Overeaters Anonymous Podcast

Are you interested in helping to maintain your service body's website? Are you curious about what goes into building an OA website? Join host Meg M. and trustee Cyndy in this episode of Inside OA where they discuss the questions, concerns, and details involved—you will even learn some history of what it was like to carry the message in the "good old days" of the world wide web. "Back in the 90s," says Cyndy, "I had no comprehension of what a website would entail. Today it is a very important part of OA's working presence to bring people to our doors and get to a meeing and find out what Overeaters Anonymous is about."  

In this episode, host Meg M. and OA trustee Laurie explore the many ways giving service in OA can impact our everyday lives. Listen in as Laurie shares how her perspective on service changed from "What am I already good at?" to "What have I learned in OA? What can I do now that I wasn't very good at before?" Through simple acts of service, Laurie learned how to overcome destructive habits of isolation and procrastination, and further into her recovery journey, she even learned how to capably give consideration to the interests of others. What's more is OA gave her a safe space to practice these skills that now carry over into to her relationships with family, friends and colleagues. Meg agrees. "My career has advanced because of those things," she says, citing how service has taught her how to truly live Tradition Twelve.

In this episode, host Meg M introduces Susan, an OA member from Australia who has been in recovery since 1988 and has served as region chair and trustee. Together, they discuss the differences and benefits offered by face-to-face and online OA meetings. If you are new to OA or if you only attend one type of meeting, we invite you to listen to the extensive experience of these two OA members. OA members will generally recommend that newcomers attending six different OA meetings to find a meeting that works for you. Go to oa.org/find-a-meeting to search our database of 5,800 meetings worldwide or start your own meeting by looking up "How to Start a New Meeting" on oa.org.

In this episode, host Meg M. talks with BJ, an abstinent food addict and bulimic who has most recently served as an OA trustee and liaison to Region Two. Together they discuss their personal perspectives and practices of Tradition Seven and Step Twelve. BJ cites her favorite quote from the OA Twelve and Twelve book, "Change begins with honesty" (p. 30), and relates how honestly looking at her varied charitable contributions led her to focus her contributions on OA. "You just do all you can for the nonprofits that you believe in and this is the nonprofit that I believe in," she says. When it comes to Step Twelve, BJ also made a decision to commit more broadly and deeply to OA service, including carrying the message in her community. "It's really about stepping into the world again, among the living," says Meg. Listen in as Meg and BJ share effective and practical ways to get the word out about OA.

Do you care about the quality of your OA group? Let's "get grounded in groups" in this episode of Inside OA! Take a few notes as host Meg M. interviews Bruce from Ottawa, Canada. Bruce is a former OA trustee who has been abstinent in OA since April 2005 and who has also served at the intergroup and region levels. Bruce discusses the importance of the group in personal recovery and the questions a group can reflect on to determine whether "its message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers" (Tradition Five) and to newcomers is truly one of hope, strength, and recovery through OA's Twelve Steps.

OA volunteers have helped translate OA literature into more than 30 languages worldwide! But to make that happen, registered OA service bodies must first apply for licensing from the World Service Office. If you have any interest in OA's translation process, you won't want to miss this episode! Join us as Emilia from Rome, Italy, who has ten years of recovery and is the trustee liaison to OA Region Nine, makes a second appearance on Inside OA to explain the translation process and offer valuable insights along with our host Meg M. Together they discuss the benefits of giving service as a translator—not the least of which is getting to read OA literature while giving back to your OA fellows! Another valuable service is using OA's glossary template to create a custom translation glossary for your language.

In this episode, we meet Emilia from Rome, Italy, who has ten years of recovery and is the trustee liaison to OA Region Nine, which encompasses more than 40 countries and 40 languages in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Together with host Meg M., Emilia discusses what it's like to serve in a multi-cultural and multi-lingual region. Emilia shares challenges and fears she has overcome on her journey to being elected as an OA board trustee as well as her successes at the world service level that have directly improve service opportunities for OA members in Region Nine. Listen in as Emilia also talks about the connection and bonds that come with serving such a diverse region and how OA fellowship and service can provide us all with good lives filled with moments of celebration and happiness.

Speaker Sandy discusses ways to be gentle with newcomers and returners, including consideration of different aspects of unity with diversity. She also covers Where Do I Start? (available in 48 languages at oa.org/start), advanced search options in Find a Meeting, and more Twelfth Step Within resources available on oa.org and bookstore.oa.org. Recorded at World Service Business Conference 2025.

Speaker Leslie leads Part 1 of this workshop, covering her experience giving public information and professional outreach service (PIPO) and surveying the PIPO resources and ideas available via oa.org, ookstore.oa.org, and the World Service Office. Recorded at World Service Business Conference 2025.