WINE O’CLOCK MYTH MEETS THE DRINKING GAME

Name: WINE O’CLOCK MYTH MEETS THE DRINKING GAME
Start: 2023-10-20T18:00:00+12:00
End: 2023-10-20T19:00:00+12:00
Location: SUTER THEATRE

Lotta Dann (Mrs D) & Guyon Espiner

Writers + Kōrero

Buckle up for a sobering look into how the way you drink is shaped not only by your individual choice, but also by government, media and big business. Chaired by Matty Anderson.

Lotta Dann (Mrs D), the author of three bestselling books about alcohol, joins RNZ broadcaster Guyon Espiner to discuss why the odds are stacked against those who want to get off booze. Buckle up for a sobering look into how the way you drink is shaped not only by your individual choice, but also by government, media and big business.

In The Drinking Game, investigative journalist Guyon Espiner provides an incisive analysis of how our drinking culture is influenced by the government, media and big business.

Four years ago, Espiner gave up drinking alcohol. He had been a heavy yet controlled drinker since his teens – abstaining three nights a week but making up for it the other four. One morning he woke up after a big night and decided he'd had enough and he quit – no AA, no support groups. Not drinking has given Guyon a new perspective on our relationship with alcohol in Aotearoa, and a lot of it is disturbing.

The Drinking Game investigates the alcohol industry: the power, politics and lobbying behind our most harmful drug. Weaving together personal experience, hard research and interviews, it examines why Aotearoa New Zealand has such a heavy drinking culture, the harm it causes and how our attitudes to alcohol are changing.

Likewise, Lotta Dann's 2020 book, The Wine O'Clock Myth, takes a critical look at the easy availability and widespread promotion of alcohol – including on social media – but she focuses, in particular, on how the alcohol industry specifically targets women. Dann is also the author of two personal accounts of what it’s like to go from being a boozy housewife downing a bottle of wine a day to being completely alcohol-free: Mrs D is Going Without and Mrs D is Going Within. In her latest book, she calls for regulatory changes to prevent the alcohol industry from promoting a damaging 'Wine Mum' culture.

All pukapuka will be for sale through our Festival bookstore Paper Plus Nelson, both at their shop and at their stall at Pukapuka Talks sessions - your opportunity to meet authors and get your books signed! You can also purchase books from Paper Plus online.

Lotta Dann (Mrs D)

Lotta Dann has a degree in broadcasting and communications and a master's degree in film, television and media studies. She worked as a TV journalist, producer and director until she got sober aged 39, at which point her career changed as much as her interior life did. She now works largely from her home in the hills of Wellington, New Zealand, which she shares with her husband, three sons and a black Labrador. She runs busy social-media accounts promoting recovery, manages the highly successful online community Living Sober (livingsober.org.nz), and lately has been taking regular trips away to run day-long workshops on addiction and recovery. The Wine O'Clock Myth is her third book.

Guyon Espiner

Guyon Espiner is one of New Zealand's most highly regarded journalists, with more than 20 years’ journalism experience across both print and broadcast media. He has a proven track record in political reporting, having been political editor for Television New Zealand and, earlier, the Sunday Star Times. He has reported on trade from China, on war from Afghanistan, on politics from Washington, on international relations from Papua New Guinea and on climate change from Antarctica. Before joining RNZ, Guyon worked for TV3 as an anchor and journalist on 3rd Degree and The Vote, and continues to write a political column for The Listener. After years as host of Morning Report, he is currently an investigative reporter for Radio New Zealand.

Matty Anderson (Chair)

Matty Anderson has embraced many roles in his life: builder, scaffolder, electrician, naval rating, bouncer, veteran, husband, father, ex-husband, engineer, partner, teacher, support worker, advocate and Nelson City Councillor. Very grateful, very surprised and God-willing, he will be 1662 days sober when he facilitates this Pukapuka Talks' session.