Thriving with Addiction with Dr. Jonathan Avery
Thriving with Addiction is a podcast about addiction, recovery, and mental health hosted by addiction psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Avery. Through conversations with leading experts, people in recovery, families affected by addiction, and clinicians on the front lines, the show explores how individuals and families can better understand addiction and move toward lasting healing.
Topics include addiction and recovery, mental health, the brain and behavior, treatment and healing, the impact of addiction on families, and the evolving science of recovery and wellbeing.
Through his podcast, writing, and clinical work, Dr. Avery helps individuals struggling with substances, their families, and the clinicians who care for them move toward hope and healing.
Dr. Jonathan Avery is the Vice Chair for Addiction Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Medical Director of the NBA’s Anti-Drug Program. His work focuses on improving how healthcare professionals, patients, and families understand substance use disorders and respond with effective treatment, compassion, and evidence-based care.
His expertise has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, and on Next Question with Katie Couric. His upcoming book, Thriving with Addiction: A New Roadmap for Lasting Recovery and Health (Prometheus Books, Fall 2026), is now available for preorder.
Episodes
32 episodes
From the NBA to Recovery: Growth, Purpose, and Giving Back with Chris Herren
Chris Herren is a former NBA player, author, and nationally recognized recovery advocate who has become one of the leading voices on addiction, mental wellness, and prevention. Sober since 2008, Herren has shared his story with more than two mi...
Can Psychedelics Treat Addiction? with Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu
Albert Garcia-Romeu, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His research examines the effects of psychedelics in humans, with a focus on psilocybin as an aid in the treatme...
Bullied, Addicted, Incarcerated — Then Rebuilt: Doug Bopst’s Story
Doug Bopst is an award-winning personal trainer, author, and host of the Adversity Advantage Podcast. A former felon who struggled with substances, he was incarcerated for possession with intent to sell. Doug used his time in jai...
July 4th Alcohol Series: Moderation with Medication with Jonathan Hunt-Glassman
Jonathan Hunt-Glassman is the co-founder and CEO of Oar Health. Oar Health is a telehealth platform that helps people get started with medication to drink less or quit and provides ongoing support as they work toward their goals. Jonathan start...
July 4th Alcohol Series: The Latest Science and Changing Attitudes with Dr. Mashal Khan
Mashal Khan, M.D. is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and Associate Program Director for the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship. As the psychiatrist on the Liver Transplant Team, he evaluates organ recipients...
July 4th Alcohol Series: Reclaiming Joy Through Alcohol-Free Living with Maxine Linehan
Maxine Linehan is an internationally acclaimed Irish singer, writer, and theatrical performer whose deeply personal work reimagines beloved songbooks to explore identity, healing, and emotional truth. Her recordings have earned praise from ...
Carrying the Story Forward: Tom Farley on Addiction, Family, and Healing
Tom Farley grew up in Madison, WI, and graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Marketing. He began his career in banking and finance before running The Chris Farley Foundation (1999–2012), a nationally recognized nonprofit focused...
Chasing Perfection: Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Addiction with Dr. Katharine Phillips
Katharine Phillips, MD, is internationally known for her expertise in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and related disorders, such as olfactory reference disorder (ORD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). For more than 30 years, Dr. Phillips...
How Parents Discovered JUUL—and Launched a National Movement
Meredith Berkman is a co-founder of Parents Against Vaping (PAVe), an advocacy and education nonprofit created in 2018 by three moms as a grassroots response to the youth vaping epidemic. Run and powered by volunteers around the country, PAVe i...
When Screen Time Becomes Addiction with Kaitlyn Regehr
Dr Kaitlyn Regehr is an Associate Professor of Digital Humanities at University College London, whose research is focused on digital and AI literacy. She has informed legislation on online safety, most recently feeding into the Online Safety Ac...
Rise, Recover, Thrive: How Scott Strode Is Redefining Addiction Recovery
Scott Strode is the founder of The Phoenix, a national sober active community that helps people recover from addiction through fitness, connection, and purpose. After struggling with alcohol and cocaine use in early adulthood, Scott got sober i...
Can Ozempic Treat Addiction? GLP-1s and the Future of Medicine
Dhruv Khullar, M.D., M.P.P., is a physician and associate professor of health policy and economics at Weill Cornell Medical College and a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he covers medicine, health care, and politics. He serves as Director...
Ambien Addiction Almost Destroyed Her Life: Laura Cathcart Robbins
Laura Cathcart Robbins is the best-selling author of the Atria/Simon & Schuster memoir Stash, My Life In Hiding, and host of the popular podcast Only One In The Room. Laura has been featured on MSNBC, The Tameron Hall Show, C-SPAN, and Dr. ...
The Rapid Rise of Gambling Addiction with Tim Fong
Dr. Timothy Fong is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.Dr. Fong completed his undergraduate and medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago. He th...
When the Parent Drinks: One Therapist’s Journey From Childhood Chaos to Family Healing
Dr. Kibby McMahon is a clinical psychologist, CEO of KulaMind, and host of "A Little Help For Our Friends" podcast, specializing in helping people who have loved one...
What We Get Wrong About Cannabis with Yasmin Hurd
Dr. Yasmin Hurd is the Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.Dr. Hurd's multidisciplinary research investigates the neurobiology underlying substance use disorders an...
Sobriety That Lasts: The 9 Essential Truths with Laura McKowen
Laura is the author of the bestselling memoir We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life and Push Off From Here: Nine Essential Truths to Get You Through Life (and Everything Else).Her work explores the i...
Healing the Modern Brain with Dr. Drew Ramsey
DREW RAMSEY, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist, author, and leading voice in Nutritional Psychiatry and integrative mental health. He is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the founder of the Brain Food Clinic and Spr...
Quitting Cannabis Changed Her Life: Lindsey Metselaar on Sobriety, Relationships, and Motherhood
Lindsey Metselaar is a native New Yorker and host of We Met At Acme podcast, which has amassed over 10 million downloads since its creation in 2017. We Met At Acme is a dating podcast that delves into sex, relationships, and vulnerability, with...
The Truth About Sex Addiction with Kenneth Rosenberg MD
Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD is a general and addiction psychiatrist in Manhattan, specializing in sexual compulsivity and is the co-editor of the text Behavioral Addictions (2014, Elsevier Press). He is the author of two books for the public, In...
UFC Fighter Jared Gordon on Recovery Without a Finish Line
Jared Gordon is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the UFC’s lightweight division. A New York native, he began wrestling as a child and transitioned to MMA after a standout amateur career. Known for his durability, high pac...
How AI Is Hijacking Our Brains with Tim Requarth
Tim Requarth is the author of the newsletter The Third Hemisphere, a neuroscientist’s field notes on how AI is (or isn’t) rewiring our brains. A contributing writer at Slate and a columnist at The Transmitter, his work has also appeared in The ...
Sideline to the Spotlight: Lauren Sisler on Loss, Resilience, and Breaking the Silence Around Addiction
Lauren Sisler is an ESPN and SEC Network sideline reporter, host of SEC Nation, and an Emmy-winning sports journalist known as much for her authenticity as her on-air presence. Behind the scenes, Lauren carries a deeply personal...
A Proven Addiction Medication Nobody Prescribes with Benjamin Westhoff
Ben Westhoff is an award-winning investigative reporter whose books are taught around the country and have been translated around the world, including Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Created the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic...
Losing the Game, Finding Yourself with Montee Ball Jr.
Montee Ball Jr. is one of the most accomplished running backs in college football history whose life ultimately became defined not just by records, but by recovery. A dominant high school and University of Wisconsin star, Ball set NCAA r...
