Filmmaker Michelle Wong shares the story of her brother Phillip, whose struggle with gambling addiction had a devastating impact on both his life and those closest to him. Speaking with family members, friends, and professionals, she pieces together the events that shaped his addiction while exploring the emotional toll it left on those closest to him. Through personal reflection and expert insight, the documentary offers a moving examination of gambling disorder, loss, and the lasting effects of addiction on individuals and families.
Joy's story explores the devastating consequences of gambling addiction after she embezzled $700,000 employers to support her gambling. As she awaits sentencing, she reflects on the choices that led to her crimes while trying to help both herself and her children understand the grip of addiction. Alongside her personal story, the documentary features insights from addiction professionals who explain the psychological and neurological factors behind gambling disorder, offering a broader understanding of how behavioural addictions develop and why recovery can be so challenging.
After years of struggling with gambling addiction, Ike Dweck transformed his life and dedicated himself to helping others recover. In this interview, he reflects on the experiences that shaped his addiction, the challenges he faced during recovery, and the purpose he found in supporting those facing similar struggles. As the founder of an outpatient treatment program in Brooklyn, New York, Ike draws on his lived experience to offer insight into gambling addiction, recovery, and the importance of using personal experience to help others rebuild their lives.
Michael Mooney shares his personal journey through gambling addiction, tracing how childhood experiences gradually developed into a hidden and destructive pattern despite his recovery from substance use. The documentary follows the events that ultimately forced him to confront the addiction and begin rebuilding his life. Now working as a certified counsellor, he reflects on the challenges of recovery while offering hope to others facing similar struggles. Through his experiences, the film explores the complexities of behavioural addiction, recovery, and the possibility of lasting change.
Inside one of Kabul's largest drug rehabilitation centres, A Second Shot offers a stark look at addiction in Afghanistan through the experiences of residents, families, volunteers, and staff. The documentary follows those living inside the centre as they endure severe withdrawal, homelessness, poverty, family breakdown, and limited access to medication and basic care. Set against Afghanistan's strained healthcare system and declining international aid, it explores the human consequences of addiction and the challenges of providing treatment with few resources.
Hamilton Morris explores the science and history of ketamine through conversations with artist and writer Timothy Wyllie, as well as doctors, therapists, and other experts. Travelling to India to investigate the drug's production and use, he examines ketamine's medical applications, recreational use, and emerging role in mental health treatment. By combining personal perspectives with scientific discussion, the episode offers an accessible look at one of the world's most distinctive psychoactive substances and the evolving understanding of its effects on the mind.
Ketamine has become increasingly common among young people in the UK, where its low cost and reputation as a versatile party drug can obscure the risk of serious harm. Following journalist Matt Shea through Bristol’s nightlife and free-party scene, this report explores how recreational use can progress into dependence, debilitating bladder damage, and other long-term health complications. Personal accounts, clinical explanations, and conversations with people involved in the drug trade reveal why ketamine has become so firmly associated with a generation—and why its growing popularity is raising urgent public health concerns.
Many people who struggle with alcohol don't fit the stereotype of what an alcohol problem looks like. In this honest and deeply personal documentary, Adrian Chiles reflects on his own drinking habits while exploring why alcohol has become such a normal part of everyday life. Through medical assessments, conversations with addiction specialists, and personal reflection, he examines the physical and psychological effects of long-term drinking and asks whether moderation is possible. This resource offers a relatable and thought-provoking look at alcohol use that challenges common assumptions about dependence and recovery.
Recovery is rarely a straight path, even for those who dedicate their lives to helping others overcome addiction. In this candid documentary, addiction therapist Michael Pond reflects on his own struggle with alcohol use disorder, repeated relapse, and the shortcomings of traditional treatment approaches. Combining lived experience with evidence-based perspectives, this resource explores the realities of recovery, the importance of individualized care, and why compassion, science, and hope are essential to helping people build lasting change.
Alcohol has played a central role in British history and culture for centuries, yet its impact on society is often overlooked. This thought-provoking documentary explores the nation's complex relationship with drinking through interviews with addiction specialists, medical experts, researchers, and people with lived experience, including Russell Brand. Examining the science of alcohol, binge drinking culture, industry influence, and the stigma surrounding addiction, this resource encourages viewers to reconsider one of society's most accepted drugs and the widespread harm it can cause.