For many of us, the coming of a new year is the time when we resolve to try and quit our bad habits and make a clean start. For most, overindulgence in the things we crave is relatively benign, but for some it is an addiction that causes untold harm to themselves and those around them.

Sebastian Wocker is a journalist, musician and recovering addict. In his memoir The Joy of Addiction: Confessions of a Teenage Wastrel, he gives an unflinching account of his descent into the abyss of drug and alcohol dependency.

As the highly ironic title suggests, the book is a tragicomedy, offering both an insight into the mind-set of an addict and an invaluable message of recovery.

Join Sebastian and Red as they explore some of the causes and effects of drink and drug dependency, and how to find a road to recovery.

Manda Scott is a novelist, podcaster and shamanist practitioner. After building a reputation as one of Britain’s leading crime writers, she achieved international recognition with her highly acclaimed series of historical novels about the warrior Queen Boudica, and a quartet of spy thrillers set in ancient Rome.

More recently she had been devoting her time to her podcast Accidental Gods and believed that she had done with writing novels.

But then she realised that it was providing her with the material she needed to weave a tale that modelled her hopes for a better future. The result is Any Human Power, a thriller that Manda describes as a Thrutopia, and which blends mythology, technology and compassion to offer a pathway for positive social change.

Join Manda and Red as they explore shamanism, sustainability, and an author’s duty to address global crises.