Netflix’s House of Cards is worth watching for its depiction of two facets of recovery: its fragility and also its power, especially when that recovery comes with full honesty, transparency, and responsibility.

More than a half-century separates the two films, yet both offer timeless portraits of addiction that neither glamorize nor sensationalize the disease.

On Wednesday, September 12, our #PopChat with the Fix addressed everything from celebrity addiction, to the portrayal of substance abuse on screen and in print. Here’s what we learned.

From models of recovery to tragic losses, stars are no strangers to substance abuse and the effects it can have on their lives and careers. But we can’t believe every celebrity addiction story we see in the media…or can we?

As Elton John told Matt Lauer on The Today Show, his new memoir (released this week) chronicles his life-changing journey—from a man consumed by drugs to a champion in the fights against AIDS and addiction.