Society & CulturePersonal JournalsHealth & FitnessMental HealthEducationSelf-Improvement

The Modern Meeting

Adam Lyons

A podcast about addiction, recovery, and mental health — with a focus on gambling, alcohol, and substance use.

Hosted by Adam Lyons, a compulsive gambler in recovery, The Modern Meeting shares real stories, support, and strategies for anyone impacted by addiction.

🎧 New episodes every Tuesday.

If you’re struggling, supporting someone who is, or just looking for connection, this is for you.

Play

Open in

22 episodes
weekly
Avg 1 hr
English

Episodes 22

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

Thursday · 1 hr 6 min
Ep. 130 - You Can't Take It With You | Mary Santora (Part 1)
Mary Santora is a nationally touring stand-up comedian with two full-length specials that hit number one, and this is the first time she's telling her gambling story anywhere outside a GA room. Mary grew up poor in Cleveland, the daughter of a severe gambling addict, in a house where cards, scratch-offs, and trips to the horse track were just what a childhood looked like. In Part 1 of our conversation, she talks about a father she could only ever seem to connect with at a casino, a mouth that got her into as much trouble as it got her out of, and how the thing she was raised inside of slowly became her own. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
August 26 · 1 hr 36 min
Ep. 129 - The Long Road to Surrender: My Gambling Addiction Story
For those of you who've been here since the beginning, you've heard a lot of this before, scattered across ninety-something cold opens. For those of you who haven't, here it is: my story, start to finish, in one sitting, for the first time. Uncle Rick and a craps game on my grandmother's carpet when I was nine. A panic attack in college that turned into a year of my life I still can't fully explain. Countless "fresh starts" in countless cities that were never actually about starting fresh. A craps roll that should have been the best night of my gambling life and turned out to be the worst thing that ever happened to me. Last Bet: February 8, 2022. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
August 19 · 1 hr 11 min
Ep. 128 - Twenty Cents of Hope | Austin P.
Austin P sits down with Adam just after celebrating one year without a bet and a day away from celebrating one year sober from alcohol. Austin first recognized his gambling problem more than a decade ago, eventually attending GA and going to inpatient treatment in 2015. Austin talks with Adam about his first experience with treatment, why he believes it didn’t stick, the progression of his gambling, the role alcohol played, and the events that led him back into recovery nearly ten years later. They also discuss what the last year has looked like as Austin works to rebuild his life, his relationships, and the trust that was lost along the way. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
August 11 · 1 hr 6 min
Ep. 127 - It’s More Than a Financial Problem | Jimmy Morris
Jimmy Morris is a compulsive gambler in recovery from Chicago, and the host of the podcast Gambling Recovery: Taking Back Your Life. Jimmy grew up in Little Italy, where everyone gambled and everyone knew everyone. He got introduced to a bookie in high school, and what started as something to kill time with his friends turned into something else entirely. He spent years going in and out of the rooms, admitting he had a problem the whole time and still unable to put it down. He got into fights that nearly killed people, did a stretch in county jail, and watched the disease reach into every corner of his life, long after the money stopped being the point. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
August 3 · 1 hr 4 min
Ep. 126 - My Proudest Moment (So Far)
Back in 2016, I took another bailout from my Dad, but this time it came up with some serious strings attached. Then it's the full NCPG recap. Four days in Nashville...from my first presentation of Addiction Time Capsule and the conversations that meant the most to me, to karaoke, throwing out my back in the dumbest way imaginable, and why I left feeling more hopeful about the future of gambling recovery than I did when I arrived. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
July 29 · 1 hr
Ep. 125 - The Compulsive Guest | John B.
John B. is a compulsive gambler in recovery from Oxnard, California with over 20 years since his last bet. In 1994, John moved to Las Vegas to get away from drugs and alcohol, only to find gambling waiting for him there. He talks about what those years looked like, how long it took him to admit he was a compulsive gambler, and the turning point that finally got him into the rooms for good. He talks about what 20 years of recovery has actually given him, and why he still shows up to meetings after all this time. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
July 19 · 42 min
Ep. 124 - The Biggest Misconceptions About Meetings
As long as people keep struggling with gambling, and refuse to go to meetings, I will keep talking about them. This week I posed a question to the listeners who are in recovery: tell me a misconception that you had about meetings before you attended them, or a reason why you were hesitant. 18 people answered. They ranged from "fear of speaking" to "thinking they weren't worthy." All of them valid, and almost all of them proven wrong. And if you've never walked into a room, there's a good chance at least one of these is the exact thing holding you back too. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
July 15 · 1 hr 12 min
Ep. 123 - Hang Around Till the Miracle Happens | Rocky M's Story
You've heard Adam talk about his clean date, February 8th, 2022, and the meeting in Austin, Texas that changed everything. Rocky is the man who chaired that meeting. By a coincidence neither of them planned, this conversation was recorded on July 2nd, the exact day Rocky made his last bet 34 years ago. He takes us back to the beginning: the fraternity, the bookies, the loans he talked his way into, the trip to Vegas that hooked him, and the night in a condo alone when he finally called the number on the back of a lottery ticket. He also gets into the harder stuff, why he says his real problem was never gambling, the moment his recovery actually took off, and the thing he believes compulsive gamblers need more than any other addict. And Adam finally gets to say something to Rocky, in person, that he's been carrying for over four years. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
July 7 · 1 hr 22 min
Ep. 122 - Losing Chris, Finding Myself | Tom Farley Jr.
If you grew up in the '90s, Chris Farley was probably the funniest person alive to you. Tom Farley is his older brother, and he's in recovery himself. For years Tom told Chris's story while quietly avoiding his own. In this conversation he gets into both. He talks about the afternoon a sober musician made him want something he didn't have, the friend who tricked him into his first meeting, and the night he watched his famous brother walk into a run-down room in Hell's Kitchen and say something Tom never expected to hear. He gets into what it was like to be surrounded by people and feel completely alone, the one thing he believes pulled Chris back under, and the relationship he still has with his brother almost thirty years after he died. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
July 2 · 38 min
Ep 121 - One Year of The Modern Meeting Meeting
For most of my life I never stuck with anything. Jobs. Relationships. Addresses. And now, thanks to recovery, I actually stick with things. And I'm not doing it alone. We've built a community. A team. People that show up for each other. This week we celebrated one year of the Modern Meeting Meeting. I get into how it started, how it almost didn't make it, and what this past Monday night meant to me. And speaking of meetings, there's a new one coming starting Saturday July 11: Not Your First Meeting Meeting. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
June 25 · 49 min
Ep. 120 - Five Hard Truths About Gambling Recovery
A delayed flight, a karaoke bar in Missouri, and a $248 decision I knew I shouldn't make. What happened next at the gate was the closest I've come to that old feeling in over four years. From there I talk about five hard truths about gambling addiction and recovery. The ones people don't want to hear, the ones I keep repeating because they keep being true, and the one I save for last because almost nobody believes it until it's too late. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
June 16 · 1 hr 16 min
Ep. 119 - Raised in It, 108 Days Out of It | Carmey B's Story
Carmela aka Carmey B — grew up in Omaha's Little Italy, in a loud, proud Italian American family whose whole world revolved around gambling. Her father owned an Italian steakhouse, hosted Sunday card games, and had a past colorful enough that two men with briefcases once showed up looking for him. He was her North Star. He was also a gambler. And for a long time, she didn't believe gambling would be the thing that got her. In this episode, she takes us from that first slot machine to the seventeen years that followed, and the night she finally decided enough was enough. Now 108 days since her last bet and a regular at The Modern Meeting Meeting, she's telling her story remarkably early, and she's not holding back. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
June 10 · 1 hr 12 min
Ep. 118 - Secretly Self-Destructing | Scott Meyer's Story
From the outside, Scott Meyer had the picture-perfect life. Married his high school sweetheart, five kids, his own accounting firm, a home in the community he grew up in, and the respect of everyone around him. He was the trusted professional people came to with their money. He was also quietly destroying everything he'd built. In this episode, Scott traces a gambling addiction that started as something social and slow, two or three trips a year, until a single jackpot rewired the way his brain saw the casino. He's remarkably candid about the double life that followed: the lengths he went to so his wife wouldn't find out, the morning a detective was waiting in his driveway, and the question his wife asked first when it all came apart. Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide and mental health, which may be distressing for some listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, please consider seeking support. Help is available. In the U.S., you can contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 — available 24/7. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
June 7 · 50 min
Ep. 117 - The Power of This Disease
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Sonya — a Marine, an adventurer, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and a friend, who passed away on May 27th after a nearly twenty-year battle with addiction. In her sister Tracy's words: "I choose to remember my sister, not her addiction." And then we hear a letter Sonya wrote in her own hand. Thank you to Tracy and Dan for trusting me with it. From there, this is a solo episode recorded from a hotel room on the road at the tail end of a week of conferences, meetings, DMs, and parents at their wit's end — and I came home with one conclusion I can't shake: we are not doing enough. Let's talk about it. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
June 3 · 49 min
Ep. 116 - He Turned Himself In | Paul Buck, EPIC Global Solutions (Part 2)
When we left Paul Buck, the real number had just come into focus, and the obvious question was: how did he get caught? He didn't. In Part 2, Paul picks up at the night everything came apart, and the unlikely thing that finally made him stop after seventeen years: not a confrontation, not getting found out, but a newspaper article about a complete stranger. He's honest about the hardest day of his life, the conversations he had to have afterward, and what it actually takes to turn yourself in when no one is coming for you. He also tells the story of EPIC Global Solutions, the company he founded to stop gambling harm before it starts. What began as one man's second chance now works in 38 countries. Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide and mental health, which may be distressing for some listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, please consider seeking support. Help is available. In the U.S., you can contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 — available 24/7. For more information about Paul and EPIC: epicglobalsolutions.com If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
May 29 · 51 min
Ep. 115 - Every Day for 17 Years | Paul Buck, EPIC Global Solutions (Part 1)
Before founding one of the world's leading gambling harm prevention consultancies, Paul Buck placed his first bet in October 1994. It was a £10 each-way on a 33-to-1 horse, chosen for no reason other than the jockey wearing his football team's blue and white. He walked up to the window thinking it was a mug's game. The horse won. And for the next 17 years, not a day went by that he didn't gamble. In Part 1 of this conversation, Paul takes us from that bookie's shop in Leeds through a decade he kept completely hidden — a high-performing finance career, a wife and three kids, and a third world nobody around him could see. His wife lived with him for ten years without knowing. For three of those years, she thought he was having an affair, because there was no other explanation that made sense. For more information about Paul and EPIC: epicglobalsolutions.com If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
May 27 · 46 min
Ep. 114 - Going Back to Springfield, Six Years Later
I went back to Springfield, MA for the first time in over six years. I went for a conference, and I ended up walking through the casino for the first time since I entered recovery. In this episode I break down the top five things I noticed walking through MGM Springfield as a compulsive gambler in recovery — the dead-eyed slot machine players, the guys with a hop in their step, the craps tables packed to the railing, and the woman who hit $1,800 and couldn't have cared less. I also get into what happened on the way out — five beers in, casino all around me — and what that told me about my own overconfidence in recovery. I also have something to say about what MGM Springfield put in their employee break room next to a zero-fee ATM. I promised myself I'd stay calm about it. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
May 19 · 1 hr 4 min
Ep. 113 - Bookmaking in The Berkshires with Brian Dolan
Brian Dolan grew up in The Berkshires, won $500 in a March Madness pool in fourth grade, and spent the next 15 years chasing that feeling. By his freshman year of college he was dealing drugs to cover gambling debts. By his mid-20s he had $80,000 cash in a shoebox from a "hot streak," and lost it all, plus more, within months. Three treatment centers. Multiple relapses. A night he thought about jumping off a bridge. And then, five years to the day before Adam's own sobriety date, Brian surrendered. He's now a master's level counselor, recovery coach, and board member of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling — with nine years away from a bet and a practice built entirely around helping others find their way out. Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide and mental health, which may be distressing for some listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, please consider seeking support. Help is available. In the U.S., you can contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 — available 24/7. For more information on Brian: www.briandolancounseling.com Brian Dolan MHC, CRC | LinkedIn If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
May 16 · 38 min
Ep. 112 - We Cannot Do This Alone | Gambling Recovery in Real Time
I still have zero urge to gamble, but in the last few months I went from one meeting a week to four. And it's been awesome. This week I share not just what I've been learning in those rooms, but what I've been contributing — including a different way to look at ego in recovery, how to navigate the early days, and how one person's energy can completely change the course of a meeting. I also took a break mid-record to take a phone call from someone who slipped as they were closing in on a milestone. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com
May 12 · 1 hr 13 min
Ep. 111 - A Ferrari With No Brakes | Edgar Jones’ Story
On December 1st, 2012, his birthday, Edgar Jones' teammate took his own life and his girlfriend's life outside the Kansas City Chiefs facility. The team played the next day. Edgar played. And then he spent years trying to outrun everything he felt, with pills and alcohol, while performing at the highest level of professional football. In this conversation Edgar talks about survivor's guilt, substance abuse, what it took to finally get sober, and why he believes the most important thing any of us can do is find the right container to pour our fuel into. He also gets into the current state of mental health in professional sports, what's happening with young athletes and gambling, and why staying quiet is the worst thing we can do. If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive! Evive meets you exactly where you are. Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com

Showing 1–20 of 22 episodes