PODCAST · society
Sober Awkward
by soberawkward
Winner, Best Wellbeing Podcast at The Australian Podcast Awards 2024 Have you ever woken up after a big night and announced, “I’m never drinking again,” only to find yourself six hours later waving $50 at a barman? Or perhaps you were more of a stay at home drinker, quietly opening the wine once the day was done and wondering when one glass started turning into, well, considerably more than one glass. Vic and Ulrika came from very different drinking worlds, but somehow ended up in exactly the same place. Join author, podcaster and former binge drinking party animal Victoria Vanstone and broadcaster, writer and former stay at home drinker Ulrika Jonsson as they attempt to work out how the hell you do life without booze. Spoiler alert, neither of them has all the answers. Each week on Sober Awkward, Vic and Ulrika rummage through the bits of sobriety people don’t talk about enough, anxiety, cravings, motherhood, ageing, relationships, sober sex, socialisi
Episodes
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Hangxiety - with Millie Gooch
Have you ever woken up after a night of drinking with your heart racing, convinced you’ve embarrassed yourself, upset someone, or somehow ruined your entire life? That awful feeling has a name: hangxiety. This week, Victoria is joined by Millie Gooch, founder of The Sober Girl Society and author…
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The Awkward Bits
You’ve been absolutely fine all day. You haven’t thought about alcohol, you’re feeling quite pleased with yourself and then suddenly it’s 5pm and your brain goes = WINE. This Thursday, Vic is digging into that very specific bit of the day when the urge to drink seems to arrive almost…
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The Stay at Home Drinker - Ulrika Tells her Story
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic and Ulrika tackle a drinking style that often flies completely under the radar, the stay-at-home drinker. Vic was the loud one. The social one. The drinker making questionable decisions in public and collecting stories she’d rather forget. Ulrika was different. Her...
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The Awkward Bits
This Thursday on The Awkward Bits, Vic is back on her own and wondering whether one of the reasons sobriety feels so bloody terrifying is because we make it MASSIVE before we’ve even started. When Vic first considered giving up drinking, she wasn’t worrying about getting through Tuesday night...
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Are You Scared of Going Sober?
Scared of Going Sober? What are you actually frightened of? Being boring? Losing your identity? Not fitting in anymore? Not knowing how to relax, cope or survive life without booze? This week on Sober Awkward, Vic and Ulrika tackle the huge scary myths that keep so many people stuck in the “maybe…
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The Awkward Bits
This week’s Awkward Bit gets a little bit… well, awkward. After Vic’s conversation with Cat Sims on Monday, she couldn’t stop thinking about one word: alcoholic. It’s a word Vic has avoided for her entire sobriety. She’s always called herself an ex drinker, a binge drinker, a former party girl, a...
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Why I’m Proud to Call Myself an Alcoholic - with Cat Sims
Not so smug now! - This week, Vic sits down with writer, podcaster and self-confessed “textbook drunk” Cat Sims for a conversation about motherhood, drugs, booze and what happens when the party girl suddenly has a tiny human to keep alive. They talk about crying in school car parks, postnatal...
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The Awkward Bits
Welcome to The Awkward Bits, where every Thursday Vic flies solo, digging a little deeper into Monday’s topic, picking apart the bits we didn’t quite get to and exploring all the stuff that got left behind once the microphones were switched off. And oooof, you lot had a lot to say about sober…
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Beer Goggles and Sober Sex!
Before these two ex-drinkers introduce their sobriety stories... we thought we'd start this journey in the most awkward way possible! Yes, it's the sex episode! Did alcohol really make us sexier and more confident, or did it just lower our inhibitions, blur our judgement and convince us the last...
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The Awkward Bits
Welcome to The Awkward Bits, where every Thursday Vic flies solo, digging a little deeper into Monday’s topic, picking apart the bits we didn’t quite get to and exploring all the stuff that got left behind once the microphones were switched off. And Wow, what a week. Vic’s been reading all your...
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Shit! Am I Drinking Too Much?
Yes, it’s true. Vic has a new co host and it’s only bloody Ulrika Jonsson. No, Vic can’t quite believe it either. She’s trying to act normal about the whole thing. This first episode is basically Vic and Ulrika getting to know each other while you lot listen in. They talk about where they’ve come...
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - Offline: Alcohol & Me - By Becky N A huge congratulations to Becky who was one of our comp winners!!! Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible...
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Did Alcohol Give Me Cancer? with Kelly Gunn
Kelly Gunn found a lump in her breast in 2016. She got it checked, kept up with screenings and was repeatedly reassured that what doctors were seeing was benign. Then, in 2024, Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a double mastectomy, where seven tumours were removed, she was told she'd...
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - No More Doors - By Kristen M Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny,...
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Finding Levity in Sobriety - With Audrey
This week, I’m joined by Audrey, host of the Dry Humor podcast, for a very sensible and grown-up conversation about motherhood, college drinking and whether spending your life taking the piss out of yourself is a healthy coping mechanism or simply a way of avoiding your feelings? Audrey lives in...
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - My Sober Story - By Emma G Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny,...
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Help - I Drink Because I’m Shy..
Vic is flying solo today, with no guest and a letter she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about. You’ll hear from Allison, a woman who started drinking to hide her shyness. She has relied on alcohol for so long that she no longer knows who she is without it. Loads of women have been sharing...
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - 500 Sunrises By Courtney K Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny,...
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Does Your Sobriety Have Seasons? with Kate Baily & Amy Doyle
Does your sobriety change with the seasons? Do sunny days suddenly make you think about beer gardens and cold wine, while dark winter evenings have you craving a bottle of red and a blanket? This week, Vic is joined by two guests to explore seasonal living, what it actually means, why humans have...
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - What is Moderation By April J Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny,...
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Introducing MAMA: Motherhood, Alcohol, Mental Health and Anxiety
Listen to the Mama podcast on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0341yjbBRIxVgWibnSR92D?si=e4a1b9094a3a40aa Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/introducing-mama-motherhood-alcohol-mental-health-and/id6798043028?i=1000779960427 So… what is MAMA? If you’ve ever found yourself pouring…
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Dave Hughes on Quitting Young and Living in the Now
Hughesy! This was meant to be a chat about booze… but somehow Vic ended up being spiritually mentored by this legendary Aussie larrikin! Dave Hughes gave up alcohol at just 21 years old, after years of binge drinking, blackouts and waking up with no idea how he had got home. He had watched…
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - Three Years Clear By Amy G Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny,...
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Your Brain, Your Body, Your Hormones, Your Risk - with Professor David Nutt
How bad is alcohol, really? Is a weekend binge cancelled out by a few sober days and what exactly is happening in our brains during hangxiety? Vic is joined by world renowned psychiatrist and neuroscientist Professor David Nutt, who has spent more than 40 years studying how alcohol and other…
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - A Drinking Career - By Kimberley Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest…
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Beyond the Applause with Gorillaz Bassist Seye Adelekan
In this episode, Gorillaz bassist Seye Adelekan joins Vic for a wonderfully honest conversation about belonging, family, fame and finding his place in the music world. Seye talks about moving around the world as a child, the family who shaped him, his love of music, touring, the forgotten gigs…
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - I didn’t realise it was a funeral - By Sarah A huge congratulations to Sarah who was one of this years winners!! Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the...
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UnPickled - Prepare to be Alcohol-Free - with Jean McCarthy (Part 2)
Yes, the World Cup is on, everyone is drinking to celebrate and commiserate, so welcome to your safe little corner of the internet, where Vic promises to mention the legend Jude Bellingham only once… and then get back to what really matters, talking about sobriety and not trying to explain the...
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - I scream... and she lets go - By Lisa Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest,...
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UnPickled - Prepare to be Alcohol-Free - with Jean McCarthy
Want to give up drinking but have no idea where to start? You're in the right place! Everyone tells you sobriety starts on day one. It doesn't. It actually starts before that, in the boring, unglamorous groundwork nobody really talks about. The stuff that happens quietly in the weeks before you...
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - Bodies Change - By Erin Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny,...
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When Booze Becomes Part of Belonging – with Karl Considine
For many LGBTQ+ people, the pub wasn’t just somewhere to grab a drink—it was one of the few places where they could safely be themselves. For decades, bars and clubs became places of acceptance, community and belonging. But when alcohol becomes woven into your identity and social life, what…
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials -Finally Meeting Myself - By Allyson Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest,...
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The Sober Boozers Club with Ben Gibbs
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats to Ben Gibbs from The Sober Boozers Club about the rapidly changing world of alcohol-free beer and whether pub culture can survive a generation that’s drinking less, drinking differently, or not drinking at all. Because let’s face it, Vic used to be the kind…
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - Alcohol, Motherhood and Me - By Emily Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest,...
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Still Sober, Still Awkward
As a special treat to celebrate the final episode of Series 13, I’m delighted to welcome Hamish back to the podcast for a proper catch-up. Yes, he’s still sober. Yes, he’s still awkward. And yes, he’s still as funny as ever. We chat about what life has looked like since leaving the show, how...
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The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries
The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - No More Numbing Out - By Aliz, Texas Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you. Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest,...
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Nangs: The Addiction Nobody Talks About with Sam Bramman
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic steps away from alcohol to explore another addiction that is quietly growing across Australia: Nangs. Nitrous oxide, often sold legally and delivered to your door within minutes, is commonly seen as harmless party fun. But for Sam Bramman, what started as a few…
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
This week in the Share Shed, one listener wakes up to discover he’d apparently spent 40 minutes running barefoot on a treadmill at 3am… after swimming in a stranger’s pool and blacking out at a party. The only problem? He remembers none of it. A hilarious story with a surprisingly thoughtful…
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Have You Swapped Booze for Scrolling? with TJ Power
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,...
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
Today on the Share Shed we have one confession and one question. First up, a listener wakes up in Las Vegas with more than just a hangover… let’s just say Elvis may have been involved and somebody accidentally got married. Then we tackle a question many people quietly ask themselves: if your…
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The Hidden Struggle of the High Functioning Drinker - with James Swanwick
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...
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
This week on the Share Shed we’re talking drunk online shopping… you know, those slightly terrifying mystery parcels that arrive two days after a blackout. From sequinned capes and stuffed frogs in hats… to accidentally booking holidays to Spain you have absolutely no memory of organising....
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Problem Drinking - Delivered to Your Door - with Hattie Underwood
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats to Hattie Underwood, the London-based mum of two behind Sober Happy Free, who has recently been speaking out across the UK media about the worrying rise of alcohol delivery services. After loads of Sober Awkward listeners tagged Vic in clips saying, “You HAVE...
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
Not really a Share Shed today… But there was a story from this week’s podcast that absolutely refused to be squeezed into a normal segment. It needed its own space. Its own moment. Its own… spotlight. We had the incredible Shanna Whan on Sober Awkward this week, founder of Sober in the Country…
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Sober in the Country - with Shanna Whan AM
It feels like this conversation has been a long time coming. Vic is genuinely honoured to have Shanna Whan AM on the podcast this week. Shanna is the founder and CEO of Sober in the Country, a national grassroots charity that’s been driving radical social impact and real change across rural and...
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
This week on the Share Shed we’re talking boundaries. Vic chats about caring from afar, therapy and emotional carnage with a side of bad decisions. Classic Share Shed. The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about...
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Naltrexone - Can You Drink Your Way Sober? - with Katie Herzog
This week Vic is joined by journalist and podcaster Katie Herzog to talk about the winding, messy road many of us take trying to figure out our relationship with alcohol. Katie shares what her drinking looked like during Covid, how it quietly ramped up behind closed doors, and the strange mental...
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
This week’s Shame Shed is a more serious one. A parent writes in about the shame they carry from drinking while raising their kids, and the heavy weight of seeing it all clearly now they’re sober. If you’ve ever felt that knot in your stomach about the past, this one will hit home. The Share Shed...
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Sobriety on Instagram: Connection, Comparison or Compulsion? - with Sarah Drage
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats with Social Media Educator and (National Association for Children of Addiction) NACOA Ambassador - Sarah Drage about the strange and sometimes complicated world of sobriety on the internet. When we stop drinking, many of us head straight online. Suddenly…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Winner, Best Wellbeing Podcast at The Australian Podcast Awards 2024
Have you ever woken up after a big night and announced, “I’m never drinking again,” only to find yourself six hours later waving $50 at a barman? Or perhaps you were more of a stay at home drinker, quietly opening the wine once the day was done and wondering when one glass started turning into, well, considerably more than one glass. Vic and Ulrika came from very different drinking worlds, but somehow ended up in exactly the same place.
Join author, podcaster and former binge drinking party animal Victoria Vanstone and broadcaster, writer and former stay at home drinker Ulrika Jonsson as they attempt to work out how the hell you do life without booze. Spoiler alert, neither of them has all the answers.
Each week on Sober Awkward, Vic and Ulrika rummage through the bits of sobriety people don’t talk about enough, anxiety, cravings, motherhood, ageing, relationships, sober sex, socialisi
HOSTED BY
soberawkward
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Sober Awkward have?
Sober Awkward currently has 445 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Sober Awkward about?
Winner, Best Wellbeing Podcast at The Australian Podcast Awards 2024 Have you ever woken up after a big night and announced, “I’m never drinking again,” only to find yourself six hours later waving $50 at a barman? Or perhaps you were more of a stay at home drinker, quietly opening the wine once...
How often does Sober Awkward release new episodes?
Sober Awkward publishes regularly with 445 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Sober Awkward?
You can listen to Sober Awkward 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 Sober Awkward?
Sober Awkward is created and hosted by soberawkward.
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