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PODCAST

Sobriety Bestie Podcast

Kirsten Johnson

The Sobriety Bestie Podcast helps you deprogram AA, heal from recovery dogma, and build a bold, empowered life on your own terms.

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

26:46

Ep 135 How Charlie Sheen Got Sober (And His Thoughts...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/24

Charlie Sheen has been one of the most outspoken celebrities about his relationship with Alcoholics Anonymous and sobriety. From his infamous “winning” era in 2011 to creating his own Sober Valley Lodge, to now approaching 8 years sober, Charlie has been refreshingly candid about what worked—and what didn’t—for him.In this video, we react to Charlie Sheen’s recent appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, dive into his brand-new book The Book of Sheen (2025), and unpack his raw thoughts on AA,

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31:16

Ep 134 Alan Carr's Quit Drinking Without Willpower —...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/22

Alan Carr flips the script on alcohol. Instead of using willpower to fight cravings, he shows how to remove the desire to drink altogether. 🎉In this episode, I review Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Quit Drinking Without Willpower and share how the method connected with my own journey—both quitting cigarettes and alcohol.Whether you’re looking for an AA alternative, rethinking your relationship with alcohol, or just curious about habit change, this perspective shift might blow your mind.Get the book

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01:15:42

Ep 133 Deprogramming AA From the Inside — Bobby C.’s...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/19

Bobby C from Anonymous Addiction Podcast spent 35 years inside Alcoholics Anonymous — but he was never fully at peace with the ideology. Trapped by cognitive dissonance, he questioned the slogans, the control structures, and the religious roots even while he kept showing up.In this conversation, Bobby shares how he saw “cults within the cult,” why the chips and steps never sat right, and how he finally shifted into true freedom outside the 12-step frame.Bobby C's YouTubeBobby C's Facebook GroupBobby

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16:10

Ep 132 AA Doublespeak: Your Best Thinking Got Your Here

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/17

AA loves to say “Your best thinking got you here.” But when I arrived at AA, I was in survival mode with my worst thinking—traumatized, anxious, medicated, and terrified. To call that my “best” is pure doublespeak. In this episode, I break down why this phrase is manipulative, how it positions members to distrust their own thoughts, and how Bill Wilson’s best thinking (propaganda, PR, Oxford Group ideology) is what actually got me to AA.We’ll unpack:Why “best thinking” is not survival mode.How AA

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13:53

Ep 131 When Strangers Try to Convince You You’re...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/15

A random AA stranger tried to convince me that I’m powerless—that I can’t even know if I’ll drink tomorrow. He compared my choices to predicting the lottery. 🤦‍♀️ This episode breaks down the logical fallacies and culty ideology behind the powerless narrative AA keeps pushing. Of course I have no clue what YOU should or will do. But I do know I'm not drinking tomorrow.We’re powerful. We can change habits, rewire our brains, and decide our own future. Anyone trying to convince you otherwise? 🚩

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01:35:40

Ep 130 The Doctor's Opinion That Trapped Millions for...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/12

Welcome back to our Big Book Deconstruction series. In this episode, Kirsten and Carrie (Carrie’s Substack here) unpack The Doctor’s Opinion — the chapter that AA uses as its "medical" foundation. We explore how Dr. Silkworth’s unproven ideas about a “fatal progressive disease” became the sales pitch that trapped millions into a lifetime of dependence.🕒 Timestamps00:00 – Deconstructing The Doctor's Opinion Intro01:23 – Dr. Silkworth Traps + Converts Us04:08 – Lies AA Coerced Us Into Believing08:25

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20:07

Ep 129 Common Abuse And Mistreatment in AA

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/10

In this episode of the Sobriety Bestie Podcast, we’re breaking down the most common forms of abuse and mistreatment in Alcoholics Anonymous—from being told you have a “progressive, fatal disease,” to being convinced you’re powerless, to the gaslighting baked into terms like “dry drunk” or “denial.”These points come from Rational Recovery by Jack Trimpey, written 30 years ago but still just as relevant today. We’ll unpack the first 10 examples from the book and talk about how AA’s harmful messaging

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17:57

Ep 128 Guilt, Doublespeak + Denial in AA Recruitment...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/08

In this #CultyComments episode, we’re breaking down two of AA’s most common contradictions:👉 “AA has no leaders.” Really? Sponsors, old-timers, secretaries, and even professional recruiters all lead — they just hide it behind the doublespeak of “trusted servants.”👉 “You can leave anytime.” On the surface, yes. But the ideology repeats that leaving = relapse, jails, institutions, or death. That’s phobia indoctrination, and it keeps people trapped even when they want out.This isn’t about shaming one

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01:16:10

Ep 127 She Decided to Drink Again After 13 Years in...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/05

Emma from Group Thinking Podcast left AA after nearly 13 years—and chose moderation. In this candid conversation, we unpack what made her walk away, how she rebuilt community, why “your disease is getting worse even when you’re sober” never sat right, and what deprogramming looks like in real life. We get into AA culture, Finland AA vs. international AA, sponsorship red flags, nervous system regulation, trying alcohol again (including first-week hangovers and fear), and the power of speaking out

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19:40

Ep 126 Hidden Danger in AA Meetings

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/03

Any group that tells you you’ll die if you leave? 🚩 Run for the hills.In this episode of the Sobriety Bestie Podcast, I dive into the hidden danger in AA meetings — not just shady individuals or mini–cult leaders, but the ideology itself.📖 Inspired by Rational Recovery: The New Cure for Substance Addiction by Jack Trimpey, we’ll unpack his concept of Recovery Group Disorder (RGD) — the compulsive dependency on recovery meetings that looks and feels a lot like addiction itself.Rational Recovery

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29:01

Ep 125 Rational Recovery Book — Escape the Recovery Trap

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/09/01

You are powerful. You can decide your future. You don’t need AA, sponsors, or church basements to stay sober.In this episode of the Sobriety Bestie Podcast, I dive into Rational Recovery: The New Cure for Substance Addiction by Jack Trimpey — the revolutionary AA alternative that says: once you decide, that’s it. No “recovery process,” no lifelong meetings.We’ll explore:Why Rational Recovery rejects the disease modelThe Addictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT) & “The Beast”The power of

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01:20:41

Ep 124 13th Step Filmmaker Exposes AA’s Darkest...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/08/29

After 36 years in Alcoholics Anonymous, filmmaker Monica Richardson discovered the truth she never expected: AA has a dark side.In this episode of the Sobriety Bestie Podcast, Monica shares her journey from devoted member to whistleblower, revealing:How violent offenders and predators are court-ordered into meetingsThe cover-ups and silence that keep people trappedWhy she decided to make her documentary, The 13th StepHow she finally broke free after 36 yearsThis is a powerful conversation about

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59:53

Ep 123 RFK Jr Is Brainwashed — And Recruiting Us

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/08/27

RFK Jr. just admitted it: AA is brainwashing — and he wanted it. 🤯 In this episode, we break down his April 2025 speech on the opioid crisis in Nashville and expose how deeply Alcoholics Anonymous ideology is woven into his words. From “your disease is doing pushups” to magical thinking and lifelong indoctrination, this talk is packed with AA propaganda — and it’s being spread from the top of American health leadership.This isn’t about RFK Jr. as a person — it’s about the dangerous ideology being

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23:49

Ep 122 Who AA Helps, Harms and Kills — Book Review

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/08/25

AA doesn’t just “help” people. It also harms — and in some cases, kills. This episode is a deep dive into AA: Who It Helps, Who It Harms, Who It Kills, and Why by Dr. Edward Wilson, PhD.We’ll explore the central premise of the book: that AA is either irrelevant or actively harmful for most people who misuse alcohol. You’ll hear clips from the author himself, and then I unpack the book through the lens of my own experience after 10 years in AA and 5 years out.We’ll look at why AA only works for a

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01:31:57

Ep 121 The Forward That Stole Your Power – Big Book...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/08/22

We’re kicking off a brand-new series deconstructing the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous — exposing the hidden messages, the power-stripping language, and the indoctrination baked into its pages.In this episode, we unpack the Forward to the First Edition — where AA starts shaping how you see yourself, your “disease,” and your ability to choose your own recovery path. We’ll talk about how the language trains self-abandonment, why this sets you up for lifelong dependence on the program, and how to

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20:04

Ep 120 My Most Cringe AA Confession…

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/08/20

I’ve got a cringe confession from my AA days… one I’ve never shared until now. Since it’s my birthday week (and my book’s birthday too), today I’m revealing an AA secret that I haven't shared yet — and unpacking what that says about mind control, cult personality, and how far I’ve come in deprogramming.I’ll share my AA cringe story and the story behind The Heartgasm Revolution book, and give you the free PDF this week to celebrate (links below). Timestamps:00:00 Most AA Cringe Moment Intro01:27

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18:52

Ep 119 Emotional Closure After AA — Grieving AA 6:...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/08/18

Leaving Alcoholics Anonymous can feel like walking away from your entire world — relationships, identity, purpose, safety, community, and structure. That’s why so many of us feel stuck in grief, even after we’ve left.In Part 6 of the Grieving AA series, I’m sharing a powerful tool from the Grief Recovery Method — the Completion Letter. This is not about excusing harm or betraying yourself. It’s about ending the loop of overthinking, guilt, shame, and anger… and reclaiming your freedom.Inside, you’ll

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16:56

Ep 118 Realizing the Truth About AA — Grieving AA 5:...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/08/15

Acceptance after leaving Alcoholics Anonymous isn’t about forgiving abuse or sugarcoating the harm — it’s about choosing yourself and stepping into freedom.In this episode of the Sobriety Bestie Podcast, I share what “acceptance” really means in the grieving process — without surrendering to AA’s powerlessness narrative. We’ll unpack:Why acceptance is not the same as condoningBreaking free from the “AA saved my life” mythHow to reclaim your power and stability outside the roomsJournaling prompts to

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19:13

Ep 117 Dark Night of The Soul After AA — Grieving AA...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/08/14

What if you never feel okay again after leaving AA? For many of us, there’s a crash after the anger fades — the loss of community, identity, and structure can feel like a dark night of the soul. It’s not failure — it’s grief.In this episode of the Grieving AA series, we talk about the depression stage, why it happens, and how to navigate the “after-recovery void” between who you were in AA and who you’re becoming now. You’ll also get journaling prompts to help you move through this phase.📝

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13:47

Ep 116 Why Part of You Still Wants to Go Back to AA —...

Sobriety Bestie Podcast ·

2025/08/13

Bargaining is a normal stage of grief — but when you’ve left AA, it can keep you stuck.Maybe you’ve told yourself, “It wasn’t that bad,” “I can just take the good and leave the rest,” or “Maybe I was the problem.”In this episode, I break down how AA culture trains us to bargain with harm, avoid the full truth, and even spiritualize abuse. I share real examples from my 10 years in AA, how I recognized my own bargaining, and how you can start unpacking it.📌 Inside this video:What bargaining looks

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159 results

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