{"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":"The Hidden Struggle of the High Functioning Drinker - with James Swanwick","slug":"the-hidden-struggle-of-the-high-functioning-drinker-with-james-swanwick","published_at":"2026-05-31T14:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sober-awkward-3755954/the-hidden-struggle-of-the-high-functioning-drinker-with-james-swanwick","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/6a070371a8fad4c1be14c101/media.mp3","summary":"This week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats to James Swanwick about high-functioning drinking, success, pressure and the growing movement of people choosing to live alcohol free — not because they’ve completely fallen apart, but because they simply feel better without it. James is an Australian stop drinking expert, author, investor, entrepreneur and former SportsCenter anchor on ESPN. He is the creator of stop drinking organisation, Alcohol Free Lifestyle, which helps business owners and executives finally break free from alcohol without AA, rehab or willpower. Together, Vic and James unpack the myth that alcohol problems only affect people at “rock bottom” and explore why high achievers often struggle silently for years. They chat about identity, pride, social pressure, parenting, masculinity, success and why being outwardly functional can actually make it harder to admit something isn’t working. They also explore a really interesting question: Can giving up alcohol sometimes be less about “having a problem”… and more about choosing a different lifestyle entirely? Plus there’s chat about celebrity alcohol brands, the rise of the alcohol-free movement, Gen Z turning away from booze and why many people are beginning to realise that alcohol may be taking far more than it gives. This episode is for anyone who’s ever wondered: “Do I actually need to wait for things to get worse before I make a change?” Enjoy! Find James' work here - IG:  https://www.instagram.com/jamesswanwick/ FB:  https://web.facebook.com/AlcoholFreeLifestyle https://web.facebook.com/JamesSwanwickOfficial Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AlcoholFreeLifestyle https://www.youtube.com/@JamesSwanwick TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@jamesswanwick Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/…","meta_description":"This week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats to James Swanwick about high-functioning drinking, success, pressure and the growing movement of people choosing to…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3425,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sober-awkward-3755954/episodes/the-hidden-struggle-of-the-high-functioning-drinker-with-james-swanwick/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/the-hidden-struggle-of-the-high-functioning-drinker-with-james-swanwick.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}