| | | | | | | | | | | Axios What's Next | | By Jennifer A. Kingson, Joann Muller and Alex Fitzpatrick · Sep 16, 2022 | | One way to break the stigma of addiction: People are turning their sobriety anniversaries into public celebrations, as Jennifer reports today. Today's newsletter is 1,055 words ... 4 minutes. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Now trending: "Soberversaries" |  | | | Illustration: Megan Robinson/Axios | | | | As the pandemic winds down and people try to quit the drinking habits that may have crept up on them, the "soberversary" is emerging as a new holiday-esque milestone, Jennifer A. Kingson reports, complete with greeting cards, cheekily-worded coffee mugs and a growing social media presence. Why it matters: Getting sober and staying sober are significant achievements that too many people feel compelled to hide because of the ongoing stigma of alcohol addiction. The concept of a "sober birthday" or sobriety anniversary is nearly as old as the 12-step meeting, but the popularization of a catchy neologism — soberversary — is a meaningful cultural watershed. - It lends dignity and respect to people in recovery, helps them open up about their struggles, and encourages sufferers to seek help.
- "My soberversary is more important to me than my birthday," said Carly Benson, a 41-year-old recovery coach from Naples, Florida, who stopped drinking on Aug. 17, 2008, and marks the date annually with splurges like a trip to Greece.
Driving the news: Younger people accustomed to living their lives out loud are shedding the "anonymity" precept of Alcoholics Anonymous and posting proud pictures of their soberversary celebrations — and older people are joining in as well. - On Instagram, Twitter and other platforms, people hold up signs or balloons marking how many years they've been sober — or even tattoos of their quit dates — using the hashtag #soberversary.
- "It's inspiring" to see posts from people celebrating their 40-year soberversary and other notable numbers, said Seamus Kirst, a 32-year-old writer in Brooklyn who's been sober for 10 years.
- "I do think it kind of normalizes sobriety and talking about addiction," Kirst tells Axios. "It makes people feel less alone when there are these public celebrations of sobriety, to show how common it is."
And soberversaries have emerged as a cause for poignant — if not public — celebration. "These commemorative events can mark sobriety of 100 days, 300 days, a year or any time period that is relevant to you and your life," according to Sober Living America, which runs addiction recovery programs. - "Some people prefer to spend their soberversaries alone in quiet reflection, while others prefer to celebrate with a trip to a new destination or through a celebration with family and friends," Sober Living America observes.
- Online women's magazine Bustle published tips on how to observe your soberversary. (Suggestions include learning to meditate and hanging with friends.)
- Benson, the sobriety coach who offers quit-drinking courses on her site MiraclesAreBrewing.com, went kiteboarding in the Dominican Republic after her first year of sobriety.
The bottom line: A soberversary is a distinctly modern type of celebration, one that connotes a sort of gravid joy that can only hint at the struggles and anguish preceding it. - "My one-year soberversary was a turning point, when I was like, 'You know what? I don't want to go back. I like this life better,'" said Benson.
Share this story. |     | | | | | | 2. Amtrak crisis averted |  | | | Amtrak trains travel through Washington, D.C., on Sept. 15. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images | | | | Amtrak is working to resume service for trains it canceled ahead of a potential freight railroad workers' strike that now seems to have been averted, Axios' Emily Peck and Ivana Saric report. Why it matters: A strike would have had profound ripple effects on the supply chain and economy, driving up prices even more as inflation remains high. Catch up quick: Amtrak workers are not involved in the labor dispute, which is between the country's largest freight railroad companies and their workers. - However, most of Amtrak's long routes use track owned and maintained by the freight railroads.
- With the strike looming, Amtrak announced Wednesday that it was canceling all of its long-distance routes. With the new deal in place, those trains can be rescheduled.
| | | | | | | | 3. Luring remote workers |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | How can small and midsize cities attract remote workers looking to change up their surrounds? Airbnb just dropped a white paper with a ton of suggestions, Alex Fitzpatrick reports. Why it matters: As remote work unshackles high-paid workers from the country's most expensive cities, the Tulsas and Tuscons of the world have a chance to attract new talent — and taxpayers — without needing to sway entire companies to set up shop in town. Some of Airbnb's recommendations include: - Offering subsidized co-working space, to give remote workers an option other than huddling over a laptop on their couch all day.
- Improving local internet infrastructure, to better empower remote workers to stay connected.
- For international destinations, offering easily understood and accessible remote work visas, as well as having clear tax regulations for employees and employers alike.
Be smart: Airbnb has an interest here, in part because remote workers might stay at rentals on the platform while checking out prospective cities to move to, or travel around a region more frequently after they move. What they're saying: "It's not like when you're talking about a company. A company is choosing between this town and that town, and this town wins and that town loses because that company has made a zero-sum choice," says Airbnb co-founder and chief strategy officer Nathan Blecharczyk. - "Now there's a lot more ability for small towns to compete."
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Axios Smart Brevity book | | |  | | | | Learn how to communicate more effectively with Axios' new book, Smart Brevity. Axios' co-founders share their secrets for the power of saying more with less. Preorder today and enter to participate in a workshop with the authors. Details at smartbrevity.com | | | | | | 4. 📸 Biden at the auto show |  | | | Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images | | | | President Biden hopped in a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 as he toured the 2022 North American International Auto Show, also called the Detroit auto show. - Biden and his transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, used the event to highlight the White House's efforts to help spark a domestic electric vehicle supply chain.
- Biden also announced that his administration is approving funding for 35 states to build their own EV charging infrastructure.
Go deeper: Cars aren't the only thing on display at this year's show, Joann Muller reports. | | | | | | | | 5. Amazon's historic NFL debut |  | | | Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios | | | | Amazon's Thursday Night Football debut was a landmark event for the sports world and a seminal moment for the media industry, Axios' Kendall Baker and Sara Fischer report. Why it matters: The much-anticipated contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers was the NFL's first regular-season game exclusively available via streaming. The big picture: Amazon's multibillion-dollar bet on football will be a litmus test for how quickly the NFL, and other sports leagues, continue moving major rights packages from traditional TV to streaming. The bottom line: Live sports is one of the last things holding the cable bundle together, but that marriage has an expiration date. Eventually, all premium content will be streamed. Consider last night a glimpse of the future. Read the rest. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Axios Smart Brevity book | | | | | | | | Learn how to communicate more effectively with Axios' new book, Smart Brevity. Axios' co-founders share their secrets for the power of saying more with less. Preorder today and enter to participate in a workshop with the authors. Details at smartbrevity.com | | | | A hearty thanks to What's Next copy editor Amy Stern. Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next by signing up here for our free newsletter. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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