The Sober Atheist Podcast

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley were exposed, when new to recovery, to phrases like “12 Step Way of Life”, “Emotional Sobriety”, “Daily Reflections” and “Fake It Till You Make It.” Rejecting those things they found their way to what might be considered an “Atheist Way of Life” that produced, for them, great benefits in the long term. They discuss this at length in this Episode. 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss how, as committed atheists, they have built upon the lessons learned in long term recovery from alcohol and/or drug addiction. They touch upon moving forward without recourse to self-improvement schemes, such as “emotional sobriety” and any notions brought forward by pop-psychology or some sort of secular accommodation with a “spiritual life.”   

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss fear and anxiety in the light of some recent serious health problems they have both faced. This topic is addressed from the point of view of two committed atheists and how they deal with these issues in their recovery without fantasy or fallacy to carry them through. 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss the fact that there appears to be much to be discovered on the journey from there to here as an atheist in recovery. We found that we would not have had it any other way.  

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley revisit this well-worn topic to consider where they now are, as non-believers in recovery, given the progression of their own individual recoveries and their relations (and non-relations) to the formal recovery programs out there. We suspect each listener may have their own unique, personal view of this.  

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss living their lives in the real world, as opposed to a life based, at least in part, on fantasy, and how the sometimes hard road of what can actually be seen (as opposed to a path where people constantly conjure up what is imagined) leads to a greater appreciation of an abstinence based sober life, where clarity of thought prevails.

Send us Fan MailThere is never enough love in the world but these days there seems to be a real excess in the amount of hate out there. What to do? Speaking for themselves only, John Huey and Michael Tingley discuss this within the context of how a non-believer in long term recovery might be dealing with this in these perilous times.  

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss love as being a prime mover in recovery and in life. While not without its problems it is a marker for the ability to deal with both adversity and the ultimate satisfactions of a sober life as a non-believer. Did we find love and happiness before our recovery or was it delayed, as it often is, until some time after our recovery began? This, as well as many other aspects of this formidable emotion, are discussed in the light of a recovery free of any search for “gods will’. 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss an approach to recovery from alcohol and/or drugs based on what is seen, not what is wished for. The reaction of others to this firmly held position in both the conventional recovery programs and the so-called “secular recovery” organizations is also discussed at some depth.   

Send us Fan MailIn this episode John Huey and Michael Tingley take on, from a determined Atheist perspective, a tendency they see in recovery programs (both "secular" and conventional) to judge the behavior of others and set behavioral boundaries in terms of the "quality" of others’ sobriety. Many aspects of this tendency, from the obvious to the more subtle, are discussed. 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss common compulsive behavior patterns unrelated to substance abuse and how an Atheist might address these issues without any reference to “spirituality” or religion as a solution. The discussion is related to their own experience only and is meant to be both descriptive and relevant without being proscriptive in any way.  

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley have a conversation with a prominent person in Australian Secular Recovery, Mick Shiels, who discussed his ideas regarding moving forward there in a fully secular way without reliance on any dogmatic recovery program or movement. You can join Mick every Saturday at 7:00 PM Eastern USA time on Zoom for his new, unaffiliated, Secular Recovery meeting, Abstinent Atheists Australia, Meeting ID 83192206790 Passcode 311200.

Send us Fan MailPure human evil has manifested itself here in the United States. How can an atheist in recovery deal with it? John Huey and Michael Tingley discuss this dire situation. 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss how the creative process, in their own artistic endeavors, was impacted by their atheism as it combined with their experiences with addiction and recovery. Some information about their artistic endeavors can be viewed on Huey’s web site, john-huey.com and on Tingley’s Instagram page @tingleymichaelart. 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss a general (global) rather than a specific question about how atheism figures into recovery and how it does not. How does atheism figure into life in general and how did it support our world view when young and now that we have more perspective, how has that world view changed in terms of our recovery? A “philosophical” discussion with a practical purpose.  

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss the possible fallout from the recent US Presidential Election considering the potential negative effects on atheists in general and non-believers in recovery in particular. 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley have a most illuminating conversation with a very old friend, prominent Seattle musician and lifelong atheist, Mark Dalton. It is a great story that is told from the perspective of over 40 years of productive recovery.

Send us Fan MailThis is a live recording of John Huey at a workshop session at the ICSAA Conference in Orlando FL on September 20, 2024. This is a continuation of the theme developed for Episode 5, Atheism as Affirmation in Sobriety.

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss the promotion of feelings of helplessness and hopelessness as entry points in many recovery programs, both Religious and Secular. This was best embodied by a comment overheard at a meeting, “When I went there, I had an overwhelming sense of learned helplessness.” 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss how to deal with both the death of long-time sober program friends and the emotions associated with dealing with the loss of people we know who don't achieve a lasting recovery and then either expire or disappear.

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley, both former AA members, talk to Dennis Walsh, a longtime friend in recovery and a person still active in AA, about several issues he thinks we have misconstrued regarding that program.   

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss how atheists in recovery handle various serious life changing issues without recourse to the supernatural.

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss the Hunter Biden case as it potentially affects the popular depiction of all addicts and alcoholics in recovery and the widely held misconceptions of how a lasting recovery occurs. 

Send us Fan MailWe have Larry Knight from Toronto as a guest to discuss his landmark case in Canada regarding access to recovery for secular people as well as other interesting parts of his journey.

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss the daily stresses and difficulties presented to recovering people by current political realities.    

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss the concept of affirmation as an essential element in sobriety for the atheist. 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley have a conversation with John C. from Paris to discuss both organized and individual secular approaches to sobriety from a historical and contemporary perspective.

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley discuss the importance of the intuitive sense in recovery. This episode is a continuation of a prior series of podcasts regarding atheism in recovery that appeared on the Beyond Belief Sobriety Podcast. Links to these, as well as the essay that this episode is based on, can be found on our Facebook page.

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley talk about their early days in recovery and how they achieved and maintained their sobriety. 

Send us Fan MailJohn Huey and Michael Tingley co-host the introductory episode of The Sober Atheist Podcast.