From Buzz to Burnout: How Alcohol Affects the Brain and Body
About this episode
The episode explores the effects of alcohol on the brain and body, featuring insights from surgeon and recovering alcoholic Charles Knowles.
At the best of times, alcohol makes us feel great — relaxed and gregarious, warm and fuzzy, happy and confident. But at the worst of times, it can morph into a serious problem, damaging our relationships, our health, and our lives as a whole. On this encore episode, we explore our relationship with alcohol. Why we consume it, how it affects us, and when it’s time to quit. We talk with surgeon and recovering alcoholic Charles Knowles about how booze affects our brains and health, and what finally pushed him to give up alcohol for good; we hear about a trend known as “California sober,” and why so many people are embracing it; and we find out how zero-proof cocktail bars are helping some people socialize without the booze. Charles Knowles was barely a teen when he discovered the power of alcohol to transform him from a shy outsider into the life of the party. But as he got older, and sank deeper into drinking, alcohol stopped being fun — and started affecting his health and his life. We talk with Knowles, a surgeon and physician, about what makes some people more vulnerable to problematic drinking, how alcohol affects our brains, and how his life changed once he stopped drinking…
People in this episode
Guest: Charles Knowles
Topics covered
- alcohol consumption
- health effects
- sobriety
- California sober
- socialization without alcohol
Keywords
- alcohol
- brain
- health
- sobriety
- California sober
- zero-proof cocktails
- problematic drinking
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Why We Drink Too Much: The Impact of Alcohol on Our Bodies and Culture
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