MOVIE NIGHT

Song Sung Blue Movie Review: A Story of Love, Loss and No Matter What

Song Sung Blue, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, follows Mike and Claire—better known onstage as Lightning and Thunder—two people well into adulthood who are quietly reckoning with the lives they ended up with and the lives they once imagined. Mike is a Vietnam veteran, decades sober, who has long since put the bottle down but still wrestles with the question of who he is beyond his past. Claire is searching for meaning of her own, navigating unfulfilled dreams and the aftermath of a life-altering tragedy that reshapes not only her body, but her sense of self.

SOBER LIFESTYLE

The ABCs of Sober Dating: 26 Funny Truths About Dating Without Alcohol

Because flirting is hard enough without a hangover.

Sober dating is its own genre.
A romantic comedy where you’re also the director, the lead actor, and the person reminding everyone that sparkling water is not a cry for help.

It’s a brave new world: you’re showing up fully yourself, fully aware, and fully capable of noticing red flags instead of mistaking them for “chemistry.”

HAPPY EVERY HOUR

STEM Zero NA Cider Review: The NA Cider That Isn’t Cosplaying Alcohol (And Thank God for That)

If you’ve ever sipped a non-alcoholic drink that felt like it was auditioning for the role of “real alcohol,” you know the experience. It’s giving: Look at me! I’m basically a craft beer! Thanks, but no thanks. But the NA drinks I keep coming back to, the ones worth writing about, are the ones that don’t want to be alcohol. They want to be delicious.

WHAT A TRIP!

A Safe Harbor at Sea: Discovering Community With The Sober Cruise in 2026

As we enter 2026, travel is evolving alongside the sober lifestyle movement. “Dry Tripping,” a way of travelling that emphasises presence over excess, is steadily gaining traction. At the forefront is The Sober Cruise, a boutique travel experience designed to make life at sea both accessible and genuinely enjoyable for those who prefer an alcohol-free lifestyle. Whether you are exploring sober travel adventures or seeking sober vacations for singles, this journey balances discovery with clarity.

ADDICTION FICTION

“Gin and Tonic” by Bob Huppert

Bob Huppert delivers a chilling blend of psychological horror and addiction drama, portraying alcoholism not as a subplot but as a force — seductive, corrosive, and devastating. Boyd's unraveling is heartbreakingly familiar to anyone who has lived with addiction or watched someone disappear into it. This is not a clean redemption arc. It's a slow-motion collapse, a portrait of a man losing pieces of himself one sip at a time.

SOBER CURATOR PODCAST

Radiant, Real, and Sober: Ella Collier Is Rewriting the Pop-Star Fantasy

There’s a moment early in the episode when pop artist Ella Collier says something so deeply Gen Z, so emotionally fluent, and so unintentionally poetic that you can practically hear the internet quietly nodding in recognition. 

“I think I’ve always been addicted to a problem,” she tells Alysse. “Survival mode was my baseline.” 

And there it is: the thesis statement for an artist who builds sparkling, hyperpop worlds while writing lyrics that feel like torn-out diary pages. Ella exists at the intersection of glitter and grit—pop fantasy and radical self-awareness—which makes her sobriety not just a lifestyle choice, but an artistic catalyst. 

Because for Ella, getting sober didn’t dim the spotlight. 
It supercharged it. 

#WEDORECOVER

Sober Celeb of the Week: THEO VON

Theo Von’s sobriety story is as raw and real as his comedy. The stand-up comic and podcast powerhouse has been open about his long, winding relationship with addiction—and even more honest about the work it takes to stay sober. For Theo, recovery isn’t about perfection or preachiness; it’s about showing up, telling the truth (sometimes uncomfortably so), and choosing growth one day at a time. His willingness to talk openly about relapse, mental health, and the messy middle of recovery has made him a relatable, unexpected voice for sobriety—one laugh, one hard conversation, and one honest moment at a time.

For anyone struggling, know that help is available: 📞 1-800-662-HELP (SAMHSA Helpline).

WHAT A TRIP!

Wellness Travel, But Make It Sober: Evolve Retreats Levels Up Resort Programming for 2026 (and Drops a New Website)

Wellness travel has officially entered its “main character era.” Gone are the days when a resort could toss a cucumber water station in the lobby and call it transformation. Today’s travelers want meaning with their massage, purpose with their pool time, and a reason to come home feeling different.

And that’s exactly why this announcement from Wellness Marketing Ltd. matters: the boutique agency (known for helping resorts speak fluent “wellness traveler”) is expanding its Resort Wellness Programming for 2026 and launching a refreshed platform: Evolve Retreats.

SOBER POETRY

I Am Bipolar, But My Recovery Is Not: Part Deux

Months have passed since I stopped running from the truth.
            Months since my diagnosis stopped feeling like a verdict and started feeling like a map.

I am still bipolar. That has not changed.
            What has changed is my relationship to it.

SOBER LIFESTYLE

Sober Social Survival Dictionary: 16 Funny Terms You’ll Use at Parties, Work Events, and Awkward Hours

Somewhere along the way, sobriety got mislabeled as boring. As if choosing not to drink automatically means choosing early bedtimes, beige personalities, and zero fun at parties. Anyone actually living sober knows that’s nonsense. What does happen is this: you become hyper-aware of social dynamics, weird rituals, and the exact moment a room tips from charming to chaotic. Sobriety doesn’t drain the color from life. It sharpens it. And when you start noticing those moments, you start needing words for them.

HAPPY EVERY HOUR

Han’s Kombucha Review: All Tied Up Cherry Pie (Limited Edition, 2025) 🍒🥧✨

Dessert in a can, fermented with confidence.

Some kombuchas taste like they’re trying to punish you for having organs. Han’s? Han’s is here to flirt with your taste buds, compliment your outfit, and leave your gut feeling like it just got a spa day.

SOBRIETY IN THE CITY

TEDxPortland Salon Is Kicking Off 2026 With Three Brave Talks on Addiction (and Yes, There’s Café Yumm)

If you’ve been craving an evening that feels alive (not performatively polished, not painfully small-talky), TEDxPortland is starting 2026 with something special: a Salon event centered on addiction, recovery, and the kind of courage that doesn’t fit neatly into a 60-second Instagram caption.

On Thursday, January 22, 2026, TEDxPortland is taking over Wieden+Kennedy for a night of three all-new talks, live music, and complimentary food and drinks. It’s a gathering designed to make you think, feel, and maybe even text your best friend mid-talk: “Okay, wow… I needed this.”

The Sober Curator Readership Study

Answer Questions. Win Stuff.

We’re always curating sober pop culture with you in mind, and this readership survey helps us do it better. Join thousands of readers shaping sober lifestyle content. Your answers guide what we write, review, recommend, and spotlight next.

If you love The Sober Curator (or even just like us a lot), take a few minutes to share your thoughts. It’s quick, thoughtful, and genuinely helps us serve our community more intentionally.

And yes, there are prizes. Because gratitude matters.

SOBER SLOGAN OF THE WEEK

Brought to you by The Sober City App

I just love “Let go and let God” - it’s pulled me out of some real mind-effing trouble. Because handing over control feels like firing myself as CEO of a company that was already bankrupt and on fire. In my drinking days, I treated every problem like a puzzle only I could solve - gripping the pieces so hard they snapped, then getting super pisssed off when the picture still looked like chaos. Now when my brain starts micromanaging the universe again, I take a deep breath and exhale, “Alright, hotshot, you’ve had your turn—time to step aside and let the Big Dog take the wheel before we crash spectacularly.” This slogan for me - is cheeky, and a slightly exasperated reminder that my best ideas usually ended with me white-knuckling the steering wheel while life veered off the road anyway. So maybe, just maybe, trusting something bigger than my frantic ego isn’t the worst plan after all. 

-If you like what I’m saying and dig these sober slogans - check out Sober City mobile app - there are 365 more waiting for you for FREE. -Chris Rosburg

CLASSY PROBLEMS

Classy Problems: The Rules We Run On

Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding.