The Living Clean Podcast

This week on The Living Clean Podcast, we continue our journey through the Twelve Steps with Step Nine—the step where the preparation of Step Eight becomes action.
Our returning panel of Archer, Pete, and Douglas is back, and this week we’re joined by Brandon B. and Lucy for an honest conversation about making direct amends.
We talk about what an amends actually is, the fear that can come before making one, the difference between an apology and an amends, and why repairing the damage from our past is about much more than simply saying “I’m sorry.” We also explore the important qualification built into the step—“except when to do so would injure them or others”—and why willingness, guidance, timing, and our motives matter.
Step Nine gives us an opportunity to stop hiding from the past without becoming trapped in it. We take responsibility for the harm we caused, do what we can to make things right, and begin experiencing a different kind of freedom—the freedom that comes from cleaning up our side of the street.
Join us for Step Nine as Brandon B., Lucy, Archer, Pete, and Douglas share their experience, strength, and hope about making amends and what happens when we finally become willing to face the people and situations we once wanted to avoid.

September 5 is World Unity Day, and Francis and I decided there was no better reason to jump behind the microphones for a spontaneous special episode of The Living Clean Podcast.
Unity has always been at the heart of Narcotics Anonymous. We come from different places, different backgrounds, and different experiences, but we share a common purpose: to carry the NA message to the addict who still suffers.
In this special episode, Francis and I talk about what unity actually means in NA, why Tradition One — “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on NA unity” — matters far beyond the words on the page, and what it means to belong to a worldwide Fellowship.
We’ll also talk about World Unity Day 2026, when NA members around the world will pause together, share the Serenity Prayer, and reflect on the Fellowship and our primary purpose.
No big production. No guest. Just Francis and me having a conversation about something we both love: Narcotics Anonymous, our worldwide Fellowship, and the unity that makes all of this possible.
Happy Unity Day from The Living Clean Podcast.

What started as a simple message turned into an unexpected journey through the history of Narcotics Anonymous in Indiana.
After receiving a random request for ideas and questions for the Dinosaur Panel at the 40th Annual Fun in the Sun Hog Roast in the South Central Area of Indiana, Francis realized there was a much bigger story waiting to be told. Instead of just helping prepare for the panel, he sat down with Indiana's own NA History Couple, Jessica R. and Tony R., to explore the rich history of the fellowship throughout the Hoosier State.
Whether you're attending the 40th Annual Fun in the Sun Hog Roast, interested in NA history, or simply enjoy hearing how the message of recovery spread one addict at a time, this episode is filled with experience, strength, hope—and a few unexpected turns.
Recovery is built one addict helping another, and our history reminds us how we got here.
The Living Clean Podcast is dedicated to preserving the history of Narcotics Anonymous and sharing the stories of the members who carried the message so that others could find recovery.

In this episode of The Living Clean Podcast, we sit down with Pamela T. to hear her recovery story and explore a journey through Narcotics Anonymous service that has taken her into some fascinating places.
Pamela shares her experience helping establish a new NA area and being involved during the early days of what was, at the time, a groundbreaking approach to service: Consensus-Based Decision Making (CBDM). We talk about what it was like watching those ideas develop, learning a different way of reaching decisions, and seeing how service structures evolve over time.
Her journey eventually took her to the NA World Service Office, where she had the opportunity to serve in different roles and participate in workgroups connected to NA literature. We discuss some of that experience, including her involvement with Guiding Principles: The Spirit of Our Traditions and A Spiritual Principle a Day.
This conversation is part recovery story, part NA history, and part look behind the curtain at how service and literature actually develop. More than anything, it is the story of where saying yes to service can take one recovering addict—and the experiences, relationships, and lessons picked up along the way.

Francis and Rowan return for a second panel discussion exploring the Arizona Narcotics Anonymous history book, As the Journey Began. This episode shifts from the stories in the book to the work of preserving them for future generations.
Together they discuss how technology has transformed NA archiving, from scanning old newsletters and photographs to organizing digital collections and safeguarding decades of fellowship history. The conversation explores the advantages and challenges of digital storage, graphic design, file management, and the importance of creating archives that can be accessed by future trusted servants.
Whether you're an NA history enthusiast, an archivist, a trusted servant, or simply curious about how our fellowship's story is preserved, this episode offers practical insights and thoughtful discussion about carrying our history forward in the digital age.
Recovery's message is carried one addict to another—but our history reminds us how we got here. Join Francis and Rowan as they continue the conversation on preserving the legacy of Narcotics Anonymous, one archive at a time.
If you are looking for the Arizona NA History book it can be found on Amazon: https://a.co/d/02FfBePZ