Ep. 13: Why Women Drink

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 Wilsnack believes is a "global epidemic" in women's drinking."