Podcasts

BBC's "The Why Factor" on alcohol addiction

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Chris Finan is interviewed by Catherine Carr for the BBC's series "The Why Factor."  The episode on alcohol addiction includes a discussion of why countries like America and India have at times turned against alcohol; stories of addiction in India and Kenya and a history of temperance and prohibition movements in America. Medical specialists explain why people can become alcoholics, why some people are drinking more and the treatments available. How Alcoholics Anonymous began and how a new synthetic alcohol may provide a solution.

AA Beyond Belief: Interview with Chris Finan

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November 1, 2017

John Sheldon, podcast editor of AA Beyond Belief, interviews Chris Finan about Drunks: An American History.  AA Beyond Belief is a website that provides "a space for the agnostic, atheist and freethinker in Alcoholics Anonymous to freely share their experience, strength and hope with each other, and the Fellowship as a whole."

Getting Sober: Irish American Leaders in the Alcohol Recovery Movement

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Chris Finan discusses the achievement of Irish leaders in the recovery movement, including Jerry McAuley, founder of the Water Street Mission, Frank Murphy, leader of the Blue Ribbon campaign, and Sister Ignatia, who worked with Dr. Bob Smith, a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, to develop a program of medical treatment for alcoholism.  The program was held on October 21, 2017, at Glucksman Ireland House in New York City.  It was co-sponsored by the New York Irish History Roundtable.

A History of Alcohol Addiction and the Quest for Sobriety in America

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The Joy Cardin Show

Thursday, July 27, 2017, 8:00am

Ever since the earliest days of our nation, Americans have struggled with alcohol addiction and the quest for sobriety, according to our guest. He explores the history of temperance and sobriety movements in America...from the so-called Washingtonians of the nineteenth century to Alcoholics Anonymous...and the individuals who lead the charge....

 

America’s Battle With The Bottle

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From the Founding Fathers to today, America has struggled with its complicated relationship with alcohol. Christopher Finan joins Krys Boyd, host of Think on KERA (the public radio station in Dallas/Ft. Worth) to tell the stories of Iroquois leader Handsome Lake, prohibitionist Carrie Nation, AA founders Bill Wilson and Bob Smith and others who’ve tried to get America sober. His new book is called “Drunks: An American History” (Beacon Press).