The Modern Meeting
A podcast about addiction, recovery, and mental health — with a focus on gambling, alcohol, and substance use.
Hosted by Adam Lyons, a compulsive gambler in recovery, The Modern Meeting shares real stories, support, and strategies for anyone impacted by addiction.
🎧 New episodes every Tuesday.
If you’re struggling, supporting someone who is, or just looking for connection, this is for you.
Episodes
120 episodes
Ep. 120 - Five Hard Truths About Gambling Recovery
A delayed flight, a karaoke bar in Missouri, and a $248 decision I knew I shouldn't make. What happened next at the gate was the closest I've come to that old feeling in over four years. From there I talk about five hard truths about gambling a...
Ep. 119 - Raised in It, 108 Days Out of It | Carmey B's Story
Carmela aka Carmey B — grew up in Omaha's Little Italy, in a loud, proud Italian American family whose whole world revolved around gambling. Her father owned an Italian steakhouse, hosted Sunday card games, and had a past colorful enough that t...
Ep. 118 - Secretly Self-Destructing | Scott Meyer's Story
From the outside, Scott Meyer had the picture-perfect life. Married his high school sweetheart, five kids, his own accounting firm, a home in the community he grew up in, and the respect of everyone around him. He was the trusted professional p...
Ep. 117 - The Power of This Disease
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Sonya — a Marine, an adventurer, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and a friend, who passed away on May 27th after a nearly twenty-year battle with addiction. In her sister Tracy's words: "I choose to rem...
Ep. 116 - He Turned Himself In | Paul Buck, EPIC Global Solutions (Part 2)
When we left Paul Buck, the real number had just come into focus, and the obvious question was: how did he get caught?He didn't. In Part 2, Paul picks up at the night everything came apart, and the unlikely thing that finally...
Ep. 115 - Every Day for 17 Years | Paul Buck, EPIC Global Solutions (Part 1)
Before founding one of the world's leading gambling harm prevention consultancies, Paul Buck placed his first bet in October 1994. It was a £10 each-way on a 33-to-1 horse, chosen for no reason other than the jockey wearing his football team's ...
Ep. 114 - Going Back to Springfield, Six Years Later
I went back to Springfield, MA for the first time in over six years. I went for a conference, and I ended up walking through the casino for the first time since I entered recovery.In this episode I break down the top five things I notice...
Ep. 113 - Bookmaking in The Berkshires with Brian Dolan
Brian Dolan grew up in The Berkshires, won $500 in a March Madness pool in fourth grade, and spent the next 15 years chasing that feeling. By his freshman year of college he was dealing drugs to cover gambling debts. By his mid-20s he had $80,0...
Ep. 112 - We Cannot Do This Alone | Gambling Recovery in Real Time
I still have zero urge to gamble, but in the last few months I went from one meeting a week to four. And it's been awesome. This week I share not just what I've been learning in those rooms, but what I've been contributing — including a differe...
Ep. 111 - A Ferrari With No Brakes | Edgar Jones’ Story
On December 1st, 2012, his birthday, Edgar Jones' teammate took his own life and his girlfriend's life outside the Kansas City Chiefs facility. The team played the next day. Edgar played. And then he spent years trying to outrun everything he f...
Ep. 110 - The Geographic Cure: Why Moving Never Fixed My Gambling
I've moved 18 times in almost 25 years. Every single time, I convinced myself the new place would fix things. New city. Fresh start. Maybe this time I wouldn't gamble. It never worked. Because I took myself with me every time.In this epi...
Ep. 109 - Therapy Did What Meetings Couldn't | Jacob's Story
Jacob grew up in England, moved to Australia, and spent 15 years losing everything to sports betting. He tried GA meetings. They helped, but only so much. What actually saved him was therapy. Nearly 100 sessions later, all with the same therapi...
Ep. 108 - I Would Have Lost Every Bet I Made That Day
On this episode I share a life update - Moving back to Rhode Island and very excited about it. I also recap the latest conference in Illinois where I made my first keynote and heard some amazing things from others in attendance. A last minute R...
Ep. 107 - The Storm Is Coming | Abdullah Mahmood on Ohio's Gambling Crisis
Abdullah Mahmood is back. The gambling coordinator at Maryhaven in Columbus, Ohio returns to The Modern Meeting for a conversation about what might be the most significant piece of gambling legislation in the country right now. The Save Ohio Sp...
Ep. 106 - I'm Becoming Who I Thought I'd Be
I almost didn't record this one. Friday episodes are tough. I was ready to skip the episode entirely. And then the Monday meeting happened. The topic was: what did gambling give you — and who are you without it? What followed was one of the mos...
Ep. 105 - 53 Years, 4 Marriages, and 1 Friday the 13th
Larry K went to his first Gamblers Anonymous meeting at 16 years old in 1973 — not because he was ready, but because his grandmother paid him $100 to go. What followed was 53 years of compulsive gambling, multiple relapses, four marriages, and ...
Ep. 104 - I Negotiated With God at a Slot Machine
This week we're getting specific. After pleading my case on the importance of lived experience stories, I tell five stories from my gambling that I've either never mentioned on this podcast or have only glossed over. From the debt collection ca...
Ep. 103 - Come All The Way In, Sit All The Way Down
Mandy S hadn't placed a bet in 917 days when she sat down for this conversation with Adam. She wasn't a sports bettor or a casino gambler. What kept her gambling for many years was scratch tickets. She hid her addiction in plain sight. She didn...
Ep. 102 - The F**k It Phase
I was supposed to release this episode on Friday. Instead, I didn't start recording until Sunday night. Four years into recovery, the "f**k it phase" is still very much a part of my life. The procrastination, the putting things off, the feeling...
Ep. 101 - Two Moms, One Mission with Kim Freudenberg & Linda Uphoff
If your child has a gambling problem, where do you even start?That's the question Kim Freudenberg and Linda Uphoff couldn't answer when they needed it most. Kim's son Kurt started gambling at age 11 — on video game skins and offshore cas...
Ep. 100 - Alright Hey Everybody, Episode 100 of The Modern Meeting!
Episode 100 of The Modern Meeting.This is a chronological look back at the first 99 episodes — clips that show how the conversations and perspectives have evolved over time. Different voices, different experiences, but all centered aroun...
Ep. 99 - Build it Up, Burn it Down with Louis Ruggiero (Part 2)
In Part 2, Louis Ruggiero picks up where he left off - sober from drugs and alcohol but deeper in his gambling addiction than ever. From betting $40,000 on UFC fights to losing $600,000 on a sports betting app in months, Louis reveals how compu...
Ep. 98 - Louis Ruggiero: Everything to Lose — And He Did (Part 1)
Louis Ruggiero grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Private school. Three sports. By most measures, he had every advantage. At 14 — he turned $200 into $9,000 at a blackjack table in the Bahamas and lost every penny before checkout. By ...
Ep. 97 - Back in the State Where it All Ended
Oklahoma was the last place I ever gambled in a casino. WinStar. January 31st, 2022. This is my first time back.We cover a lot of ground this week — bad flights, great food, a statewide conference on problem gambling, and a number that s...
Ep. 96 - Meeting People Where They Are in Louisiana with Meagan Dunham
Adam sits down with Meagan Dunham, a licensed master social worker and Gambling Program Monitor for Louisiana's Metropolitan Human Services District (MHSD) serving the Greater New Orleans area. Meagan didn't come to this work through lived expe...