Podcast
Thriving with Addiction with Dr. Jonathan Avery
Hosted by Dr. Jonathan Avery · EN
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.
23episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
When Screen Time Becomes Addiction with Katilyn Regehr
5d ago00:40:39Summary readyDr 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 Act and she has provided consultation in the House of Lords, and to Members of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police, The Children’s Commissioner, The Scottish Government and Prevent. Dr Regehr is committed to the public dissemination of algorithmic and AI literacy through broadcasting and writing. She has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for the Oprah Podcast and has appeared across a spectrum of US Media including CNN and USA Today. More locally, she is a regular contributor on ITV’s This Morning, BBC News, The Today Programme, BBC Women’s Hour, BBC Bitesize and as an Op-Ed writer for The Guardian. Dr Regehr is also the author of the international bestseller, Smartphone Nation.Follow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary
Rise, Recover, Thrive: How Scott Strode Is Redefining Addiction Recovery
2w ago00:32:27Summary readyScott 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 in 1997 and discovered that physical challenge and community were essential to his recovery. In 2006, he founded The Phoenix in Boulder, Colorado, creating a space where people in recovery could rebuild their lives together through movement and belonging. His memoir, Rise. Recover. Thrive., tells the story of his recovery and the movement he built to help others heal and thrive.https://thephoenix.org/Follow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary
Can Ozempic Treat Addiction? GLP-1s and the Future of Medicine
3w ago00:32:23Summary readyDhruv 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 of the Physicians Foundation Center for the Study of Physician Practice and Leadership and Associate Director of the Cornell Health Policy Center. His research on value-based care, health care consolidation, and medical innovation has been published in JAMA and The New England Journal of Medicine. He earned his M.D. from Yale, trained at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and received an M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School.https://www.dhruvkhullar.com/Follow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary
Ambien Addiction Almost Destroyed Her Life: Laura Cathcart Robbins
4w ago00:41:00Summary readyLaura 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. Phil, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Oprah Daily, Good Housekeeping, Today.com, Huffpo, and more. In 2024, Laura’s New York Times Modern Love essay was turned into an episode of the Modern Love Podcast, and she was named the SDWF Memoirist Of The Year. A TEDx speaker, Laura currently sits on the advisory boards of the San Diego Writers’ Festival and The Buckley School’s nationally recognized DEI Board Committee. Find out more about her on her website, lauracathcartrobbins.com, or you can look for her on Instagram at @lauracathcartrobbins.Follow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary
The Rapid Rise of Gambling Addiction with Tim Fong
May 500:38:29Summary readyDr. 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 then came to UCLA and finished his residency in adult general psychiatry in 2002 and was the first accredited addiction psychiatry fellow at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute (2002-2004).He is the co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program (UGSP). The purpose of this program is to examine the underlying causes and clinical characteristics of gambling disorder in order to develop effective, evidence-based treatment strategies.Since 2009, he has been the director of the UCLA Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship, a one-year accredited program that provides clinical training in addiction psychiatry.Finally, he is part of the faculty leadership of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, a multidisciplinary effort to examine the full impact of cannabis on the body, mind and brain.Follow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary
When the Parent Drinks: One Therapist’s Journey From Childhood Chaos to Family Healing
Apr 2800:35:06Summary readyDr. 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 ones struggling with mental health or addiction. With training from Columbia, Duke, and Weill Cornell, she combines her clinical expertise in Dialectical Behavior Therapy and other evidence-based CBT's with personal experience to support families affected by behavioral health issues. Follow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary
What We Get Wrong About Cannabis with Yasmin Hurd
Apr 2100:38:01Summary readyDr. 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 and related psychiatric illnesses. A translational approach is used to examine molecular and neurochemical events in the human brain and comparable animal models in order to ascertain neurobiological correlates of behavior. A major focus of the research focuses on opioid abuse and the developmental effects of cannabis. The group also conducts human clinical trials towards developing novel therapies for opioid use disorder. Based on her accomplishments Dr. Hurd was inducted into both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.Follow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary
Sobriety That Lasts: The 9 Essential Truths with Laura McKowen
Apr 1400:33:19Summary readyLaura 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 intersection of addiction, recovery, emotional sobriety, and the complexities of relationships. She has written for The New York Times and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Atlantic, The TODAY Show, and more.In 2020, she founded The Luckiest Club, a global sobriety support community, and she writes Love Story, a popular Substack newsletter about sobriety, relationships, recovery, and writing. She is currently working on her third book.Website: lauramckowen.comInstagram: @Laura_McKowenLinkedIn: @lauramckowenFollow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary
Healing the Modern Brain with Dr. Drew Ramsey
Apr 700:37:15Summary readyDREW 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 Spruce Mental Health. For twenty years, he served as an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, where he taught and supervised psychotherapy and nutritional psychiatry.Dr. Ramsey has authored four previous books, including the international bestseller Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety and three e-courses. He is a dynamic speaker, podcast host and educator who has delivered three TEDx talks and his work has been featured by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, NPR and other notable outlets. He lives in Jackson, WY with his wife and family. Learn more at www.DrewRamseyMD.comFollow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary
Quitting Cannabis Changed Her Life: Lindsey Metselaar on Sobriety, Relationships, and Motherhood
Mar 3100:33:46Summary readyLindsey 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 some hilarious anecdotes along the way. Lindsey also has a food blog called Don't Expect Salads (@dontexpectsalads) with over 100,000 followers. Since creating We Met At Acme, Lindsey has expanded to touring over the country and also continues to host mixers and events around NYC.Follow Thriving with Addiction:www.thrivingwithaddiction.comwww.instagram.com/jonathanaverymdx.com/jonathanaverymdwww.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-avery-md
Summary