The Addiction Podcast-Point of No Return

In this podcast episode, we interview the courageous authors of "American Cartel-Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry" - Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz.  Scott and Sari give behind the scenes detail about their definitive investigation and exposé of how some of the nation's largest corporations created and fueled the opioid crisis.   The book is an indictment of the astonishing corpo...

Name is Jonathan I like to go by Jonny. I am a recovering addict of approximately 4 years. I believe the main reason I was able to become successful with my sobriety is accepting I was an addict and I needed 100% change! That included everything around me! Jonny now is co-owners of a boutique hotel in Medellin South America for cycling enthusiasts - https://lavillamedellin.bike

Etel Leit served as a commander in the Israeli Intelligence. She received her BA in languages from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and her Masters in Leadership and Education from Pepperdine University, Malibu. She is pursuing her Ph. D. in Transformational Psychology. Her transparent therapy style, sincere compassion, direct  and raw talent for inspiring those in need of clarity make Etel Leit...

This podcast episode is an interview with Bobby Newman and the family of a young woman (Lexie) who participated in the intervention.  The family members include her mother - Tammy; her grandmother - Diane; her great grandmother (deceased); and her Uncle Brian.  These family members did what had to be done to save their young Lexie and get her to treatment.  After completing the program at Narconon...

Jeffrey B. Simon is a legal commentator and founding partner of SIMON GREENSTONE PANATIER, PC.  Ranked as one of the Top 10 Personal Injury Attorney's within America and Co-Chair of the National Opioid Litigation Conference, Mr. Simon is focused on bringing crucial legal, consumer protection, and public health issues to the forefront for mainstream audiences.   Jeffrey currently serves as Chair of...

Jay Lind is a 47 year-old addict in recovery. He has lived in and around Chicago for his entire life. He is a father of two, a former high school English teacher, and author of Between the Lines: A Memoir about Addiction, Empathy, and Evolution. For years, Jay Lind lived between the lines of society's moral and legal boundaries. But his smooth, privileged life was interrupted when his dad died and...

Ashleigh Nowakowski was born in 1984 in southeastern Wisconsin. Growing up with a sibling who struggled with substances created a home environment that was less than ideal. Once her brother found recovery, Ashleigh, along with her parents, created Your Choice to Live Inc., a non-profit organization specializing in drug and alcohol prevention education. For more than a decade, Ashleigh has been spe...

In 2009, Liz founded the nonprofit Horses Healing Hearts. Liz personally experienced the struggles of growing up in a turbulent alcoholic home. At the age of 24, Liz lost her mother to liver disease. During the last ten years of her mother's life, it was the support of mentors and horses that gave her the strength and inspiration to survive. Motivated to "pay it forward" Liz created HHH to help th...

I was a police officer for 26 years. Sixteen of those as an undercover narcotic agent rising to the position of Commander. I experienced many traumatic incidents during my career. In 1998, I was diagnosed with an incurable neuro-muscular disease that caused the loss of feeling, mobility, and strength in my hands and feet. After 30 surgeries to stabilize my feet, I developed an addiction to opioids...

Kelli Richardson Lawson is an Emmy Award-winning creative visionary and purpose-driven business leader with over 30 years of global experience in brand-building. She is the founder and CEO of JOY Collective, a Black and woman-owned marketing and creative agency based in Washington, DC. JOY was named the 6th fastest growing agency of 2019 by AdWeek and recently won the 2020 Global SABRE Award for t...

I'm Lea, a speech-language pathologist, mother, wife and teletherapy content developer. After two years of recovery and sobriety, I took the deep dive to write the book I needed to hear while I was neck deep in the darkness and despair of my husband's active addiction. I needed to hear the true story of someone who overcame incredible odds and came out better, stronger, and happier from their stru...

After College, Michael Brown was assigned to the DEA Detroit, Michigan Field Division Office. Director participated in several high-profile narcotics investigations and later volunteered for the first DEA Detroit Field Office Mobile Enforcement Team as the primary undercover agent and liaison officer with local and state law enforcement agencies.   Director Brown (1991-1996) after successfully gra...

Nadia Davis is the recipient of multiple state and national public service awards and has been a public figure in California for over two decades. As a young high-profile lawyer, Nadia served on the school board and represented the wrongfully convicted. She then led local and state efforts to improve collaboration of services for victims of interpersonal violence and was elected as county supervis...

Well obviously my name is Josh. Basically in a nutshell as it were I was a careered musician and was very successful in many capacities. I once owned a recording studio with Gordon Raphael (producer of the strokes & Regina Spektor) after getting my own record deal I worked on my debut album with Anthony Braun Perry and Scott Montoya (both from the band the growlers) and was well on my way. I h...

On October 4, 2016, the trajectory of Jeff's life changed with one phone call. Prior to that day, Jeff was living the American Dream. He had a great family, was a successful entrepreneur running a financial services firm in Iowa, and was seemingly coasting through life. The morning of October 4, 2016 Jeff received the phone call that is every parent's worst nightmare. His oldest son, Seth, had die...

"Big Al" Szolack (born 1950) is a retired American basketball player best known for his time spent on the Washington Generals, the traveling exhibition team who plays against, and always loses to, the Harlem Globetrotters. He played for just the 1974–75 season, one in which the Generals lost all 245 contests. Szolack became a favorite among the Globetrotters and was selected as the "unwitting" par...

Aaron Reed accepted an International teaching position at a prestigious prep school in S.E. Asia, and in 2006, he and his wife relocated their lives to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  Soon after the birth of his daughter in 2009, he found myself swallowed into the belly of the city's drug scene with a raging meth addiction.  Within months he was recruited as a drug mule working for both the Nigerian and Kh...

Dr. Tracy Strawberry is an international speaker, published author, CEO,  and wife of baseball legend Darryl Strawberry. After many years of battling addiction, alcoholism and other life controlling issues, Tracy surrendered her life to Jesus Christ and experienced a radical life transformation through the power of God and the process of change. By sharing her testimony openly, with biblical solut...

Robert grew up in small town Georgia, admittedly more interested in sports and the outdoors than academics. He graduated high school in 1998, attended Marion Military Institute from 1999-2000 and earned a Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy in 2003. Earning the rank of 2nd Lieutenant at graduation, Robert went on to flight training, first at Vance AFB, then being awarded h...

Author Peter E. Murphy looks forward to celebrating his 50th year of sobriety after waking up in a gutter when he was 21. He has since fashioned a life of service to others by leading hundreds of workshops for thousands of writers and teachers in the United States and abroad. In addition to being the founder of Murphy Writing of Stockton University, Peter has been a consultant to numerous organiza...

Andrew Zimmern knew from a young age he wanted a career in food. After attending The Dalton School and Vassar College, he cooked in New York City restaurants for Anne Rosenzweig, Joachim Splichal and Thomas Keller, amongst others. Andrew helped open and run a dozen restaurants, and at the same time was also an addict spiraling out of control. After a year spent living on the streets, an interventi...

Danny Strong is a multi-award winning writer, director, actor, producer who is the creator, showrunner and director of the hit Hulu series Dopesick, starring Michael Keaton and Rosario Dawson. He was also the co-creator, executive producer, writer and director for the hit FOX series Empire. He also wrote the screenplays for the films Recount, Game Change, The Butler, Rebel in the Rye (which he als...

Rick Mountcastle served as a federal prosecutor for more than 32 years, first at the Department of Justice and later at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia. As a senior trial attorney in DOJ's Criminal Tax Enforcement Section, he prosecuted criminal tax cases throughout the United States.  In 1993, Rick was awarded DOJ's highest honor, the Attorney General's Award for t...

Mary Sue is a film editor, filmmaker and video journalist. She specializes in Avid editing, and also shoots and produces her own independent films. Mary Sue has worked on feature documentaries as well as TV segments, news clips, ads, promos and online content. Mary Sue divides her time between Brooklyn, New York and Ireland.  Mary Sue Connolly is an Irish filmmaker and former Editor/Producer for C...

Pam Gaslow designed catalogs for J. Crew, performed stand-up comedy, even worked as Henri Bendel's only female security guard. Pam Gaslow has had an eventful life -- including once being threatened by her family with disownment over her Depressed Hot Girl blog -- and it's about to get even more so with her first-personal confessional, "DON'T BRING YOUR VIBRATOR TO REHAB: A Somewhat Comedic Memoir....