Addiction Practice Pod is a podcast for health care providers in British Columbia, about approaches to addiction and substance use care. Hosted by award-winning journalist David P. Ball and rotating clinical co-hosts, Addiction Practice Pod offers practical tips and guidance to health care providers seeking to improve their skills in addiction care.
Listen here, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also subscribe to be notified when future episodes get released.
This program is made possible through financial support from Doctors of BC, the BC Ministry of Health, and BC Ministry of Mental Health & Addictions.
David P. Ball, Host
David P. Ball has hosted Addiction Practice Pod since it began in 2020.
He is a co-founder of the De Facto Journalism Co-operative, and a multimedia journalist with over 25 years of experience in radio, print and digital news and investigative reporting.
David has reported extensively on B.C.’s opioid emergency, mental health, and community-led drug policy advocacy, and was recognized with awards from the Jack Webster Foundation, Canadian Association of Journalists, and Mindset Award for workplace mental health.
He was previously a reporter at CBC News, Toronto Star and The Tyee, and created and hosted The Pulse daily current affairs show on Vancouver Co-op Radio in the Downtown Eastside. He’s also appeared in in the Globe and Mail, National Post, Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse.
Cited Media
The BC ECHO on Substance Use worked with Polly Leger (Season 1), Ren Bangert (Seasons 2, 3), Katy Davis (Season 4), Nadeen Shaker (Season 5, 6) and others at Cited Media to develop Addiction Practice Pod.
Cited Media is an independent media company based in Toronto that specializes in knowledge mobilization and community-partnered journalism. Cited’s award-winning podcasts and web videos bring producers, scholars, journalists, and communities together to co-create groundbreaking original content that makes the expertise more accessible to the public, and the public more accessible to experts.
Rotating Clinical Co-hosts
Alongside recurring host David P. Ball, many episodes are co-hosted by a rotating clinician. Clinical co-hosts, by order of appearance, include:
Season 1: Dr. Christy Sutherland, Dr. Robert Fox
Season 2: Dr. Robert Fox, Dr. Roland Engelbrecht, Dr. Rita McCracken, Christina Chant, Dr. Lindsay Mackay
Season 3: Dr. Marcus Greatheart, Christina Chant
Season 4: Dr. Nolan Hop Wo, Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, Dr. Robert Fox
Season 5: Dr. Deborah Kason, Dr. Eric Cattoni, Dr. Alison Hamilton, Dr. Nitasha Puri, Dr. Marcus Greatheart, Dr. Terri Aldred
Development Team
Development of the podcast draws on expertise across the BCCSU. Current contributors include:
- Kora Scott, Knowledge Translation Coordinator, Addiction Practice Pod
- Lauren Bechard, Manager, BC ECHO on Substance Use & Addiction Practice Pod
- Josey Ross, Director, Clinical Education and Activities
- Dr. Paxton Bach, Co-medical Director
- Keira St. George, Associate Director, Clinical Education and Activities
- Nicole Malette, Evaluation Specialist
- Alexis Rosenbaum, Project Coordinator, BC ECHO on Substance Use
Previous contributors:
- Sandra Smiley, Coordinator, (Season 1)
- Cameron Schwartz, Coordinator, (Season 2)
- Mara Balvers, Knowledge Translation Coordinator (Season 3 & 4)
- Jordan Sang, Medical Writer (Season 3)
- Marcia Mejia-Blanco, Manager (Season 4)
- Mathew Fleury, Director (Season 4)
- Andrea Thibodeau, Coordinator (Season 4)
- Dr. Heather Holroyd, Manager, BC ECHO on Substance Use & Addiction Practice Pod
- Christina Chant, Director, Clinical Education and Activities
- Kevin Hollett, Director of Communication
- Kiran Parmar, Evaluation Coordinator