PODCAST

Living Free

The Living Free Crew

Talk on substance misuse, alcoholism and other addictions. Information on support groups is given.

news & politics

All Episodes

Narcotics Anonymous - Lucy on 29JAN2026

Living Free ·

2026/01/29

Lucy knew from a very young age that she was different from other kids and her siblings and felt anxious and a bit depressed. She found concentrating at school difficult and today acknowledges that this is probably related to her neurodivergence. Lucy gravitated to alcohol and drugs to compensate for her feelings and to fit in, often with the wrong crowd.By late teens Lucy was ready to leave home and moved in with her boyfriend, who she knew already had a heroin addiction. Introduced to heroin

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous Carol 15 Jan 2026

Living Free ·

2026/01/15

Carol joined Michael in the studio to chat about life in Alcoholics Anonymous. Carol has visited the studio before and shared the details of her drinking with Bill & Mitch in October 2023. https://audio.3cr.org.au/3cr/living-free/2023/10/19/1300/202310191300_living-free_64.mp3On this show we discusssed what life looked like at the end of her drinking, what Alcoholics Anonymous offered when she arrived at their door 35 years ago and what life looks like now.

en-au

Gamblers Anonymous - Brenden on 08JAN2026

Living Free ·

2026/01/08

Brenden shares his gambling journey and insight into his poker machine addiction and his recovery through Gamblers Anonymous. Now over six years without gambling he shares his insight into how his early behaviour, anxiety and attraction to excitement led him seek out pokies and gamble obsessively for 13 years.If you’re having trouble with gambling, or have a friend or family member that does, then maybe Gamblers Anonymous could help – phone (03) 9696 6108 or visit their website gaaustralia.org.au

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous - Mark on 18 December 2025

Living Free ·

2025/12/18

Mark joined Michael in the studio to share his story of recovery from alcoholism through the AA 12 step program. He described his early life during "The Troubles" in Ireland before moving to Australia. His drinking took over his life and the lives of those he loved the most. After admitting he had a problem, discovering in rehab that his problem is called Alcoholism and his introduction to a solution to the problem in Alcoholics Anonymous, Mark described how his life has turned around and the

en-au

Gamblers Anonymous - Zach on 11DEC2025

Living Free ·

2025/12/11

Zach was an anxious kid and grew up in a big rough family where expressing feelings was not encouraged by his parents. He had an alcoholic grandfather, but no one close had any isms.His gambling started innocuously with sweeps on the Melbourne Cup, and this developed into a gambling habit while in secondary school. Initially it was using another kid’s online betting account and this led into a gambling addiction where he needed to raid his bank account and sell personal items to cover his betting

en-au

Al-Anon Family Groups - Andy

Living Free ·

2025/12/04

Andy grew up in a village in the north of England in a family affected by alcoholism. Although his home life was relatively peaceful, his father was unpredictable. Andy also experienced the trauma of being sent to boarding school at a young age. An immediate result of this was Andy and his siblings becoming disconnected from the other children in the village. Later it led to emotional shut-down, a breakdown and depression. Andy joined Al-Anon and also started a 12-Step support group for survivers of

en-au

Al-Anon Family Groups - Victor (Repeat)

Living Free ·

2025/11/27

This conversation was originally aired on 2 September 2021Victor grew up in a family where alcohol was abused. His father was frequently violent, and to survive, Victor became hyper-vigilant and sensitive to the moods of his parents. As a child, Victor found refuge outside of the family, playing with friends in the wild areas near his home. As he grew, he recognised in himself an impulse to heal his family through humour and by trying to form relationships with his siblings. Eventually he found that

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous - Chris H

Living Free ·

2025/11/20

Chris joined Michael in the 3CR studios to share his experience of what life was like when he started drinking in his early teens, to how it progressed and took over his life in his 20's and what life looks like now as he comes up to 35 years in recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous.

en-au

Gamblers Anonymous - Sue on 13NOV2025

Living Free ·

2025/11/13

Sue grew up in an unhappy, dysfunctional home and didn’t have many close friends. She left school early, in Year 9 and went to work. Her career led to shift work, which meant that she had more money and worked odd hours. Sue would often drop into a Poker Machine venue on the way home, to unwind. These sessions became progressively longer and eventually involved greater losses, meaning that sometimes she didn’t have a cab fare home and had to walk. However, Sue didn’t think that she had a gambling

en-au

Al-Anon Family Groups - Brenda

Living Free ·

2025/11/06

Brenda entered her marriage in the early 1970's with her mother's advice to 'never argue with a drunk'. After several years of trying to keep the peace in her marriage, Brenda took her young children and left in desperation. Even without Al-Anon, she acted in faith, knowing that she did not have the answers about how she would manage on her own. It was fifteen years later that she found Al-Anon when, in relation to one of her children, she realised that she needed help to cope in another situation

en-au

Al-Anon Family Groups - Poppy

Living Free ·

2025/10/23

Poppy was born into a family struggling to cope with the trauma of migration from Greece to Australia. Her father drank to ease his sorrow and her mother had to cope with a growing number of small children, working, along with her husband, to provide for them all. Poppy has happy memories of celebrations with friends and family where there was plenty of drinking, but also carried a burden of shame about her father's behaviour when he drank. She fell in love with and married a man who also has a

en-au

Alcoholics Ananymous - John

Living Free ·

2025/10/16

John joined Michael in the studio to chat about his life. Starting in the South East suburbs of Melbourne in a family he described as a "battleground", John's life which included, scouts, cricket, a part-time job pumping petrol and a girlfriend changed dramatically around the age of 16 as his number one priority became drinking and chasing the effect it created for him. Left with very few choices at the age of 22, John was offered Larundel or Alcoholics Anonymous after another "bad decision". Nearly

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous - DAN on 09OCT2025

Living Free ·

2025/10/09

Dan was on the show back in March 2024 and came in at short notice to help us out with a live interview. Dan’s earlier interview is available on https://www.3cr.org.au/livingfree/episode/alcoholics-anonymous-dan-21mar2024.Today we are talking about how recovery works and what it is like after stopping drinking and participating in a fellowship of equals in Alcoholics Anonymous.It was great to chat with Dan again and after the show I received a message from a long-time listener saying how much he

en-au

Overeaters Anonymous - Carmen (Repeat)

Living Free ·

2025/10/02

This is a repeat of an interview that aired in December 2022.Carmen grew up in Germany in a family where there was alcohol abuse and violence. In her adult life, she developed a compulsion to control her eating and fell into a pattern of food restriction followed by bingeing. Carmen found herself preoccupied with food and when she realised it had become a problem began to look for help. A therapist's advice to eat in moderation did not work for her but through the support of Overeaters Anonymous and

en-au

AA and Al-Anon Family Groups - Glenda

Living Free ·

2025/09/25

Glenda grew up in a stable family but prolonged periods of hospitalisation in childhood along with a shy disposition led to low self-esteem. Glenda used alcohol, cannabis and other drugs to fit in socially and eventually sought treatment at the age of 27 for the difficulties this caused, including cannabis-induced psychosis. For more than 40 years Glenda has been a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and she is also a member of Al-Anon. In both fellowships she shares her experience, strength and hope

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous - Lin 18/9/2025

Living Free ·

2025/09/18

Lin joined Michael in the studio and shared her story. From life as part of a large family in country Victoria, starting to drink as a 13 year old and leaving school young, Lin describes how alcohol became her solution to life until it stopped working. She also describes a 3 year period of abstinence followed by a lapse which brought her to her knees and then a moment of clarity. She then describes what 15 years of recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous looks like now.

en-au

Gamblers Anonymous - Jonathan on 11SEP2025

Living Free ·

2025/09/11

Jonathan is in his mid-50’s and has been in Gamblers Anonymous for over nine years now. His dad was a gambler and drug addict, and he was brought up by his single mother who worked multiple jobs. Jonathan started gambling in college then started working in finance and ended up in the entertainment industry. He focussed on sports gambling and regularly used recreational drugs. Johnathan started gambling with client’s money, continued trying to recover his losses and ended up in prison for 6 years

en-au

Recovery from growing up with an alcoholic parent - Dan

Living Free ·

2025/09/04

This episode is a repeat. It was originally aired on 7 December 2023.Dan, a member of Al-Anon, grew up in a household in which another person's drinking was out of control. One of his parents was safe and nurturing during the day but in the evenings became a more dangerous presence. This inconsistency resulted in Dan feeling confused about how to trust people and eventually angry and distant from his parents. At 15 he went to Alateen where he found it healing to be in the company of other teenagers

en-au

Al-Anon Family Groups - Feebee-Lou

Living Free ·

2025/08/28

Feebee-Lou grew up in Sydney. In her childhood, her father had a serious accident that left him wheel-chair bound and this had an effect on the dynamics of the family. Feebee-Lou took care of him. Although he did not identify as an alcoholic, alcohol was a factor in the family situation. After a close relationship with a sober alcoholic Feebee-Lou found her way to Al-Anon and has since embraced the 12 Steps as a guide for living which she has found transformative, healing and fulfilling.If someone

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous - Lisa 21/08/2025

Living Free ·

2025/08/21

Lisa joined Michael & Bill in the studio to describe her journey to recovery from alcoholism. Introduced to the 12 Step Fellowship of Alateen when young due to alcoholism in her family, she decribes the decline in her life as the unmanageability took hold. The progressive nature of the illness had her in its grip until she landed in rehab and was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous.

en-au

415 results

Living Free

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Boletines RNE

RNE

BBC News

BBC World Service

برامج

مونت كارلو الدولية / MCD

Journal Afrique

RFI

要闻解说

RFI - 法国国际广播电台