Back from Broken
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Back from Broken
Back From Broken is an interview series about what it takes to recover from the biggest challenge of your life -- and what others can learn from your adversity. Colorado Public Radio’s Vic Vela, an award-winning journalist who’s also a recovering drug addict, hosts the podcast. Vic talks with guest...
Neueste Episoden
41 Episoden
Vic's Story: Part Two
The season ends with Vic Vela coming to terms with one of the biggest health scares of his life, while also navigating an emotional, historic champion...

Matthew & Steven Fisher
Matthew Fisher always felt like an outsider. He struggled to make friends and was overcome by mood swings. By age 13, he turned to drugs and alcohol t...

Khadi Oluwatoyin
Khadi Oluwatoyin was always a high achiever. She excelled in law school and got her dream job, as a lawyer in New York City, in her early twenties. Ra...

Aaron Taylor
Aaron Taylor was a standout athlete at the University of Notre Dame. He went on to become a Super Bowl champion with the Green Bay Packers. But behind...

Pebe Sebert
Pebe Sebert's dreams of becoming a professional songwriter started coming true when Dolly Parton recorded one of her songs and it became a hit. But Pe...

Natalie Hodges
Growing up, Natalie Hodges practiced the violin every moment she could. She was good, and the practice made her excellent. She started down the path o...

Drew Robinson
Drew Robinson was a talented professional baseball player. It seemed like all his goals were coming to fruition. But he couldn't shake a sense of deep...

Carnie Wilson
Like her father, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, Carnie Wilson found solace and joy in music. She started the group Wilson Phillips with her sister an...

Trailer: Get Ready For Season 4!
We’re back with more stories about the highest highs, the darkest moments and what it takes to make a comeback.
Back From Broken returns on July...

Jackie Wallace & Ted Jackson
When journalist Ted Jackson set out to do a story on homelessness, he never imagined he'd meet a former NFL player who'd made it to three Super Bowls....

Morgan Sinclair
Morgan Sinclair wrestled with his identity as a trans man growing up. He turned to drugs to numb his feelings, and struggled with addiction. As a teen...

Lissa Yellow Bird-Chase
Lissa Yellow Bird-Chase is an Arikara woman who, after years of struggling with addiction and abusive relationships, has found healing, recovery, and...

Leah V
Leah V got married young. Her relationship was tumultuous, with high highs and low lows -- including a physical altercation that ended with Leah in ja...

Jim Belushi
Actor Jim Belushi is famous for his work on shows like Saturday Night Live and movies like About Last Night. He also knows firsthand the pain of losin...

Lynn Chen
Lynn Chen faced comments about her weight from her family at an early age. Later, when she became an actor, she heard about her weight from her Hollyw...

Shane Price
At an early age, Shane Price realized he could pour on the charm with women, and at 16 years old he started his career as a pimp. After a violent inc...

Tierre Caldwell
Tierre Caldwell grew up without a father in a violent gang setting in Minneapolis. As a teenager, he developed addictions to drugs and alcohol. After...

Trailer: Season 3 Is On The Way!
When we can meet each other with empathy and compassion, we can find hope. That is exactly what Back From Broken is all about. And it’s why we’re comi...

Hunter Biden
Hunter Biden’s struggle with addiction has been intense — and very public. His battle with alcohol and cocaine addiction came under scrutiny as his fa...

Kevin Griffin
Kevin Griffin was a talented musician who struggled with addiction, felt diretionless in life and eventually became homeless. Until he discovered Budd...

Tracie Lechman
Tracie Lechman's recovery story starts with a troubled relationship: Her high school boyfriend committed a horrific crime in which four innocent peopl...

Matthew Jarvis
Matthew Jarvis grew up in a home where his parents fought a lot, sometimes violently. That situation set the stage for years of difficult relationship...

Elena Joy Thurston
Elena Joy Thurston was a devout Mormon, and took her faith seriously. Then she fell in love with another woman, and found herself in punishing session...

Jessica Dueñas
As both a student and a teacher, Jessica Dueñas found a sanctuary in the classroom. She was confident, capable and passionate about learning and helpi...

John Evans
John Evans was a directionless young man who felt a calling to join the military after 9/11. What he witnessed in Iraq rattled him, and he suffered fr...

Catherine Cho
Author Catherine Cho recounts how one of the happiest moments of her life turned ugly when she developed postpartum psychosis shortly after the birth...

Sara Benincasa
Writer and comedian Sara Benincasa travels the world speaking about her struggle with agoraphobia -- which is funny, since her condition often gives h...

Andrew Zimmern
Before he became host of the shows Bizarre Foods and What’s Eating America, Andrew Zimmern struggled for years with alcoholism. He was broke and despe...

Trailer: Season 2 Starts Soon!
Last season we told stories of life's challenges. Of recovery and hope. And you listened! So we're coming back.
It’s a hard time in our world. T...

Presenting: The Long Lonely Lake
In this special episode, Colorado Public Radio reporter Dan Boyce uses interviews with friends and family, plus a fishing trip, to piece together lost...

Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Jake "The Snake" Roberts was one of the most famous pro wrestlers of the 1980s. He had a massive following. But behind the scenes he was addicted to d...

Paul Scudo
Paul Scudo had a flashy, high-powered hotel job — and behind the scenes, he had a longtime drug addiction. When he couldn't hide it anymore, things bl...

Keri Blakinger
Whatever Keri Blakinger puts her mind to, she excels at. She has incredible focus. But that worked against her when she got into heroin. Hear Keri's j...

Andy Bellatti
Andy Bellatti couldn't resist the lights and sounds of a slot machine. He spent his days in Las Vegas building a successful career as a personable, TV...

Dana Smith
Dana Smith has a unusual job: She helps people in recovery reach their potential at a gym dedicated to sobriety and fitness. But she didn’t reach this...

The Lumineers LIVE!
The Lumineers have sold millions of records and played stadiums around the globe. Their latest album is all about the pain of addiction and what it's...

Vic's Story
Host Vic Vela has been through addiction, and now he’s in recovery. On this episode, Vic gives a first-person account of how his cocaine use affected...

Chamique Holdsclaw
She's one of the greatest basketball players of all time. She was a three-time national champion in college and later starred in the WNBA. But Chamiqu...

David Mellor
A driver rammed into David Mellor when he was 18. It ended his hopes of pitching in the major leagues. It also led to years of sleepless nights cold s...

Anders Osborne
Anders Osborne is a talented singer, blues guitarist and songwriter from New Orleans. He was dependent on alcohol for years — and it nearly destroyed...