PODCAST · health
After Hours with Jimmy Thistle
by Jimmy Thistle
Join Jimmy Thistle for After Hours, the brutally honest, funny and heartwarming podcast that dives deep into alcohol, addiction and recovery. From grey area drinking and questioning your relationship with alcohol to quitting drinking and discovering life beyond the booze, After Hours brings you real conversations with people who've been there. Through honest, unfiltered stories of sobriety, addiction, recovery and personal transformation, Jimmy and his guests explore what it really takes to change your life, one day at a time. Whether you're sober, sober curious, trying to cut down or simply wondering if alcohol is taking more than it's giving, there's a place for you here. Choose tomorrow. Stay sober today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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I Was an Extra in My Own Life
Episode 93 | Melissa Cheriegate: I Was an Extra in My Own Life What happens when you spend so long living for everyone else that you forget who you are? This week on After Hours with Jimmy Thistle, I'm joined by Melissa Cheriegate, artist and creator of the Whoever You Artpodcast, for an honest...
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I Didn't Hit Rock Bottom. I Just Got Tired of Feeling This Way
EPISODE 92 | SOPHIE HYDE "I Could Stop at Two Glasses of Wine. But All I Thought About Was the Next One." What happens when you're the life and soul of the party, but behind the scenes you're absolutely miserable? This week on After Hours with Jimmy Thistle, I'm joined by Sophie Hyde, the former...
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When I Was Sniffing Coke It Was "That's Just Johnny Boy" — I Got Sober & Found God & They Asked My Mum If I'd Lost My Mind
Jonny Crawford joined the RAF at nineteen looking for discipline. What he got was twelve years of what he calls the fittest alcoholics in the world. In this episode he pulls the curtain back on a drinking culture most people never see. The beer calls that weren't compulsory but absolutely were,...
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I Handed My Husband the Gin & Said "Take a Picture — This Is My Last Ever Drink
Olivia Farrelly had her last drink on 4 July 2018. It was a gin, at a wedding in Spain, and she knew before she'd finished it. She handed the glass to her husband Gary and asked him to take a photograph, because it felt that big. She still has the pictures. Eight years on, Olivia is an…
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I Looked Around My Own Living Room & Thought: This Scene Needs a Mom — And Then I Realised I Was the Mom
Episode 89 | Suzanne Warye — Mummy Wine Culture, the Vodka Deal & the Morning She Couldn't Remember Feeding Her Baby Suzanne Warye grew up in Wisconsin, a state where 97 of America's 100 drunkest cities are located and the baseball team is literally called the Brewers. Drinking there didn't feel...
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I Ran Over 20 Marathons as a Complete Pisshead & Told Myself I Couldn't Possibly Have a Problem
Episode 88 | Steve Smith — Nitro, the Door Handle & the Man Who Quit on a Train Platform Steve Smith grew up in Berkshire, the son of Glaswegian parents — his dad a police officer turned private investigator who joined the force in England because Glasgow wanted him two inches taller. There was...
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I Was the Queen of Holistic Living — Coconut Oil, Soap Nuts, Natural Everything — & Alcohol Was the Elephant in the Room I Stepped Around for 15 Years
Episode 87 | Janey Lee Grace — Wham!, Cola Boy & the Elephant in the Room Nobody Told Her About Janey Lee Grace grew up in Nottingham, got into music in her teens, and somehow navigated the drug-soaked world of touring bands without falling too far in — largely, she thinks, out of fear. She had…
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I Was Sitting on My Couch Drinking Straight From a Tequila Bottle at 7pm & My Boyfriend Looked at Me & Said What Happened to You
Episode 86 | Laura Van Antwerp — The Pinky Promise, the Ski Town & 172 Miles on the Tahoe Rim Trail Laura Van Antwerp is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, public speaker, social media influencer and adventure junkie with a passion for helping people get outdoors and live their best life without...
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I Was Spending £2,000 a Day on Cocaine While Running a Bank — Sitting in a Car Park in Leeds Off My Head Trying to Manage My Team Through a Blackberry
Episode 85 | Richard Chapman — £2,000 a Day, a Drug Cartel & the Finance Director Who Got Clean in the Rehab That Saved Him Richard Chapman grew up in Bradford, the youngest of three, with a father who was an HSBC area director, a grandfather who was a West Yorkshire police superintendent, and a...
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I Got the Job in 1997 Because I Could Out-Drink Everyone in the Interview — We Literally Didn't Hire People Who Turned Down the Third Shot
Episode 84 | Sarah Rusbatch — Grey Area Drinking, Mummy Wine Culture & the Morning Her Daughter Asked What Happened to Your Face Sarah Rusbatch grew up in Scotland in a household where alcohol was simply part of life — grandma offering sips of wine at nine, her dad's beer froth, men in kilts...
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My Dad Was Sober for 16 Months & I Had Him Back — Then My Granddad Died & He Relapsed Hard & Within Four Months He Was Gone
Episode 83 | Sarah Drage — The Doctor, the Car Keys & What Happens When You Finally Get Your Dad Back and then lose him again... Sarah Drage grew up in West Yorkshire, the eldest of three daughters to a man who was, by her account, genuinely ahead of his time — forward thinking, emotionally open,...
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I Lay Buried in Snow in Shorts for Two Hours & Five Minutes in the Scottish Highlands & Broke a Guinness World Record — Three Years Earlier I Was Rattling Outside a Health Centre
Episode 82 | Michael Kiernan — The Wrong Number, the Guinness World Record & the Cold Water That Changed Everything Michael Kiernan grew up in Crosshill, a small town where everybody knew everybody and especially knew your family. Good childhood, strong women, a mum and a gran raising him — and...
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People See My Tattoos & the First Thing They Do Is Offer Me a Drink or Drugs or Both — They've Got Me Completely Backwards
Episode 81 | Ashley Baker — Rocket Fuel at 13, Death Metal in Dubai & 17 Years Sober His Own Way Ashley Baker was born in the UK but never lived there. He grew up in Dubai in the late seventies and eighties — before it was trendy, when it was still mostly desert — the only child of an English mum...
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I Grew Up Knowing If My Dad Had Four Cans in the Fridge Everything Would Be OK — But If He Went to the Pub With His Friends I Needed to Hide Under the Covers
Episode 80 | Scott Murdoch — Four Cans in the Fridge, the Marathon des Sables & Running to the First Minister Scott Murdoch grew up on the schemes of Loch Lomond — grey houses, young teams, a school that got burnt down so they learned in caravans — and moved at thirteen to a nicer part of town...
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I Was Going Door to Door Around the Neighbours Asking If They Had Any Wine Left — That Was Where My Life Had Got To
Episode 79 | Paul Drayton — Ride or Die Trying: Beach Blanket Babylon, Two Brain Operations & the Love Story at the Heart of It All Paul Drayton grew up in Sunderland — doors unlocked, family holidays, a dad who ran his own petrol station, a childhood he describes as idyllic. His first real taste...
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I Did a Thousand Day Ones Over 35 Years & the Furthest I Ever Got Was Day Six — Then I Worked Out the One Thing Everyone Gets Wrong About Quitting
Nigel Jones is the founder of the 9KM BY 9AM health and wellbeing platform, an accredited life coach, sober coach, hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner, and the author of the best selling QUIT DRINKING book Walking Back To Happiness: The Secret To Alcohol-Free Living & Well-being. After recently...
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I Decorated the Entire Hospital Ward in Blood — The Doctor Came Back the Next Morning & Said You've Got a 20% Chance of Making It Through the Next Hour
Episode 77 | Dan Sheridan — Big Dan Stella in a Straight Glass: Cirrhosis, a 20% Chance & the Liver That Changed Everything Dan Sheridan grew up in Harwell, Oxfordshire — a village with five pubs and a club, a dad who was his hero, and a first attempt on his own life at 22 that he talked his way...
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I Got Off the Plane & There Were Cops Waiting — Drug Trafficking Charges, Deported, Lifetime Ban From the US & That Was the Moment Something Finally Shifted
Episode 76 | Brad McLeod — The Million Dollar Man: Running from everything, Drug Trafficking & the Moment Everything Shifted Brad McLeod was born in Canada, one of twins, to a sixteen-year-old mother still living with her own parents. By the time he was six the family had relocated to Waco…
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I Was Drinking All Day Every Day in the Build-Up to Being Deployed to Iraq — I’d Wake Up in the Morning, Make Half a Cup of Coffee & Fill the Rest With Cointreau
Episode 75 | William Porter — Alcohol Explained: Iraq, Cointreau at Dawn & 12 Years on the Other Side William Porter grew up in Raynes Park, South West London — fine childhood, nothing dramatic — started drinking at 14 in a park with a friend and a bottle from the off-licence. It was a non-event....
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My Biggest Trigger Is Loneliness — Every Single Relapse Started the Same Way: Alone, a Cancelled Plan & a Bottle of Wine
Episode 74 | April (Sally Sober) — From Whistler Snowboarder to 42 Days in Hospital: The Full Story April grew up in London, Ontario — good grades, scholarship to university, full of creative ambition. She was the weird middle kid who painted her nails black and hung out with the art kids, and...
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I Inherited £100,000 & Snorted & Drank the Whole Lot in 16 Months — Then Crashed a Van on Ketamine, Got Caught by Police & Sat in a Cell Crying for 18 Hours
Episode 73 | Ross Powell — Jersey, Ketamine & Running Ultras: How £100K, a Van Crash & 18 Hours in a Cell Finally Broke Through Ross grew up on Jersey — nine miles by five — in a house where his dad drank heavily from Friday to Sunday and family life happened around arguing and alcohol. There was...
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I Woke Up in a Stranger’s Bed With No Phone, No Idea How I Got There — My Friends Thought I Was Lying in a Ditch
Send us Fan Mail Episode 72 | Jessica White — Sexier Sober: The San Diego Coach Who Quit Without Trying & Never Looked Back In this bright, sharp and genuinely thought-provoking episode, Jimmy sits down with Jessica White — sober coach, host of the Sexier Sober podcast, and professional organiser...
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I Blacked Out Every Weekend for 15 Years & Thought That Was Normal | Simon’s Story
Send us Fan Mail Episode 71 - Simon In this episode, Jimmy sits down with Simon, a 36-year-old Glaswegian stonemason and business owner who grew up in the drinking culture of the West of Scotland. Simon shares his honest journey from teenage blackouts and festival benders, to using alcohol as a...
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My 9-Year-Old Daughter Said ‘I Don’t Like the Sound of Your Voice When You Drink’ — That Was My Wake-Up Call
Episode 70 - Abi King In this powerful episode of After Hours Guys, Jimmy sits down with Abi King, a sober coach and host of the Sober Connection Podcast, now based in New Zealand. Abi opens up about her journey from teenage binge drinking in 1990s England to four years of hard-won sobriety — and...
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I Quit Drinking With Zero Support, No Apps, No Podcasts — And Nobody Even Noticed for Two Weeks
Episode 69 - Emma Newman In this deeply honest episode, Jimmy sits down with Emma Newman, a 10-year sobriety veteran who got sober in 2015 — before sober coaching existed, before quit-lit flooded the shelves, before Instagram accounts made recovery feel possible. Emma’s story is one of the most...
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I Was Hiding Bottles in My Car, Refilling Them So Nobody Would Notice — For 8 Years Nobody Did
Episode 68 - Adam Burg In this compelling episode, Jimmy sits down with Adam Berg, a government affairs lobbyist and mayoral appointee from Denver, Colorado, whose polished professional exterior hid nearly a decade of secret, escalating alcohol abuse. Adam’s story is a masterclass in...
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I Ran Marathons, Got Promoted, Had the Perfect Life on Paper — And Was Secretly Falling Apart Every Night
Episode 67 - Laura McKowen In this landmark episode, Jimmy sits down with Laura McKowen — bestselling author of We Are the Luckiest and Push Off From Here, co-founder of one of sobriety’s earliest podcasts, and one of the most important voices in the modern recovery movement. With nearly 11 years...
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I Had the Perfect Life — Beautiful House on the Beach, Successful Business, Gorgeous Kids — And I Was Dying Inside
Episode 66 | Nikki Pears — 5 Years Sober, One Drink, and Back to Square One: Why Putting Down the Bottle Is Just the Beginning In this raw and deeply honest episode, Jimmy sits down with Nikki Pears — South African-born sober coach, nervous system specialist, and founder of Mommy Is Sober — whose...
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My Happy Place Was When My Whole Family Was Asleep So I Could Finally Drink Properly — And Nobody Knew
Episode 65 | Ashley Howard — The Secret Drinker Nobody Suspected: A Straight A Student, a Fitness Coach & 3 Years Sober In this compelling episode, Jimmy sits down with Ashley Howard — certified recovery coach, life coach, and health and fitness entrepreneur from South Carolina — whose story of...
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She Started Sober Fish in 2016 When Nobody Was Talking About Sobriety Online — Now She Works From the Beach in Thailand
Episode 64 | Dawn — Soberfish: The Pioneer Who Changed What Sobriety Looked Like Online In this warm and wide-ranging episode, Jimmy sits down with Dawn, the woman behind Soberfish — one of the earliest and most influential sobriety communities on the internet. Now approaching a decade sober and...
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I Set a Date to End My Life, Left Letters for My Wife & Kids — Then a Police Officer Put Her Arms Around Me and Everything Changed
Episode 63 | Mikey Banks — From Cocaine Debt, Violence & Planning His Own Death to 4 Years Clean ⚠️ Content warning: This episode contains discussion of addiction, violence, debt and suicide. In this searingly honest and deeply moving episode, Jimmy sits down with Mikey Banks — Aberdeen joiner...
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My Baby Was in the NICU — My First Thought Was ‘We’ve Got a Free Babysitter, Let’s Go Play Beer Pong
Episode 62 | Rachel Sereni — From Watching Her Mum Die of an Overdose at 16 to Co-Hosting a Recovery Podcast: The Ratchet Rachel Story In this raw, emotional and ultimately triumphant episode, Jimmy sits down with Rachel Sereni — co-host of the Rock Bottom with Ryan podcast — whose story of...
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Something Physically Held Me Down in That Car Seat — Five Seconds Later a Crash Sent Metal Flying Through the Seat Where I’d Have Been Sitting
Episode 61 | Natalie — From Brooklyn Moonshine & Croatian Moonshine to Cocaine, Custody Battles & 3 Years Sober: A Story of Synchronicity In this extraordinary episode, Jimmy sits down with Natalie — a first-generation Croatian American from Brooklyn, New York, whose recovery story is unlike any...
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I Was So Drunk Walking Home at 3am I Fell Into a River — Clawed My Way Up the Embankment in My Going-Out Clothes & Carried On
Episode 60 | Ash Shepherd — 5 Months Sober, a River at 3am & Why the Mummy Wine Culture Needs to Stop In this warm, honest and deeply relatable episode, Jimmy sits down with Ash Shepherd — 34-year-old project manager, young mum and founder of the Booze Free Sparkle Instagram — whose story of grey...
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I Was One of the Top 100 Sexiest Women in the World — Secretly Dying Inside Every Night, Wishing I Could Go Home to My Mum
Episode 59 | Alex Leigh — From 90s Supermodel to Hiding Wine Bottles in Greece: A Story of Glamour, Grief & Getting Sober In this dazzling and deeply human episode, Jimmy sits down with Alex Leigh — one of Britain’s top lingerie models of the 1990s, FHM’s top 100 sexiest women, a fixture at the...
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I Was Kidnapped, Nearly Raped Twice & Found Myself in a Sex Trafficking Gang’s House — And I Still Didn’t Think I Had a Problem
Episode 58 | Kaitlin Reeve — From Sitting on a Window Ledge at Nine to Nearly Three Years Clean: A Story of Escapism, Danger & Recovery In this searingly honest episode — released on Kaitlin’s birthday — Jimmy sits down with Kaitlin Reeve, founder of the Sober as a Mother Focused Instagram and…
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I Woke Up Alone in a Tuk-Tuk in the Middle of a Jungle With No Idea How I Got There — And Went Back Out the Next Night
Episode 57 | Cameron Kidd — From Waking Up in a Jungle Tuk-Tuk to 14 Months Sober in Copenhagen: Jersey Boy Finally Finds Himself In this warm, funny and deeply honest episode, Jimmy sits down with Cameron Kidd — Jersey-born, Copenhagen-based podcaster and host of TOMU: The Open Mic Unfiltered —...
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The Alcohol Industry Doesn’t Care About Moderate Drinkers — Their Biggest Customer Is the Person Who Can’t Stop
Episode 56 | Anna Donaghey — The Advertising Insider Who Sold Alcohol to a Nation, Drank Herself Sober & Wrote the Book on Rethinking Drinking In this sharp, revealing and genuinely thought-provoking episode, Jimmy sits down with Anna Donaghey — sober coach, podcast host of The Big Drink Rethink,...
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I Was So Consumed With Getting My Next Drink I Couldn’t Enjoy Being in Sri Lanka — That’s When I Knew
Episode 55 | Emily Chadbourne — 7 Years Sober in Melbourne: The Woman Who Stopped Before Rock Bottom & Wrote Down Every Win In this warm, honest and deeply insightful episode, Jimmy sits down with Emily Chadbourne — personal development coach, sober advocate and Melbourne-based expat from the…
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I Joined Bad Manners at 27 — Woke Up on the Tour Bus in America at 3am, Drank a Bottle of Tequila & Went Back to Sleep
Episode 54 | Adrian Cox — Clarinet, Bad Manners & 12 Years Sober: The Jazz Musician Who Left Home at 15 and Didn’t Stop Until His Hip Crumbled In this extraordinary, funny and deeply moving episode, Jimmy sits down with Adrian Cox — jazz clarinettist, Bad Manners veteran, sober advocate, and one…
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I Woke Up on a Plane to China With a Broken Elbow & No Memory — They’d Dragged Me to the Back for Refusing to Wear a Mask. I Was Blacked Out.
Episode 53 | Amy Devine — From Newbury Council Estates to Peru: 3 Years Sober, Ayahuasca & the Serbian Housemate Who Changed Everything In this warm, wide-ranging and genuinely one-of-a-kind episode, Jimmy sits down with Amy Devine — sobriety mentor, breathwork facilitator, founder of Numb No…
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I Went to an Alcohol Support Group & Told Them I Was Drinking a Bottle of Wine a Night — They Laughed & Said ‘You Don’t Have a Problem
Episode 52 | Alicia Butler — 173 Days Sober, a Viral Day One & Why ‘You Don’t Have a Problem’ Are the Most Dangerous Words in Recovery In this warm, funny and deeply honest episode, Jimmy sits down with Alicia Butler — the woman whose raw, tearful Day One Instagram video went viral and has been...
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I Drove to the Airport Drunk at Midnight, Flew to Mallorca, Lost My Laptop & Camera in a Mugging — And Nobody Even Knew I’d Gone
Episode 51 | Jimmy Thistle — The Host’s Full Story: From Vodka at Dawn to 5 Years Sober on the Isle of Man After 50 episodes of interviewing others, Jimmy Thistle finally sits in the guest chair — interviewed by his wife Jen — and tells his full story for the first time on his own podcast. Jimmy...
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Season 3 - Teaser Trailer
Send us Fan Mail Even more amazing and incredible guests coming your way in 2026! From heartbreaking stories to triumphs and hope, you wont want to miss out! Get ready on New Year's Day 2026 for the first episode drop! Support the show My Instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/recovery_jimmy And...
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They Told My Wife to Go In & Say Goodbye — I’d Just Had a Liver Transplant & Now My Stomach Had Burst. I Had a 4% Chance of Survival.
Episode 50 | Will Gordon — Two Transplants, a Perforated Stomach & a 4% Survival Rate: The Season Finale That Will Stay With You In this staggering, life-affirming season finale, Jimmy sits down with Will Gordon — host of the Will Power Podcast, former teacher, liver and kidney transplant...
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I Got Sober for 10 Months, Told Myself I’d Proved I Had Control — Had One Glass of Champagne at My Birthday & Was Back to Square One
Episode 49 | Beth — 4 Years Sober, the Book She Bought at 23 & Why She Built a Free Community for Women Who Can’t Afford Help In this warm, funny and deeply relatable episode, Jimmy sits down with Beth — co-founder of the SOS Collective (Sober Online Sisters), TikTok sober advocate and...
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I Took My Bicycle to the Liquor Store Because My Parents Had Taken My Car Keys & My Wallet — I Crashed It Into the Woods
Episode 48 | Kim (Sober Kimbo) — From Blackout at 14 to a Year Sober: The Canadian Dental Hygienist Who Lost Two Phones in Europe & Found AA in Nova Scotia In this warm, funny and genuinely relatable episode, Jimmy sits down with Kim — aka Sober Kimbo on Instagram — a dental hygienist from Nova...
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I Reached Into the Fridge for a Beer After a Stressful Day & Thought: That’s Probably Not a Healthy Coping Mechanism — So I Never Drank Again
Episode 47 | Will Edwards — 1,360 Days Sober: The NHS Cardiac Instructor Who Quit Before It Became a Problem & Journals Everything In this refreshingly different and genuinely thought-provoking episode, Jimmy sits down with Will Edwards — NHS cardiac exercise instructor, cold water therapy...
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I Was Drinking Mouthwash Because It Was Cheaper Than Vodka & I Didn’t Feel Shame Buying It — My Family Had to Replace Every Bottle in the House With Alcohol-Free
Episode 46 | Jen Hirst — 12.5 Years Sober: The Minnesota Coach Who Drank Mouthwash, Hid in the Sober Closet for Four Years & Built Lighthouse Sobriety In this warm, searingly honest and deeply relatable episode, Jimmy sits down with Jen Hirst — founder of Lighthouse Sobriety, sober coach, and one...
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I Got Out of Jail for Drink Driving, Walked to the Minimart Around the Corner & Chugged Two Drinks Before My Stepdad Picked Me Up
Episode 45 | Ryan Kennedy — Rock Bottom With Ryan: Airlifted, Arrested & Almost Out of Time in Washington State In this raw, funny and deeply honest episode, Jimmy sits down with Ryan Kennedy — host of the Rock Bottom With Ryan podcast — whose story spans a chaotic childhood in Seattle…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Join Jimmy Thistle for After Hours, the brutally honest, funny and heartwarming podcast that dives deep into alcohol, addiction and recovery.
From grey area drinking and questioning your relationship with alcohol to quitting drinking and discovering life beyond the booze, After Hours brings you real conversations with people who've been there.
Through honest, unfiltered stories of sobriety, addiction, recovery and personal transformation, Jimmy and his guests explore what it really takes to change your life, one day at a time.
Whether you're sober, sober curious, trying to cut down or simply wondering if alcohol is taking more than it's giving, there's a place for you here.
Choose tomorrow. Stay sober today.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HOSTED BY
Jimmy Thistle
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does After Hours with Jimmy Thistle have?
After Hours with Jimmy Thistle currently has 92 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is After Hours with Jimmy Thistle about?
Join Jimmy Thistle for After Hours, the brutally honest, funny and heartwarming podcast that dives deep into alcohol, addiction and recovery. From grey area drinking and questioning your relationship with alcohol to quitting drinking and discovering life beyond the booze, After Hours brings you...
How often does After Hours with Jimmy Thistle release new episodes?
After Hours with Jimmy Thistle has 92 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to After Hours with Jimmy Thistle?
You can listen to After Hours with Jimmy Thistle on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts After Hours with Jimmy Thistle?
After Hours with Jimmy Thistle is created and hosted by Jimmy Thistle.
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