“Today I am sober and you are sober.”
That’s how the episode ends — two grown women wearing alien headbands, debating whether the ocean is actually space. Because let’s be honest, sobriety doesn’t mean you stop asking weird questions. It just means you remember to hydrate between them.
The internet is currently losing its collective mind over something called 3I Atlas — apparently the third interstellar visitor to enter our solar system. Detected in July 2025, moving like it knew where it was going, and then—because drama loves a plot twist—it vanished for 19 seconds before popping back up. Cue NASA’s website going dark during a government shutdown and voilà: TikTok had content for days.
Tamar and I did what any sober Gen X women would do: laugh first, then ask better questions.
The Dread We Used to Drink About
Let’s call it out: cosmic dread used to be a drinking cue.
Aliens, elections, wars, climate doom, or that one headline about “scientists discovering something mysterious in space”—all solid excuses to pour another glass.
“I used to drink to avoid dread,” Alysse says. “Because dread feels like powerlessness.”
And nothing makes humans feel more powerless than the idea that something massive, ancient, or off-planet is headed our way and we have zero say in it.
So we do what we’ve been conditioned to do: doom scroll, obsess over 19-second YouTube clips, and convince ourselves we just need to know what’s really going on. “It’s a probe.” “It’s a psyop.” “It’s Project Blue Beam.” “It’s fallen angels.”
Because once you can name it, it feels smaller.
The Recovery Reframe
Tamar nails it: if aliens were coming, would some people drink over it? Absolutely.
Not because aliens are terrifying—but because they were already looking for a reason.
“Those are people who were gonna drink anyway,” is what you’ll hear me say in this video. “There’s something they haven’t made peace with on the inside.”
That’s the heartbeat of sober pop culture: the world will always hand you a reason to escape. Sobriety just keeps whispering back—choose clarity.
Space vs. The Sea: We’re the Ants
And here’s where it gets deliciously humbling: we claim to know what’s out in space, yet 90% of our own ocean remains unexplored. “We know more about space than the ocean, we’re basically ants trying to explain the galaxy.”
But there’s freedom in that. Ants don’t run the universe. They just do the next ant thing.
That’s recovery energy right there: stay present, stay curious, and stop pretending we’re supposed to control the cosmos.
The Sober Superpower of 2025
We’re living in a world where AI can fake space footage, government sites crash at inconvenient moments, and viral creators can build a cult following off 11 minutes of “research.”
Discernment is a recovery tool now.
Be careful, friends. There’s a lot of fake out there.
That’s not paranoia. That’s sobriety.
Final Landing
Uncertainty isn’t a relapse cue.
We don’t have to drink just because the universe is big.
Curiosity can be sober.
You can stream UAP documentaries and sip a tinfoil mocktail.
Presence still wins.
“Today I am sober and you are sober.”
That’s the whole ballgame.
So if the UAPs show up wearing top knots, great.
If it’s just a rock, also great.
If it’s a psyop—well, we’ll podcast about it.
Either way, we’re meeting it with clear eyes and no hangover.
Come for the conspiracy. Stay for the clarity.
And if the aliens put their pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us… We’ll save them a seat on the sober side.
MAY THE SOBER FORCE BE WITH YOU SPECIAL SECTION: Check out our special Star Wars curated section featuring the Star Wars + Yoda versions of the 12 Steps, and much more!
Getting sober matters. Staying sober matters more. That’s the whole premise.
The Sober Curator Podcast brings sober lifestyle, pop culture and recovery to the mic with personality, perspective and a glitter bomb of honesty. Founder and host Alysse Bryson (sober since May 1, 2006, and self-described Kevin Bacon of Recovery) is joined by co-host and show producer Tamar Routly of Podcast Impact Studio, plus a rotating bench of global Sober Curator contributors who pull up a chair as co-hosts.
What we cover, episode to episode:
Happy Every Hour: zero-proof drinks, NA beer, spirits and cocktails, reviewed by people who actually drink them.
Health and Wellness: mental health, physical health and what recovery looks like on a Tuesday.
Lifestyle: dating, parenting, shopping, style and the everyday logistics of alcohol-free living.
Entertainment: quit lit, movies, TV, music, sports and celebrity sobriety, rated with our proprietary Sobees.
Spiritual Gangster: Jesus to astrology, stoicism to the Celtic calendar.
Travel: sober events, sober retreats, Sobriety in the City and global travel without a drink in hand.
We also review other sober podcasts on Recovery Podcastland, dig into sponsored product spotlights, and go deep with contributors on how they got sober and what keeps them there. New episodes drop as video on YouTube and audio everywhere you listen.
Want more? BACKSTAGE with The Sober Curator is our membership community with Media Nights, Studio Nights, Edutainment Nights and The Sober Curator Mixtape, a monthly mini-zine delivered in a cassette case. Details at https://thesobercurator.com/backstage-with-the-sober-curator/
Whether you’re sober curious or decades in, we’ve got you. We’re not here to help you get sober. We’re here to help you live sober and love it.
Rate, review and subscribe. It takes 60 seconds and we will love you forever.
Contact: thesobercurator@gmail.com
Every October, half the internet finds out what it’s like to be the one holding a club soda at a party. Some of us have been doing Sober October for years, and the drinks have gotten a lot better since the O’Doul’s days.
This week, Alysse and Tamar sit down with the two people who know exactly what to pour: Kim Parsley and Justin Lamb, who hold down The Sober Curator’s Happy Every Hour section. Kim covers NA spirits and cocktails. Justin is roughly 150 NA beer reviews in and still can’t find a non-alcoholic single malt scotch.
In this episode:
– Sober October, Dry January, and “the always forgotten Dry July”: eye roll, gateway drug, or marketing?
– Justin’s fall NA beer list from 2024 still pops off, and some of the breweries on it are gone
– Why celebrity NA beer brands might not want sober customers (and why there should be room at the table)
– The “drink as prescribed” rule for trying NA spirits for the first time
– Kim builds Justin an NA Negroni and Alysse a pink Barbie Cosmo on the spot
– The one drink each of us is pouring for the rest of fall, plus what we’re eating with it
CHAPTERS
00:00 Club soda at the party
02:01 The Sober Curator Mixtape
04:16 Sober October: eye roll or gateway drug?
09:44 From craft beer to NA beer
13:36 Kim’s piano bar and Tanqueray 0.0
17:55 The 2024 fall beer list, two years later
20:22 “The War on Alcohol” and the SNL sketch
23:37 “They don’t want recovered addicts”
25:23 TOMONOTOMO: drink as prescribed
29:30 What drink are you?
30:57 Which NA spirits can you sip neat?
33:41 “I drink Diet Coke”
37:48 One drink for the rest of fall
TSC Articles mentioned in this episode:
– Justin’s Top 10 Non-Alcoholic Beers for Fall
– Kim’s TOMONOTOMO Tobalá review
– SNL’s “Non-Non Alcoholic Beer” sketch, pro or con
– “It’s Always Sunny,” NA Beer and the Joke That Didn’t Land for Me
– The Sober Curator Mixtape (Sober Snail Mail)
– Backstage with The Sober Curator
Getting sober matters. Staying sober matters more.
SEASON 2 MERCH: https://shopthesobercurator.com/
SC RESOURCES:
– Alcohol + Substance Use Disorder Guide
– Recovery Nonprofit Resource Guide
– LGBTQ+ Recovery Resource Guide
CONNECT: www.thesobercurator.com | The Sober Sip newsletter: https://www.thesobercuratornewsletter.com/ | @thesobercurator on Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube + Pinterest
Love the show? Rate, review + follow. It takes 60 seconds and helps more people find us. Feedback + guest ideas: thesobercurator@gmail.com
Hosted by Alysse Bryson with co-host + producer Tamar Routly. For informational and entertainment purposes only; not a substitute for professional advice.
Music: TSC S2 theme “Sober Shots” created by Alysse Bryson using Suno AI, under Suno’s commercial license.
RECOVERY PODCASTLAND & NETWORK at The Sober Curator is your audio haven for all things sobriety and recovery. We’re your bee-zy sober podcast enthusiasts, curating the best shows that educate, inspire, and entertain in the alcohol-free space.
Our archives are neatly organized so you can easily explore Recovery Podcastland—featuring our favorite recovery-based podcasts from across the globe—and the TSC Podcast Network, where we share our own original shows on sober lifestyle, pop culture, travel, entertainment, and more.
Whether you’re seeking practical recovery tips, personal stories, or uplifting inspiration, this is your go-to listening guide. 🎧 Submit a Podcast for Review: Recovery Podcastland coverage and reviews. Shows that earn their place in our audience’s queue. Submit your podcast →
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
