Right Turn Radio Podcast

Boston-based comedians Joey Carroll, Jack Lynch, and Bob Carney share stories of their journey from addiction to recovery though all the laughter, and the tears, and then back to the laughter.

Tonight we’re talking about the importance of good after care following treatment: how to make a long term plan to stay clean, and how to create a long term plan for the family of addicts in recovery. Guests include Peter C. Johnson, a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor and Relapse Prevention Specialist, and Terry Cronin, a board licensed interventionist and Certified Alcohol and Addiction Counselor at Advanced Health and Education.

The LGBT community is struggling with equality in more ways than one. Did you know that substance abuse occurs at a higher rate among gay and transgender people than in the general population? We're talking about addiction, recovery, and treatment in LGBT community, with guest Frank Busconi, MPH LISCW of Fenway Health.

Murray Carpenter, author of the new book “Caffeinated: How our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us.” His new book reveals the little-known truth about this addictive, largely unregulated drug found in coffee, energy drinks, teas, colas, chocolate, and even pain relievers. We’ll learn about why caffeine has such a powerful effect on everything from boosting our mood to improving our athletic performance as well as how—and why—brands such as Coca-Cola have ducked regulatory efforts for decades. We learn the differences in the various ways caffeine is delivered to the body, how it is quietly used to reinforce our buying patterns, and how it can play a role in promoting surprising health problems like obesity and anxiety. And later in the show we’ll be joined by Dr. Himal Mitra, a psychiatrist who will broaden this discussion to include other kinds of stimulants (including ADHD medication), and the effect they have on the body.

Kristen Johnston, actor (“3rd Rock from the Sun”, “The Exes”), New York Times best selling author of GUTS and founder of SLAM, an organization to create the first sober high school in New York City, and Michelle Lipinski, Director of the Northshore Recovery High School in MA, join us to talk about the importance of creating – and maintaining – a sober lifestyle for teens at schools across the country.

Dr. Staci Gruber, the Director of the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core at McLean Hospital's Brain Imaging Center and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, joins us to talk about how marijuana works in the body, and how variations in use affect the brains of adults and teens.

Our exclusive "Speaker Series" interview with Judy Crane, Founder and Executive Director of The Refuge - A Healing Place, on the role of trauma and moral injury in addiction. Judy has over two decades of experience working in both residential and out-patient settings. In 2003 she brought her years of specialized training and her distinctive insights on treating trauma and addiction to create The Refuge-A Healing Place. Under her leadership, The Refuge has grown to become one of the foremost leaders in treating Trauma/PTSD and Addiction. Right Turn Radio's "Speaker Series" is a collection of exclusive interviews with the nation’s leading specialists in the addiction and recovery fields, recorded at the top addiction conferences across the country.

Former House Representative Patrick Kennedy sat down with us to discuss the state of addiction and mental health in America. Rep. Kennedy was the author and chief House sponsor of the Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, an act that expanded access to mental health services to over 100 million Americans. We spoke with him about raising awareness for research and treatment, and about the brain as the ‘last medical frontier’. Right Turn Radio's "Speaker Series" is a collection of exclusive interviews with the nation’s leading specialists in the addiction and recovery fields, recorded at the top addiction conferences across the country.

Right Turn's exclusive "Speaker Series" interview with Brian Cuban, lawyer, activist and author of "Shatter Image: My Triumph Over Body Dysmorphic Disorder". Through a series of very personal, witty and poignant anecdotes, the younger brother of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban opens up about his personal battle with a mental disorder known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) in which the sufferer is preoccupied with a distorted sense of self-image and is often afflicted with eating disorders, depression and addiction. Right Turn Radio's "Speaker Series" is a collection of exclusive interviews with the nation’s leading specialists in the addiction and recovery fields, recorded at the top addiction conferences across the country.

Our exclusive interview with Ann Dowsett Johnston, author of "Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol". From her book: "Over the past few decades, the feminist revolution has had enormous ramifications. Women outnumber their male counterparts in postsecondary education in most of the developed world, and they are about to match that accomplishment in the workplace. But what has not been fully documented or explored is that while women gained equality in many arenas, they also began to close the gender gap in terms of alcohol abuse. In the U.S. alone, more than 23,000 girls and women die from heavy drinking each year. Binge drinking and so-called "drunkorexia" are on the rise, contributing exponentially to a wide variety of health conditions and cancers. Combining in-depth research with her own personal story of recovery, Ann Dowsett Johnston delivers a groundbreaking examination of a shocking yet little recognized epidemic threatening society today, what pre-eminent researcher Sharon Wils

Substance abuse among Veterans is a growing problem in our country, but help is available. We'll be joined by Dave Dyer, an Army veteran, infantry scout from the 10th Mountain Division who served in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007 and who's currently with the SHARP Team of the Dept. of Veteran's Services (a peer specialist focused on chronically homeless veterans and providing all aspects of crisis intervention), and Matthew McKenna, Director of Communications & Intergovernmental Relations, Department of Veterans' Services. We're also joined by Justin Enggasser, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, Lecturer in Psychology at Harvard Medical School, and Section Chief for Substance Abuse Treatment Services at VA Boston Healthcare System. Dr. Enggasser has published research in the areas of substance abuse, depression, and PTSD. He is currently involved in projects developing and testing new treatment models and treatment delivery methods for co-occurring substance

Jessica Feinberg, LICSW, Director of Clinical Services, The Landing at McLean Hospital, and Thomas Ahern, Dir. Outdoor Groups, Aspen Education Group, join us to talk about the predominant issues surrounding teen drug abuse, the unique challenges teens face when it comes to addiction, and the current treatment options available to them.

Kayt Sukel, science writer and author of "THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON SEX" and Gail Marsh, LICSW, Sex Therapist, join us as we uncover how the brain deals with love and sex, how our past and present behavior affects the kind of sex we have, and what happens to our relationships when our brains are addicted to drugs and alcohol.

We'll talk about the differences between Harm Reduction and Harm Prevention, and the ethical dilemma many people fear: are we helping people hurt themselves? Shannon Kelly from the Cambridge Prevention Coalition, Dr. Eric Voth of Drug Free America Foundation, and Michael Kelly, a Harm Reduction Artist & Health Care Worker join in the discussion.

Do you think you might be a problem drinker? Yes? No? How can you tell? We're talking all about Problem Drinking. We'll dispel the myths, learn the tell tale signs of problem drinking, and talk about treatment.

Gambling addiction can have dangerous, secretive, and life threatening consequences, but there is treatment out there. We're joined by Mack M. who will share his story of gambling addiction and recovery, Margot Cahoon, from the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling, and Dr. Rob Hunter and Christine Odegaard, two of the top gambling addiction treatment specialists in the country.

"Motherhood, Addiction, and Me" - Dedicated to moms in recovery, we'll hear personal stories from Lauren Y. and Kim C., two moms currently in recovery from their alcohol and opiate addictions. We'll talk about trends facing women re: alcohol and drugs, and the special challenges they face as mothers in recovery.

Daniel Smith, author of the best seller book MONKEY MIND: A MEMOIR OF ANXIETY, and Dr. Luana Marques, Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School and the Center For Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at the Massachusetts General Hospital, on how anxiety affects the body and mind, and the dangers of self medicating.

Jon Cohan's exclusive with Nikki Sixx, bassist for Motely Crue, and author of "The Heroin Diaries" and "This is Gonna Hurt". Nikki shares his journey in recovery, and reveals the role of sobriety on his creative process.

Melissa Weiksnar joins us to talk about her book HEROIN’S PUPPET, a memoir about her daughter Amy's struggle with drug addiction, and how substance abuse affects the family as a whole. In November 2009, Amy admitted she was a heroin addict and voluntarily entered treatment. Five weeks later, just shy of her twenty-first birthday, she died from an overdose at the treatment facility. Melissa wrote “Heroin's Puppet” so parents, clinicians, and young people can learn from her daughter's six-year battle with substance abuse.