We are not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous in any way.
Sober Cast was started by one anonymous podcaster who couldn't find AA speaker meetings in a podcast format, there are plenty of podcasts about recovery, I was not looking for a discussion, I just wanted to listen to a speaker meeting using my podcast player.
So, if you can't find the solution, create it! That is why Sober Cast was started, I guessed I can't be the only one interested in that.
Podcasting is not free, I paid for the first years expenses out of my pocket and I am hoping enough of you folks will toss a few $ into the virtual basket now and then to keep this running.
So, if you like what I am doing and want it to continue please visit the donate page and drop a couple of dollars in our virtual basket if you are able, if not, please toss a few stars and a review our way on itunes or on the podcast service you are using (It really helps our visibility on those services).
If you have a favorite speaker you would like added to the podcast, upload an mp3 here.
The goal: Offering AA speakers and workshops in a podcast format without a great deal of commentary, there are lots of great recovery podcasts and websites where commentary and debate are a feature. I want to provide speaker, workshop, or panel meetings in a fairly straight forward way.
About Anonymity: I respect the AA tradition of anonymity, some speakers choose to state their full names when they are being recorded, I am doing the best I can to edit out last names in all the recordings I upload. Please let me know if I miss one.
About the Content: I am trying to find a variety of speakers sharing on a wide variety of topics, trying to mix topics along with a good amount of E.S.H. plus the occasional long workshop, from people of different backgrounds and ages.
Your input is welcome and if there is anything you would like to hear more of, or less of, please let me know. A few of the speakers that I have uploaded, I really disagree with their point of view on some topics, however I am a big fan of taking what you need and leaving the rest, just because they arent saying what I would is no reason to exclude them.
Editing: I will edit the recordings, but not for content or language. If they drop the f-bomb, so be it, if you don't approve please choose a different episode.
Some speakers do use their last name when speaking at meetings that are recorded, I will edit out those last names, if you hear one of the podcasts and there is a last name I missed, please let me know the episode and the approx time in the podcast.
I do attempt to clean up the recording quality, some speaker meeting recordings are poor quality or just very old and qreat recording wasn't an option. I will attempt to improve the quality of the sound, this isn't always possible but I do give it a shot.
Panel meetings will occasionally have Q&A at the end and often the questions asked can not be heard and are usually recapped by the speaker before answering, I will remove the inaudible sections and the long silences.
About Copyright: This question has been asked a couple of times, mostly because people don't really understand how it works. A copyright belongs to the person creating the content, not the person recording it. So if AA cared about that in relation to a speaker meeting (it does not, it is an outside issue) the copyright would belong to the meeting/group that created it. It would not belong to the recording company, they are simply providing a service.
When it comes to speaker meetings and recording companies we inhabit a weird grey area based more in mutual respect than in "who owns what". When it comes to the recording companies I appreciate the time effort and financial investment they (usually an AA member) has made and I want them to make a profit from that investment and the service they are providing us.
The majority of the time they are doing that at the event itself, selling the recordings they just made, and at the same time adding content into their library of available recordings to sell at other speaker meetings.
Eventually many of these recordings make their way to the internet or in this case a podcast and there is rarely any kind of "credit" as to how or by whom it was recorded, many of them are recorded by the group itself or someone at the meeting with a recording device and not a recording company.
That being said, I do not want to infringe on what you believe your rights are as a recording company. If you are a recording company please get in touch. We are happy to credit you and/or link back to your website where the recordings can be purchased.
