There’s More Than One Way to Get Sober

Today's guest is Katie Herzog, cohost of the popular Blocked & Reported podcast and author of the paradigm-shattering new book Drink Your Way Sober. Katie writes about her and other people’s experiences with The Sinclair Method—a medication-assisted approach to alcoholism where you use one drug to counter problematic use of another. Her story–and the cutting-edge research and treatment she reports on–upends just about everything we think we know about drug use, recovery, and autonomy.

She talks with Nick Gillespie about naltrexone, the drug that helped her retrain her brain; why Alcoholics Anonymous works for some people but not for others; and how modern medicine is finally catching up to the idea that we should treat adults like adults when it comes to what we put in our bodies.

They also get into the insane cancel culture politics that gave rise to her and Jesse Singal launching the Blocked & Reported podcast in 2020, whether we’ve passed peak woke, and if conservatives are now simply presiding over their own version of cancel culture.

https://reason.com/podcast/2025/11/12/theres-more-than-one-way-to-get-sober/
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0:00—Introduction
1:34—What is the Sinclair Method?
6:59—Herzog's experience with alcoholism
15:50—Sexuality, self-identity, and self-loathing
22:22—Recognizing addiction and the myths of willpower
27:43—Alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous
35:03—Herzog on differences in weed and alcohol use
38:44—Beta-blockers for overcoming anxiety
43:51—Transgenderism in media and cancel culture
58:29—Tolerance vs. agreement

Producer: Paul Alexander
Audio Mixer: Ian Keyser
Illustration: Eddie Marshall