{"podcast":{"title":"Sober Awkward","slug":"sober-awkward-3755954","podcast_index_feed_id":3755954,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6595ff3d9616e6001613f21f","website_url":"https://soberawkward.com","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6595ff3d9616e6001613f21f/1769653010047-dccec8a0-9cea-4376-b2b2-14885759a862.jpeg","author":"Victoria Vanstone","episode_count":414,"summary":"Winner, Best Well-Being Podcast at The Australian Podcast Awards 2024 Have you ever woken up after a big night out and declared, “I’m never drinking again,” only to find yourself waving $50 at a barman by Happy Hour? Yep, Vic’s been there too. Join Victoria Vanstone, award-winning podcaster, author, and former binge-drinking party animal, as she explores what it’s really like to be sober in a world absolutely soaked in alcohol. Each week on Sober Awkward, Vic dives into boozy topics, social pressures, anxiety, identity wobbles, and the messy reality of quitting drinking, opening up the shame shed of humiliating stories so you don’t have to feel alone in yours. With humour, honesty, and zero judgement, Vic tells it like it is, from vomit and one-night stands to life on the other side of destructive drinking. If you’ve hit a wall, you’re fed up with anxiety, headaches, and blackouts, or you’re just quietly sober-curious, pop the kettle on and learn how to feel the awkward, and do it anyway. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-25T04:19:56.661306+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sober-awkward-3755954"},"episode":{"title":"Have You Swapped Booze for Scrolling? with TJ Power","slug":"have-you-swapped-booze-for-scrolling-with-tj-power","published_at":"2026-06-07T14:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sober-awkward-3755954/have-you-swapped-booze-for-scrolling-with-tj-power","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sober-awkward-3755954","url":"https://soberawkward.com","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6595ff3d9616e6001613f21f/e/6a1cdeb7428d759cb3fbad77/media.mp3","summary":"This week on Sober Awkward, Vic sits down with TJ Power, a well-known neuroscientist, author of the Sunday Times bestseller The DOSE Effect , and the founder of the DOSE Lab. He is a leading voice in demystifying brain chemistry, focusing on helping people manage digital burnout, phone addiction, and overstimulation in the modern world. TJ shares his own story of changing his relationship with alcohol, including a powerful epiphany at a music festival that made him completely rethink what connection, fun and presence really mean. Together, they explore the surprising similarities between alcohol addiction and phone addiction, and why both are fuelled by the same dopamine-driven reward systems in the brain. The conversation takes an unexpected turn when Vic has a rather uncomfortable realisation of her own. Eight years sober and feeling quite smug about no longer disappearing into bottles of wine, she suddenly discovers she’s been disappearing into something else instead… her phone. In a moment that feels a bit like being caught snogging behind the bike sheds, Vic realises she may be neglecting her children in exactly the same way she used to neglect them with alcohol. Not physically absent, but mentally elsewhere. Half listening. Half scrolling. Forever saying, “Just one second, darling…” It’s a surprisingly emotional moment as TJ explains that the dopamine hits from our phones aren’t a million miles away from the rewards we chase through alcohol, and Vic starts to wonder whether she’s simply swapped one distraction for another. This episode isn’t about throwing your phone in the sea or moving to a cave. It’s about becoming curious about the habits that quietly shape our lives. And make sure you listen right to the end, because Vic returns with a surprising update afte…","meta_description":"This week on Sober Awkward, Vic sits down with TJ Power, a well-known neuroscientist, author of the Sunday Times bestseller The DOSE Effect , and the foun…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3381,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sober-awkward-3755954/episodes/have-you-swapped-booze-for-scrolling-with-tj-power/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sober-awkward-3755954/have-you-swapped-booze-for-scrolling-with-tj-power.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}