It's not all rainbows and girl boss feminism - in this Women's History Month special for 2024, I take a deep dive into the history of International Women's Day, first founded around 1911, and how working women's needs have not always matched up to the ideals around bourgeois, capitalist, feminist standards. I trace the history of how motherhood ideals and the way in which parenting is structured under neoliberalism means all working people - men and women - but especially mothers - are being taken for a ride by those at the top. A Marxist-feminist take on IWD. The perfect way back into my podcast after having my daughter - and a mental breakdown - in 2021.

We meet Katie Scrafton, the mental health activist behind the Instagram account @thingsididsober.

Katie has been diarising her journey with a sober-curious lifestyle since August 2019. By charting her successes and feelings, what she’s getting out of it and what she’s finding difficult, she inspires others. We discuss finding a balance with alcohol, Dry January, how to quit drinking, the effect of the alcohol industry on mental health and the impact of the global pandemic.

Rena Niamh Smith, podcast founder and host, has been sober since 1st August 2017. Sobriety is what she calls “radical self care”. Collective action is what can and does change the world. But that looking after yourself is a really important part of being an activist, to fight for systemic change.

With alcohol so embedded into the society we live in, and the alcohol industry making huge amounts of profit on our hangovers, sobriety is just one way to practice radical self care, and to reject capitalist norms.

To anyone struggling with addiction, relapse or recovery in alcohol or drug addiction, please search for services in your area. Katie and I had a similar experience of quitting drinking through self help - but just as there are different forms of addiction, there are different ways to recover. Helplines, addiction support groups or 12-step programmes are just some examples of more thorough support that is available. If you live in the UK, the NHS website has a directory of addiction services you can search by postcode.

The books Katie recommends are: The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray Glorious Rock Bottom by Bryony Gordon Quit like a Woman by Holly Whittaker

Read a full transcript of the episode on RenatheJournalist.com.

Follow Katie on Instagram @thingsididsober

Follow Future Heist on Instagram and Twitter @future_heist for episode updates, news and giveaways.

Produced and recorded by Rena Niamh Smith. Theme music by Benjamin Tassie. Artwork by Fleur Beck. Sound engineering by Rena Niamh Smith. Consultation by Ben Weaver-Hincks. Original illustrations by Charlotte Rose Watts. Special thanks to Chloe Vasseghi