Deb Haaland shares how sobriety, generational trauma, and survival shaped her life and leadership. In this Soberness episode, she speaks candidly about alcoholism, Native American boarding schools, and 30 years of sobriety. This is not a political interview. It's a conversation about how trauma gets passed down, how alcohol was weaponized against Native communities, and what it takes to choose sobriety when numbing feels easier. Deb Haaland reflects on family, public service, recovery, and the responsibility she carries to honor those who came before her.

IN THIS EPISODE:

HOW GENERATIONAL TRAUMA LED TO DRINKING

THE TRUTH ABOUT BOARDING SCHOOLS AND STOLEN CHILDREN

WHAT 30 YEARS OF SOBRIETY ACTUALLY TAKES

THE MOMENT SHE WAS TOLD, "YOU'RE AN ALCOHOLIC"

WHY PUBLIC SERVICE BECAME HER SOBER PURPOSE

Submit your story:

https://soberness.com/

For more content from Cat Greenleaf, check out her socials below! https://www.instagram.com/catgreenleaf/

https://www.instagram.com/sobernesspodcast/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cat-greenleaf-52900279/

ABOUT SOBERNESS:

Soberness—the concept—is freedom from f**kery: The f**kery of addiction. The self-inflicted f**kery. And the f**kery that shows up uninvited. Soberness—the podcast—is where celebrity raconteurs spill what broke them, what saved them, and what still f**ks with them today. From Talk Stoop creator and host Cat Greenleaf, Soberness is recorded at the Algonquin Hotel's iconic Round Table in Midtown Manhattan. Once home to Dorothy Parker and her Vicious Circle of drunken critics and wits, the Gonk is a legendary hotbed of brilliance and bad behavior. A f**kery free-for-all. In other words, it's a perfect fit.

ABOUT CAT GREENLEAF:

Cat created and hosted NBC's long-running series Talk Stoop—the celebrity interview show filmed on her Brooklyn front steps. Yep, the one with the bulldog that dominated NYC TaxiTV and USA Daytime in the 20teens. Over nine years, she hosted hundreds of guests, racked up four Emmys, launched countless adventures—and had so much fun. Then she got fired. No fun. After losing her job, she thought she'd never to go back to journalism. With no other marketable skills and no idea what to do next, she entered an epic dark night of the soul. Looking for light, her family moved to the beach in Coney Island. There, Cat got serious about her own sobriety and began bringing recovery meetings to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and men. That work inspired her to found the nonprofit Restorative Housing Organization. RHO is dedicated to training formerly incarcerated men and women to renovate undervalued NYC waterfront properties, which are then rented to Section 8 tenants. She loves it. But once a journalist, always a journalist. So when she weirdly got name-checked on Hacks last season, she took it as a sign.Soon after, she heard her old friend, musician Steve Earle, talking openly about his sobriety on a radio show —a thing she didn't know people were even allowed to do. And she realized she wanted to be the one talking to Steve Earle about sobriety on a show! Soberness was born in September 2024.

AJ McLean opens up about addiction, relapse, sobriety, and fame in one of his most unfiltered conversations ever. The Backstreet Boys singer talks honestly about alcohol, drugs, recovery, fatherhood, and the moment that stopped him for good. This isn't a redemption arc or a PR version of sobriety. AJ walks through the lies, the manipulation, the relapses that "didn't count," and the brutal truth of knowing when you're out of chances. From hiding drinks on the road to being exposed by his own child, this is what addiction actually looks like when the lights go off.

In this episode, you'll hear: The relapse that started with a minibar and ended everything Why fame didn't cause his addiction—but made it lethal How lying hurt more than drinking ever did The moment his daughter became his mirror Why he doesn't believe willpower keeps anyone sober.

If this conversation hit you, subscribe for more real conversations about sobriety. Comment if any moment landed close to home. Share this with someone who's still telling themselves they're fine.

MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LOVE:

Comedian Tom Arnold Tells All | Rosanne, Addiction, Relapse, Getting Sober: https://youtu.be/kShxbIL6Gf0

American Pie Jason Biggs Opens Up About His Addiction & Relapse Struggles: https://youtu.be/KrWRTLYE618

Submit your story: https://soberness.com/

For more content from Cat Greenleaf, check out her socials below! https://www.instagram.com/catgreenleaf/ https://www.instagram.com/sobernesspodcast/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cat-greenleaf-52900279/

ABOUT SOBERNESS:

Soberness—the concept—is freedom from f**kery: The f**kery of addiction. The self-inflicted f**kery. And the f**kery that shows up uninvited. Soberness—the podcast—is where celebrity raconteurs spill what broke them, what saved them, and what still f**ks with them today. From Talk Stoop creator and host Cat Greenleaf, Soberness is recorded at the Algonquin Hotel's iconic Round Table in Midtown Manhattan. Once home to Dorothy Parker and her Vicious Circle of drunken critics and wits, the Gonk is a legendary hotbed of brilliance and bad behavior. A f**kery free-for-all. In other words, it's a perfect fit.

ABOUT CAT GREENLEAF:

Cat created and hosted NBC's long-running series Talk Stoop—the celebrity interview show filmed on her Brooklyn front steps. Yep, the one with the bulldog that dominated NYC TaxiTV and USA Daytime in the 20teens. Over nine years, she hosted hundreds of guests, racked up four Emmys, launched countless adventures—and had so much fun. Then she got fired. No fun. After losing her job, she thought she'd never to go back to journalism. With no other marketable skills and no idea what to do next, she entered an epic dark night of the soul. Looking for light, her family moved to the beach in Coney Island. There, Cat got serious about her own sobriety and began bringing recovery meetings to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and men. That work inspired her to found the nonprofit Restorative Housing Organization. RHO is dedicated to training formerly incarcerated men and women to renovate undervalued NYC waterfront properties, which are then rented to Section 8 tenants. She loves it. But once a journalist, always a journalist. So when she weirdly got name-checked on Hacks last season, she took it as a sign.
Soon after, she heard her old friend, musician Steve Earle, talking openly about his sobriety on a radio show —a thing she didn't know people were even allowed to do. And she realized she wanted to be the one talking to Steve Earle about sobriety on a show! Soberness was born in September 2024.