The Atlantic and Chris Hayes Get Alcoholics Anonymous Totally Wrong

Posted by | March 19, 2015 13:41 | Filed under: Contributors Opinion Tommy Christopher

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The Atlantic magazine just published a lengthy piece by author Gabrielle Glaser that challenges the efficacy of Alcoholics Anonymous. Entitled, “The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous,” the article takes aim at the organization and never lets up, and on Wednesday night’s All In with Chris Hayes, the author continued an assault that’s based on a fundamentally flawed premise, and some really bad journalism. The normally excellent, intellectually trustworthy Hayes went along for the ride, and made the same mistakes.

To be clear, this is not a defense of AA; you can like it or not like it, go or don’t go, believe in it or don’t. This is about journalism, which is supposed to be fair and accurate. This piece, and this interview, were neither of those things.

Hayes did get a lot right about AA, pointing out important facts like the low success rate for almost any form of alcohol treatment, and rightly lauding it as “genuinely one of the most remarkable institutions human beings have ever built.”

Unfortunately, he undoes much of that by interviewing two people who obviously know nothing about it. Psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig gives it a decent shot, but is kneecapped by the fundamentally flawed premise. You can watch the full, lengthy segment here, but I’ve put together some highlights of what they got wrong…Read the rest at The Daily Banter[su_fb]

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Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: Tommy Christopher

Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

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