drinking, newly sober, or years into recovery, you’ll find practical insights, honest conversations, and reminders that growth doesn’t end when the alcohol is gone.
New episodes every week.
Matt and Steve are members of Alcoholics Anonymous but speak only from their own experience. This podcast is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous.
Episodes
301 episodes
I Thought I'd Appreciate it Later
There’s a way many of us postpone our lives without even realizing it. We tell ourselves we’ll slow down later, appreciate it later, and be happy when things settle down. Then one day we look around and realize the years didn’t slow down while ...
I Was So Tired of Looking Okay — with Brooke Taylor
Brooke Taylor looked successful from the outside. But behind the polished image was alcohol, pressure, and the exhausting feeling that nothing ever felt like enough. In this conversation, she shares what it was like to get sober before she felt...
Most of My Anxiety Lived in the Future
Most of us spend a lot of time worrying about things that haven't happened yet. We replay conversations, predict outcomes, and try to solve problems that may never arrive. In recovery, that kind of future-tripping can feel overwhelming because ...
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...
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
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...
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...
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...
A 13-Year-Old Knew He’d Been Drinking
A 13-year-old goes to Six Flags and comes back with a story—she could tell right away that another parent had been drinking. No one told her. She just knew.That moment turns into a bigger conversation about what kids actually pick up on,...
Why You Know What to Do… But Still Don’t Do It
Ever know exactly what you should do… and still can’t make yourself do it?That’s what this episode is about.This week, Matt and Steve talk about the kind of overwhelm that doesn’t show up as a crisis — it just builds quietl...
I Did Everything Right… So Why Is This Happening?
Ever feel like you’re doing everything right… and it still blows up anyway?That’s what this episode is about.This week, Matt and Steve talk about those moments when life hits hard even when you’re showing up, doing the work...
The Most Owned, Least Understood Book in Recovery
A lot of people in AA have a Big Book. Fewer people know how to actually use it. Matt was one of those people for a long time — and he's willing to admit it.In this episode Matt and Steve dig into what the Big Book actually is and what i...
My Drinking Had a Formula (And It Always Ended the Same)
Nobody gets sober because they want to stop drinking. They get sober because their life isn't working — and somewhere along the way, someone handed them a set of instructions that actually helped.Matt and Steve call it the recipe. Not a ...
Dr. Adi Jaffe: Getting Better Is the Goal
What does recovery actually mean? If you've ever measured your sobriety by days and wondered if there was more to it than that, this episode is for you.Matt sits down with Dr. Adi Jaffe — psychologist, neuroscientist, UCLA researcher, an...
Drinking Felt Like It Fixed Me—Until It Didn’t
That's the part nobody wants to say out loud. Alcohol wasn't just a bad habit — for a lot of us, it was a solution. It fixed the social anxiety. It fixed the noise. It fixed the feeling of not fitting in. The problem wasn't that it didn't work....
Doorway or Loophole?
You've heard it a thousand times in the rooms — take what you like and leave the rest. But what does that actually mean? Matt and Steve dig into one of recovery's most repeated phrases and ask the question nobody wants to answer: are y...
Carrying the Message (Without Being Preachy)
"Carrying the message" doesn't mean becoming Mr. AA or giving speeches at speaker meetings. It's not about recruiting, arguing on Facebook, or diagnosing strangers.In this episode, Matt and Steve talk honestly about what carrying the mes...
it's Not Your Fault (But It Is Your Responsibility)
Matt and Steve dive deep into Dr. Silkworth's groundbreaking work on alcoholism and why understanding the medical nature of addiction changes everything. They explore a fascinating discovery: Silkworth published his "allergy theory" in a 1937 m...
Service Work in Recovery: You Haven't Been Nominated to Drink Coffee
Service work in AA recovery isn't about giving back - it's about belonging, commitment, and staying sober. "I don't even drink coffee.""That's fine. You haven't been nominated to drink coffee. You've been nominated to make co...
Do You Miss Drinking or Do You Miss the Relief?
"I love to do things that will give me temporary comfort, that will make me very uncomfortable somewhere down the road."A woman with 30+ years of sobriety shared this in Steve's Wednesday meeting, and it hit hard. Because that's exactly ...
Outcome vs. Journey- The Control Freak's Guide to Sobriety
Ever feel like you're doing everything "right" in recovery but still find yourself pissed off when things don't go your way? Steve opens up about his biggest struggle even after 15+ years sober: the control freak mindset that gets shit done but...
Lowering the Bar - Why 'Just Staying Sober' is a Championship Win
It’s mid-January, the "Pink Cloud" of New Year’s resolutions has evaporated, and for many in the Northeast, we are staring down a "marathon of dark, cold, and gloomy days". In this episode, Matt and Steve get honest about the "January Gloom" an...
You Can Still Be Sober and Have Bad Days
You can be sober and still have bad days — and that doesn’t mean you’re doing recovery wrong.In this episode, Matt and Steve talk honestly about what it looks like to stay sober through anxiety, physical pain, holidays, and emotional dis...
When Not Drinking Feels Louder Than Drinking
Have you ever been at a party, wedding, or holiday gathering holding a soda and felt like everyone noticed you weren’t drinking?In this episode of Sober Friends, Matt and Steve talk honestly about what it’s like to be the only sober pers...
I Tried for Three Days and I Couldn’t Cope
Pete Axthelm once said he tried to quit drinking for three days — and couldn’t cope. He died at 47, convinced that life without alcohol wasn’t survivable. That sentence stopped me cold, because for many of us, it’s painfully familiar.In ...
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