FROM THE DESK OF THE FOUNDER
Ever put your phone down and feel like you just got off a red-eye? Foggy, irritable, weirdly hungover, and you didn't drink a thing.
Senior Sober Curator Contributor Anne Marie Cribbin has a name for it: infoxication. Headlines, notifications, group chats, the algorithm feeding you one more thing you never asked to care about. She makes the case that the same tools that got us sober (boundaries, honesty, a pause before we react) work just as well on the doomscroll. Retired blackout artists know a bender when we see one, even if this one lives in our pockets.
On the podcast, I sat down with Eliza Zarka, who runs the National Recovery Friendly Workplace Institute, and with Sober Curator Contributor Sarah Alaimo, a fractional HR consultant with a lot of sober years behind her. What makes a job safe to be sober in? How do you bring this to HR without outing yourself? And what does the annual holiday bottle of wine say about a company? More than the company thinks.
And BACKSTAGE member Isabel van Zuilen just solved sober travel's oldest problem. The trips were always out there. Finding them meant a group chat and a lucky screenshot. Dry Tripping Travel puts alcohol-free retreats and group trips in one searchable place.
Also this week: why telling your story at meetings still matters, and Ronnie Marmo celebrating 36 years sober on opening night of Bill W. and Dr. Bob. Chicago readers, that one is for you. Sober Not Mature wins Best Podcast at the 2026 Sans Bar Academy Awards in Austin, TX this past weekend.
Put the phone down after this one. Or wait a minute, maybe after you click on a few things.
— Alysse Bryson (*AB That’s Me 💋) / Seattle, WA 🌃 05.01.2006
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Infoxication Is Real: What Social Media Overload Does to Your Brain — and How Recovery Tools Can Help
Ever finish scrolling and somehow feel more exhausted than when you started? Senior Sober Curator Contributor Anne Marie explores “infoxication” — the mental overload created by our nonstop diet of posts, headlines and notifications — and how familiar recovery tools can help us build healthier boundaries with the information we consume.
SOBER CURATOR PODCAST
Recovery Friendly Workplace: What It Is, How to Get Certified + Whether to Tell Your Boss You're Sober
Eliza Zarka runs the National Recovery Friendly Workplace Institute, which certifies employers as recovery friendly. It started at a New Hampshire ski resort and now has bipartisan federal backing. Alysse Bryson and Sober Curator contributor Sarah Alaimo, a fractional HR consultant in long-term recovery, get into what makes a job safe to be sober in, how to bring it to HR without outing yourself, and why the annual holiday bottle of wine says more than the company thinks.
TRAVEL
Looking for an Alcohol-Free Vacation? Dry Tripping Travel Wants to Make It Easier
Sober travel has always had a discovery problem: the trips exist, but finding them means group chats and lucky screenshots. Backstage member Isabel van Zuilen just launched Dry Tripping Travel, a marketplace that puts alcohol-free retreats and group trips in one searchable place.
ALSO THIS WEEK ON TSC 📰
👉 The Importance of Telling One’s Story at Meetings Read more here→
👉 Ronnie Marmo Turns 36 Years Sober on Opening Night of Bill W. and Dr. Bob (Chicago peeps, this one is for you!) Read more here→
👉 Narcan and Friendship Bracelets: What's In My Concert Bag Read more here→
👉 Sober Not Mature Wins Best Podcast at the Sans Bar Academy Awards in Austin Read more here→
The Sober Sip is brought to you by Aura House
This edition is brought to you by Aura House, the cold-air diffuser that makes your home smell like a five-star hotel every single day. No candles. No mist. No mess. No residue. No maintenance. Just a clean, non-toxic fragrance that lasts up to 30 days. If your first scent isn't the perfect match, Aura House will swap it for free. Experience the difference at AuraHouse.com. Use code TSC10 to save 10% and get started.
See you Wednesday!
