The Small Bow Podcast

The Small Bow Podcast is a recovery show – part interview, part storytelling – hosted by A.J. Daulerio, and based on the recovery newsletter thesmallbow.com. A.J. created TSB after he got out of rehab and wanted to hear stories about sobriety, mental health, and spirituality that he couldn’t easily find on the internet. 

We talk about recovery from all kinds of things: car crashes, identity crises, drugs, alcohol, ego. And even if you’re not in recovery, these stories and conversations have things to teach. Most people equate recovery with redemption – the part where people who’ve quit drugs or alcohol then tell you how they did it and how good their lives are now – but TSB focuses less on the beginning and ending of rock bottoms, and more about the middle part, making it through the woods. 

Join A.J. as he speaks with writers, entertainers, social workers, magazine editors, recovering addicts, recovering jerks – people – about how they made it through hard things and got better because of it. Maybe some of this will help you get better too.


Society & Culture
Health & Fitness
Mental Health
1
Our National Anthem w/ Amanda Petrusich
How to write through grief.
67 min
2
How to Survive a Nightmare w/Joe Lynskey
What it's like to be pushed in front of a moving subway car.
68 min
3
Mind Reels in America w/Freddie deBoer
What it's like to be institutionalized.
66 min
4
You Did It, Man! w/Cord Jefferson
How to stay humble before and after success.
64 min
5
The Last Decent Man on Earth
Is there a way to be super-famous and not have an ego?
59 min
6
There Are Murderers Here
How a scandal and a downfall can positively shape a life.
64 min
7
The Weight Loss
How do you forgive someone who murdered a member of your family?
47 min
8
Defective Character Limits
How do you write about Elon Musk for a living and hold on to your sanity?
48 min
9
Joy as an Act of Defiance
It’s important to prioritize joyful moments even when the outside world is destabilizing and scary.
46 min
10
Joan As Human Woman
Living a life where there is no more escape.
62 min
11
All Meat Rots
Dry Emotional January: What sort of behaviors would you let go of for 30 days?
48 min
12
You Are F*cking Amazing!
Don’t forget that our most wretched pasts can create a beautiful future.
58 min
13
It’s Okay If You’re Not Ready
What if I’m not 100% sure I want to stop drinking in the new year?
16 min
14
The Fleeting Joys of Parenthood with George Bil...
How can I stop obsessing about the passage of time?
68 min
15
Notes from the American Schoolyard with John De...
Masculinity, rage, and theater kids
84 min
16
The State of the State of the State
New things are coming to The Small Bow universe
45 min
17
How to Tame Your Monster with Claire Dederer
Sometimes grace is the hardest word
99 min
18
This is Supposed to Be a Children’s Story with ...
What is it like to have a kid who’s unhoused?
58 min
19
Why Does No One Care About Recovery Month? with...
America’s most passionate and curmudgeonly social worker Joe Schrank returns to the pod
59 min
20
Take this Pod and Shove It
Can you be a workaholic and a chronic self-sabotager?
25 min
21
Some Kind of Ambition Monster with Jennifer Rom...
Workaholism 101: How much of your self-worth is tied to your job?
66 min
22
Main Character Defects with Josh Radnor
Fame can be its own despair if you’re not careful - how do you avoid getting in your head?
69 min
23
Go Say Hello with Mary HK Choi
Living in the world after being diagnosed with adult autism, feeling strange, dad stuff
76 min
24
Connection Junkie with Peaceful John
Al-Anon, Adult Children, self-esteem, and the difference between deserving and entitlement.
55 min
25
Dead Inside with Megan Koester
EMDR, Relapses, Megan’s latest Craigslist finds. We Buy Mucinex
59 min