Connections: Healthy Gambling and Gaming

About Connections: Healthy Gambling and Gaming

Join host Tana Russell, Assistant Director of Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling, as she discusses gambling and gaming with special co-hosts and internationally renowned subject matter experts. Together they journey to shine a light on the topic of gambling and gaming disorder with genuine care, humor, and a passion for knocking down barriers to care and reducing the stigma associated with seeking help.

Publisher

Evergreen CPG

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Sept 2020

Latest episode

13 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

47 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Mar 2026

   Searching for Belonging: Creating a Culture of Community in Boston’s Chinatown

   Exploring how isolation, immigration, and lack of a sense of community can lead to gambling harm. In this episode, Ben Hires, CEO of the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC), and Kevin Lin, Family Connector and Mental Health Clinician at BCNC, join host Tana Russell and co-host Paulina Zyskowski for an honest look at how isolation, immigration, and targeted gambling marketing are shaping the experiences of Boston’s Asian community. Together, they unpack how cultural loss, language barriers, economic pressure, and loneliness can quietly increase vulnerability to gambling harm…and how community-based prevention is working to change that story by creating a culture of community. What begins as boredom or a search for belonging can become something much more complicated. Casinos can be welcoming spaces, offering transportation, familiar language, and culturally themed environments; but when connection is built on betting, the consequences can deepen isolation rather than relieve it. This conversation explores the impact of cultural displacement, the role of stigma in help-seeking, the realities of targeted casino marketing, and the power of community-based prevention efforts that create healthier spaces for connection. Through initiatives like ping pong nights, karaoke gatherings, and culturally responsive outreach, BCNC demonstrates how a supportive community can prevent gambling harm, by addressing the need to belong. Guests: Ben Hires, BCNC Kevin Lin, BCNC Resources: ·        Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center https://bcnc.net/ (https://bcnc.net/) ·        Kaleidoscope: National Asian-American/PacificIslander Heritage Month https://www.youtube.com/live/f-qZ956EuOk?si=xpndbUH-T6SAT1rn (https://www.youtube.com/live/f-qZ956EuOk?si=xpndbUH-T6SAT1rn)Screening for Problem Gambling in Asian Communities:A Discussion on Gambling Disorder Screenings, Support, and Services https://www.youtube.com/live/hgSbTYpV9mU?si=He5J8L1wRpztXkHd (https://www.youtube.com/live/hgSbTYpV9mU?si=He5J8L1wRpztXkHd) ·Washington State Healthcare Authority ProblemGambling affects everyone rack cards: Forms and publications | Washington State Health Care Authority (https://www.hca.wa.gov/free-or-low-cost-health-care/forms-and-publications?combine=82-0185&field_free_topic_tid=All&field_free_document_type_value_1=All&sort=filename%20ASC) Asian Council and Referral Services (ACRS): Home - ACRS Front Page - ACRS (https://acrs.org/) Problem Gambling Screening Tools (see languages listed below): GA 20 Questions in Chinese: https://www.gamblercaritas.org.hk/index.php?_route_=hk/index.php&route=assessment&assessment_category_id=31 (https://www.gamblercaritas.org.hk/index.php?_route_=hk/index.php&route=assessment&assessment_category_id=31) Gam-Anon 20 Questions in Chinese: https://www.gamblercaritas.org.hk/hk/index.php?route=assessment&assessment_category_id=32 (https://www.gamblercaritas.org.hk/hk/index.php?route=assessment&assessment_category_id=32) o  DSM-5 GD Criteria in Chinese: https://www.gamblercaritas.org.hk/hk/index.php?route=assessment&assessment_category_id=30 (https://www.gamblercaritas.org.hk/hk/index.php?route=assessment&assessment_category_id=30) DSM-5 in multiple languages: https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Practice/DSM/DSM5-Translation-Publishers-Contact-Info.pdf (https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Practice/DSM/DSM5-Translation-Publishers-Contact-Info.pdf) SOGS in Vietnamese: https://vuir.vu.edu.au/660/1/VSOGAU2009.pdf (https://vuir.vu.edu.au/660/1/VSOGAU2009.pdf) SOGS in Chinese (for college students): https://www.um.edu.mo/fss/psychology/doc/C-SOGS_college_Tang%20et%20al%202009.pdf (https://www.um.edu.mo/fss/psychology/doc/C-SOGS_college_Tang%20et%20al%202009.pdf) UCLA’s Freedom from Problem Gambling self-help workbook available in multiple languages, includes a shortened version of SOGS: http://www.uclagamblingprogram.org/treatment/workbook.php (http://www.uclagamblingprogram.org/treatment/workbook.php)

2. 

   6 Feb 2026

   Rock Bottom to Radical Honesty: From Losing at Gambling, to Winning in Life

   Content Warning: this episode discusses mental health concerns, including suicidal thoughts. Exploring the turning points that move people from gambling harm toward honesty, recovery, and helping others. People impacted by gambling harm often carry years of secrecy, shame, and emotional exhaustion before finding a path to change. In this episode, Adam Lyons (The Modern Meeting podcast) shares his journey with host Tana Russel. From early exposure to gambling at nine years old through two decades of chasing wins, hiding losses, and searching for fresh starts on an odyssey across the American gambling landscape, he opens up about the emotional reckoning that led him to seek the support that carried him into recovery. “I didn’t want to take my own life, but I did not want to live this life anymore." This conversation explores the impact of long-term gambling harm, the courage required to finally confront the truth, the relief that comes from connection, and the transformative role community can play in healing. Adam’s journey reminds us that the first step belongs to the individual, yet the strength to continue comes from the community that walks beside them. Resources: Suicide Helpline: (https://988lifeline.org/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=onebox) call/text 988 - https://988lifeline.org/ Washington Problem Gambling Helpline: 1-800-547-6133 (https://www.evergreencpg.org/) (find a certified gambling counselor and other resources in Washington state): https://www.evergreencpg.org/ National Problem Gambling Helpline: 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738 - find a certified gambling counselor and other resources in the US): https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/ Gam-Anon: https://gam-anon.org/ (https://gam-anon.org/) Gamblers Anonymous: https://gamblersanonymous.org/ (https://gamblersanonymous.org/)Gamblers, Family, and Friends In Recovery: https://gamblersinrecovery.com/ (https://gamblersinrecovery.com/) Reddit/problem gambling: https://gam-anon.org/ (https://gam-anon.org/)

3. 

   22 Dec 2025

   Early Exposure, Lasting Impact: Perspectives on Gambling Exposure in Childhood and Adolescence

   Exploring how gambling exposure in childhood and adolescence can shape risk and harm later in life, and what adults need to know to intervene sooner. In this episode of Connections, host Paulina Zyskowski, Prevention and Community Engagement Specialist at the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling, is joined by prevention and behavioral health professionals Mina Hazar, Manager of the Youth Gambling Awareness Program at the YMCA of Greater Toronto; Karen Hlady (MA, GIS, IGDC), Addictions and Gambling Prevention Specialist based in British Columbia; and Maureen Greeley, Executive Director of the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling. Together, they examine how early gambling exposure can look like, why it is often overlooked, and what research and practice reveal about long term impact. Drawing from experience across the United States and Canada, the panel discusses brain development, stigma, cultural context, media and financial literacy, and how parents, educators, and caregivers can recognize risk and start honest, nonjudgmental conversations with young people. Resources: Healing Animal Adoptions https://www.evergreencpg.org/donations/adoption/ (https://www.evergreencpg.org/donations/adoption/) Youth Gambling Awareness Program https://www.ymcagta.org/youth-programs/youth-gambling-awareness-program (https://www.ymcagta.org/youth-programs/youth-gambling-awareness-program) Youth Have the Power https://youthhavethepower.org/ (https://youthhavethepower.org/)

Who has been a guest on Connections: Healthy Gambling and Gaming

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Maureen Greeley
• Cait Huble
• Randy Warick

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

73,155

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

30

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.