<p>That’s what Hanna Pickard argues. After analyzing the scientific research, and working with those who’ve stopped self-destructive drug and alcohol use, the Johns Hopkins philosopher sees addiction as a complex behavioural disorder. She argues it’s driven by individual psychology and social circumstances, and should be treated that way. Jowita Bydlowska and Michael Kaufmann, both memoirists of addiction, weigh in.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Guests in this episode</strong>:</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Hanna Pickard</strong> is the author of <em>What Would You Do Alone in a Cage with Nothing but Cocaine? A Philosophy of Addiction </em>(2026). She is a professor of philosophy and bioethics, as well as psychological &amp; brain sciences, at Johns Hopkins University.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Jowita Bydlowska </strong>is a writer of fiction, as well as two memoirs of addiction: <em>Drunk Mom</em>, and <em>Unshaming: A Memoir of Recovery, Relapse, and What Comes After</em> (2026).</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Dr. I. Michael Kaufmann</strong> is emeritus medical director of the Physician Health Program of the Ontario Medical Association. He is a retired family doctor, a retired addiction doctor, and the author of<em> Drugs, Lies, and Docs: A Doctor's Memoir of Addiction</em> (2024).</p>