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
101 episodes
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...
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1:06:35
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...
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1:59:38
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...
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1:01:45
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 ...
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1:12:18
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...
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40:05
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...
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43:42
Ep. 95 - Are You Actually Ready to Stop Gambling?
I'm taking a break from talking about meetings and connection. We know that's important. But this week I want to talk about something different. The cold hard truth that most people struggling with gambling don't want to hear: wanting to stop a...
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28:45
Ep. 94 - I Paid For My Seat with Sal Guarino
Adam sits down with Sal Guarino, co-founder of The Recovery Partners, an online coaching program for gambling recovery. In a conversation that covers nearly 40 years of living with a gambling addiction, Sal and Adam dig into what keeps people g...
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1:01:22
Ep. 93 - What's the Excuse Now?
In this episode, I talk about finally sending the Venmo for a gambling debt that had been sitting in my head for seven years, why procrastination still shows up in my recovery, the anxiety that creeps in when life starts going well, and how I’m...
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36:47
Ep. 92 - Addiction By Design with Kate Seselja
Adam sits down with Australian recovery advocate and founder of The Hope Project Australia, Kate Seselja. Kate shares her lived experience with gambling addiction — from early wins that pulled her in, to years of secrecy, shame, and financial l...
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58:59
Ep. 91 - The Final Days of My 20 Years of Gambling
After 91 episodes, we made it to February 8, 2022. Adam has his first viral clip and recaps Noah's wedding weekend, what inspired him to start the Friday episodes, and how he's never going to stop telling his story.
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43:00
Ep. 90 - Multiple Addictions, Multiple Attempts at Recovery with Malik Keene
Malik Keene’s addiction story spans decades — from gambling on card games as a teenager to casino markers, alcohol abuse, drug addiction, and multiple DUIs. What began as bullying and insecurity turned into a lifelong search for validation thro...
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1:06:30
Ep. 89 - Nostalgia, Identity, and Recovery in Las Vegas with Ted Hartwell
It's a matter of weeks before Adam surrenders in Texas. Adam sits down with Ted Hartwell, Director of Storytelling at the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling and someone approaching 19 years away from his last bet. Ted’s relationship with gambli...
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1:21:11
Ep. 88 - Inside the Rise of American Sports Gambling with Danny Funt
Adam and the Botelho family discuss a variety of topics while snowed in. Danny Funt is an investigative journalist and the author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Betting. In this episode, we talk about how sp...
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1:20:23
Ep. 87 - The Power of Language with Andrew Schreier
Adam sits down with Andrew Schreier — a counselor, public speaker, and podcaster with over 20 years of experience in addiction and mental health. Andrew shares how his work in counseling, gambling recovery, and education has shaped the way he t...
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1:14:48
Ep. 86 - The Manic Episode: Todd F on Bipolar Disorder and Gambling
Adam makes it to Texas. Todd F is approaching two years in recovery from compulsive gambling, but his journey to get here wasn't linear. In this raw and honest conversation, Todd opens up about the intersection of bipolar disorder and gambling ...
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1:28:19
Ep. 85 - Curiosity Over Compulsion with Pedro Romero of BetBlocker
Adam sits down with Pedro Romero — a psychologist, safer gambling expert, and former Head of Gambling Therapy — to explore what’s actually driving gambling addiction beneath the surface. From the evolution of safer gambling inside the industry ...
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1:07:50
Ep. 84 - Looking Back to Move Ahead with Christina Cook of The Broke Girl Society
In this special collaboration episode, Adam Lyons of The Modern Meeting and Christina Cook of The Broke Girl Society, sit down for a reflective and forward-looking conversation on recovery, growth, and intention. Together, they look back on the...
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1:36:54
Ep. 83 - I'm Worth a Life with Kiki Marriott
Adam makes a decision on his future at National Harbor. Adam sits down with Kiki Marriott, who shares her story of trauma, addiction, and recovery. Kiki grew up in London in a chaotic and abusive environment and was introduced to drugs at...
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1:29:46
Ep. 82 - OTB by Day, AA by Night with Stephen Matos
Adam is waiting for the other shoe to drop at National Harbor. Stephen Matos shares his story of growing up around gambling and addiction, and how his father’s lifestyle quietly shaped his own. Stephen first found recovery through Alcoholics An...
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1:22:30
Ep. 81 - The First 10 Things I Did to Stop Gambling
After 20 years of compulsive gambling, bankruptcy, lies, constant moves, and living a double life, everything changed on February 8th, 2022. That night — my first GA meeting — was the beginning of a life I didn’t think was possible. In this epi...
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46:56
Ep. 80 - 18 Months for 50+ Years
Adam's "Winter Routine," in 2021 is not productive. Ken Feldstein joins to talk about his unique path of recovery from substance abuse. Growing up in 1960's Long Island as a teenager caught up in heroin use and the legal trouble that followed, ...
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1:30:34
Ep. 79 - Raised on the Action with Mike Sciandra
Mike Sciandra didn’t fall into gambling — he was brought up in it. He placed his first bet at 9 years old, growing up in a family marked by addiction, chaos, and incarceration. What felt normal as a kid turned into decades of hustling,...
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1:21:07
Ep. 78 - Achieving Financial Freedom with Janice Pierce
Adam has his work cut out for him at his new job. Adam sits down with Janice Pierce, a financial planner who specializes in helping people rebuild their relationship with money — especially after chaos, addiction, and life transitions. Janice b...
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1:25:57
Ep. 77 - The Original Voice with Brian Hatch (Part 2)
Adam settles in to another new place. In Part 2 of the conversation with Brian Hatch, he talks about how he continued to battle with his gambling addiction. Suffering from relapse, loss, and the chaos that followed him across state lines, Brian...
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1:02:34