NOTE: I forgot to mention it was first Chris's 'hooping the shooter' mention - and i ate expired cereal during the whole show - and it was pretty gross.

This week on the total replay! Dave opens the Monday replay talking about bringing his daughters into Manhattan for a museum day, taking them to the Met, walking through the city, and feeling grateful to be sober enough to do it. He also talks about how exhausting it is carrying recording gear back and forth to the city every week.

He plays a voicemail from a listener who mixed kratom with alcohol after losing weight and wound up diving through a window, running through a retirement community covered in blood, and waking up in the hospital. Dave reads an email from another listener who got sober after prison, reunited with his son, and says Dopey helped him along the way.

The replay itself is an early Dopey episode with Dave and Chris talking in the old apartment setup. They joke about expired cereal, cigarettes in the room, Disney World feeling like rehab, and old-school research chemicals. Dave tells a long Katz’s story about upsetting customers, finding a lump in his neck, and then freaking out after hearing a woman at a meeting say her cancer started the same way.

The episode also includes an email from a guy deep into dissociatives and psychedelic research chemicals, plus more classic early Dopey energy between Dave and Chris. At the end, Dave reflects on how raw and alive the old episodes felt, and points out that this was also an early appearance of the kind of material that would later become part of Cormac’s role in the Dopey world.

All that and MORE - on a brand new, super old classic episode of dopey!

Leave comments on spotify! send emails/voicemails and questions to dopeypodcat@gmail.com

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This week on Dopey! We check in after Dopeywood! And talks about going back to meetings, realizing they don’t need to be brilliant to be good.

Dave shares a story about going to a Howard Stern vinyl party, meeting Baba Booey and Chuck D, and telling his Stern story while playing Neil Young. He reflects on being relentless in both recovery and building Dopey.

The episode features Sarah Clark, a lawyer in recovery, who shares her story. She grew up with a drug-addicted father and started using as a teenager. Her addiction escalated from alcohol and Xanax to pills and eventually IV heroin. Within months, she was shooting in her neck and forehead and living a chaotic life of hustling, stealing, and bouncing between rehabs.

After developing a severe abscess that led to losing part of her butt, she still couldn’t stop. She went to treatment multiple times before finally committing. She got sober, worked the steps, and rebuilt her life.

Today, Sarah is a lawyer, married, raising her stepchildren, and has adopted her husband’s daughter, breaking the cycle of addiction in her family.

ALl that and MORE, MORE, MORE, MORE on a super duper Dopey show!

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SUMMARY:

This Week on Dopey's Greatest Hits!

Dave records from his dad’s overheated apartment and opens with a long, chaotic conversation about Dopeywood at The Comedy Store. His dad gives a detailed, meandering recap of the trip, the show, and his mixed reactions to the comedians, praising the turnout but criticizing some of the material as confusing and overly raunchy.

They argue about politics, language on the show, and listener feedback, including a back-and-forth with a fan upset about violent rhetoric. Dave reflects on tone, community, and the balance between humor and responsibility.

The episode includes emails and voicemails about poppy seed tea addiction, with detailed stories about making opioid-like substances from seeds and pods, building tolerance, and the extreme lengths people went to stay well.

The second half features a replay of Dave’s interview with Steve Earle. Steve talks about growing up surrounded by recovery, with addiction deeply embedded in his family, including relatives who were part of early AA. He says he avoided recovery at first despite seeing that it worked.

Steve describes getting high for the first time at age 11 and explains that music and addiction developed side by side but weren’t directly connected. He talks about learning guitar from his uncle, discovering Dylan and the Beatles, and becoming obsessed with songwriting and storytelling.

He reflects on his career as a musician, the pressure of performing, and how much he depends on audience feedback to feel okay. He also talks about the realities of the music business, losing his band, shifting to solo work, and writing for theater.

Throughout the conversation, Steve is blunt about addiction, family history, and the long-term impact of substance use, while also showing humor, insight, and a deep connection to music as both a craft and a survival tool.

ALL THAT AND MUCH MUCH MORE! On an old classic episode with my Dad in it TWICE!

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This week on Wednesday! Still coming down from the Dopeywood high and talk about productivity, procrastination, and trying to get back on track with the Dopey fitness challenge. Getting older, body image, and whether drastic measures like Ozempic are worth it.

We read a wild listener email about someone accidentally receiving a kilo of black tar heroin in the mail and dumping it around Alphabet City, and react to what we would have done in that situation. Then  play a voicemail from a listener who shares a brutal story about accidentally burning his dick with farming chemicals while high,. And a bit of DTF St. Louis.

We go through Spotify comments, connect with the Dopey Nation, and shout out listeners before bringing on comedian Allie Macofsky.

With Ali, we get into nicotine addiction, vaping vs cigarettes, and the weird logic of quitting one thing by picking up another. We talk about early sobriety, relationships, and what it’s like to be young in recovery. Ali shares how her drinking escalated quickly in her late teens, including blackouts, risky behavior, and crashing her car, and how she first went to AA just to get her family off her back.

We hear how she realized she couldn’t control her drinking, got sober at 20, and what it was like working the steps early on. We also talk about stepping away from recovery, becoming depressed, getting on medication, and eventually returning to meetings and finding relief again.

The conversation touches on thoughts about drinking again, curiosity around psychedelics, and what it means to stay sober long-term while building a life and career.

All that and a little bit more on this classically alcoholic new episode of dopey!

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🔥 DOPEY SHOW NOTES

Dave is in Los Angeles with childhood friend Jeremy, breaking down a lifetime of friendship, addiction, resentment, and survival.

Jeremy tells the story of tearing his Achilles and relives Dopeywood chaos—including abandoning stage manager duties for his girlfriend’s birthday, which led to a six-month silent treatment from Dave.

From first grade friendship, comic books, Hebrew school harmonies, and acid trips on NYC rooftops… the episode dives deep into their evolution into drugs—weed, acid, and SPOTIFY COMMENTS!

And to listen to the rest - join patreon!

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This Week on the greatest Hits!

We did Dopeywood at The Comedy Store We Sold it out.! Was pretty, pretty good!

We Read a cool dopeywood review,

Read commentts from Patreon and Spotify - and play an old voicemail from a kid who got sober at 15 after puking all over a girl in science class and sitting in it all day so his mom wouldn’t find out.

Then the rplay! Chris eats a heroic dose of mushrooms, decides he’s Jesus, and instead of going to the bathroom just pisses the bed because… why not, he’s Jesus.

Almost tells his parents he’s Jesus but decides they’ll just think he’s high. 

Plus loads of other stuff - and a little bit more!

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This week on Dopey! We shout out some epic dopes! Katie B with 8 fucking years and Scott Wic with 6 years!!!!

We play a VM from Axel. We read emails - spotify comments - the whole deal. LEAVE SPOTIFY COMMENTS PLEASE!

Then we are joined by the host of the Nothing's Off the Table Podcast Louis  LJ Ruggiero. Born into 'New York City Royalty' the son of renouned news anchor Rosanna Scotto. We cove a full descent from privileged NYC kid to full-blown addict: Xanax, coke, gambling, oxy addiction (30 pills a day), arrests, and the death of a friend. It escalates into a near brush with murder before landing in recovery and a strong stance on AA, accountability, and rejecting paid “sober influencer” culture.

ALL THAT AND MORE! MORE MORE MORE!

On this weeks new new new episode of that good old dopey show!

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Dave tees up a Greatest Hits episode featuring Hasnie, a belly dancer turned first responder alcoholic with a wild, emotional story. Before that, we get a classic Dopey email about a reckless dealer named King who jumps out a window during a raid and later crashes a car doing whippets.

Then shit gets real when Matt calls in mid-show ready to relapse. Dave and Ray talk him off the ledge in real time — and somehow even his dealers tell him not to use.

Hasnie’s story is intense: early chaos, booze, pills, sex, trauma, sending her kids away, and hitting bottom hard. She gets sober after a moment of clarity, goes to rehab, and finds her footing in Gay AA and SLAA.

She rebuilds her life, gets her kids back (including rescuing her daughter from Ukraine during war), becomes a first responder, and stays sober through COVID and real-life trauma.

ALL THAT AND MORE ON A NEW YET STILL OLD EPISODE OF DOPEY!

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Dave sits down with filmmaker Ben Feldman, director of The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother Hillel, for a deep, funny, and emotional conversation about music, addiction, and friendship.

They get into the origins of the Chili Peppers, the insane creative scene in 80s LA, and the bond between Flea, Anthony, and Hillel Slovak. Ben talks about making the film, interviewing Flea and Anthony, and how losing his own best friend to addiction shaped the project.

Dave connects it all to Dopey—losing Chris, losing Todd, and what it means to keep going after people die. There’s talk about sobriety actually being kind of fun, the loneliness of addiction, and the weird magic of finding connection.

Plus: listener emails about cocaine and the Chili Peppers, a wild Jamaica Queens dope bust story, Spotify comments, Ram Dass, running, and a banjo cover of “Good So Bad.”

It’s Dopey meets the Chili Peppers—with grief, laughter, and a lot of heart.

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ON THE TEASER: Heart Attack Doug  AGAIN! For a chaotic Tuesday episode filled with tangents about music, meetings, and listener feedback.

The tone shifts when Dave reads a detailed email from a listener addicted to 7-OH, a potent kratom extract sold in gas stations. What starts as a mild experiment quickly escalates into full dependence, with increasing tolerance, daily use in the hundreds of milligrams, financial strain, secrecy, and failed attempts to quit—even with Suboxone.

Dave and Doug react with concern, noting the growing number of similar stories and questioning how such substances are widely available. They emphasize treatment, honesty, and community support, while pushing back against stigma—highlighting that addiction can take many forms, regardless of the substance.

LISTEN TO THE WHOLE THING ON PATREON!

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This week on the total Replay! Kicking Xylazine and other weird new compunds! Comments! Krby J explores early 80's NYC Junky stuff! Me and Chris talk Dopey TV Shows! Girls! 

All that and more! On this weeks new version of a ten year old show!

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🧠 SUMMARY

This week on Dopey! The AMAZING ANDY FRASCO comes to my dad's to record Dopey! First we read an email from a woman in recovery who used while she was pregnant. We read Spotify comments going off — crust punks, nitrous, and junkie nostalgia.

Then Andy Frasco comes on and it goes everywhere — building a band off Craigslist, having sex with 200 people in high school, hooking up with a teacher, doing an 8-ball his first time, and turning into a full-blown party frontman.

We get into cocaine, mushrooms, sex addiction, panic attacks, band breakups, and the weird line between partying and survival.

Frasco talks about trying to slow down, actually feel things, and not become another dead rock story.

All that and so much MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE! on a jammy episode of that old Dopey show.

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Dopey Greatest Hits! Scott Wic 6 Years! And Coked out voicemail! Spotify/Patreon Comments on Artie.

 In a whopper of a Dopey episode, we are joined by legendary meth head, Ditty and we hear possibly some of the Dopiest stories in the history of our show. From his first experiences with alcohol and cocaine to his insane crystal meth empire. With stints in rehab and jail, and coast to coast misadventures along the way! 

Plus So Much More! On the new/old Dopey show!
 

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UPFUL LIFE POD: upfullife.com

This week on Wednesday's BEHIND THE DOPEY!

The first half:

• wild Spotify comments (crack paranoia, OD stories, MAT debates)
• running/fitness talk
• LSD-in-a-lake nostalgia
• community love + Zoom + Patreon plugs

Then it shifts.

B comes on and it gets real:

• kratom → quitting → becoming a dad
• identity change → from “being at the show” to being home
• parenting as recovery

Then it goes deep into:

• the LA 80s scene (punk, funk, rap, chaos)
• Hillel Slovak’s innocence vs Anthony Kiedis’ early exposure
• how addiction hit each of them differently
• Frusciante’s rise → collapse → near death → comeback
• Jane’s Addiction vs Chili Peppers culture
• and ultimately…

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NOTE: The full episode has huge belly laughs at the end. 

PLUS: This show is a parody - Jackass is not a hotbed for antisemites

Dave opens a Tuesday episode of Dopey with Heart Attack Doug returning after a serious hospital stay. Doug describes ignoring worsening symptoms, eventually going to the hospital, and enduring a chaotic, overcrowded emergency room experience before receiving treatment.

Dave contrasts Doug’s health scare with the ongoing reality of addiction in the Dopey community, noting how many people still die from drugs. He shares his own recent experience getting sick, likely from food poisoning, after a hike and eating a Trader Joe’s chicken Caesar wrap.

The episode shifts into community interaction, with Dave reading Spotify and Patreon comments. Many listeners send support to Doug while also jokingly preferring other guests like Aurora. The conversation touches on recovery topics, including sponsorship, honesty, and the mental patterns behind addiction—highlighted by a discussion of the “just one more” mindset.

Dave reflects on the Dopey community, expresses appreciation, and teases future stories, including a cliffhanger about nearly being assaulted at a meeting. The episode ends with a listener performance of “Good So Bad.”

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This week on the Total Replay!  Steve Poltz is now officially part of the Dopeywood  lineup! a

Before the replay, Dave reads a long email from a listener who describes heroin and fentanyl use in Los Angeles, Portland, and New York City. The listener overdoses after snorting fentanyl in a car at a stoplight, uses again in the hospital, and later recounts several New York heroin connections involving Union Square, Harlem, Tompkins Square Park, Williamsburg, and an arrest that led to community service. A walk down memory lane.

We then read Spotify comments about the Jeremy episode, including an apology from EK Fleck about criticizing his ibogaine story, and share a funny old story about Jeremy improvising with a shoe during a high school musical.

The replayed old Dopey episode features Dave and Chris joking about who their listeners are, whether they are sober or using, and Chris mentioning that his sponsor hated the show and compared it to Wayne’s World. Dave then tells a story about a guy in Los Angeles who insisted on seeing him before his flight, drove him away from the airport to smoke weed, and indirectly caused Dave to realize he had missed his flight. The old episode ends with a brief discussion of “flash blood,” a dangerous practice in which people inject blood drawn from someone who has just used heroin.

After the replay, Dave says he decided not to play Episode 21 after all. He reminisces about the Vietnamese food he and Chris always used to eat while recording.

He then reads an email and plays a voicemail from Sarah. In the email, she describes relapsing after a car accident, getting pulled into kratom and then 7-OH, and feeling trapped in a cycle of dishonesty, withdrawal, and failed attempts to quit. In her voicemail, she talks about growing up in a culture where drinking was normalized, working in restaurants, blacking out regularly, and eventually realizing she had cracked her own windshield during a blackout and almost driven into a lake. She says she now has about two and a half years sober from alcohol.

ALL THAT AND MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE! on a brand new episode of Dopey!

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This week on Dopey!  Lots of good stuff with TRANS, CRUST PUNK, AlCOHOLIC SUPERSTAR - EARLY BRUNNER! We play a voicemail about someone burying a dead lizard with meth and later digging it up to do lines on the coffin!

Spotify Comments! Someone questions my ibogaine/sublicad/vivtrol experience!

Then we are joined by Early Brunner! Early describes growing up in Wisconsin feeling socially different and isolated, later identifying as autistic and queer. They begin using substances at a young age, first alcohol and cigarettes, then marijuana, finding that drugs helped them connect with others.

In high school and early adulthood, their use escalates. After moving to Milwaukee for college, they drop out, develop a heavy alcohol problem, and become addicted to nitrous oxide. They attempt to stop drinking briefly but quickly relapse.

They move to Austin, where their drinking worsens and leads to alcohol-induced psychosis, compounded by lack of sleep and unstable work. After a breakdown, they leave and move to Florida, where their drug use expands and their life becomes increasingly unstable and survival-focused.

Early becomes fully immersed in a punk/crust lifestyle tied to substance use and identity. Over time, they begin recognizing the negative impact of addiction but continue using.

Later, they become an EMT and witness deaths related to inhalant abuse, which they say is rarely discussed and carries significant shame.

The episode ends with Early discussing their current recovery and work with “Recovery Demystified,” followed by Dave reflecting on the interview, addressing a critical listener comment, and closing with gratitude and show announcements.

All that PLUS TONS MORE on this weeks new episode of the brand new Friday episode of the good old Dopey Show!

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This week on Dopey's Greatest Hits - The Patrons voted for Artie Lange! In one of my most proud moments - we had the honor of havingArtie Lange on the show. It happened two weeks before Chris died and was loaded with all kinds of crazy emotions.

We talk about everything: Artie’s rise from Mad TV to the Howard Stern Show, how heroin took over his life, the insanity of fame, gambling, strippers, and self-destruction at the highest level. He tells stories that are as funny as they are fucked — Santa Claus shitting his pants, buying coke before Dirty Work, and getting high while becoming one of the biggest voices in radio.

I cannot believe this even happened!

Please send comments to dopeypodcast@gmail.com

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This week on Wednesday!

We talk music and memories, Doug is improving, a mess of KRATOM comments on Spotify - Wendy's Meth scissors and a great walk down dopey memory lane.

The main interview is with Zac Clark, who talks about Release Recovery, Chris’s old sober living days, clinicians relapsing, the line between treatment work and actual personal recovery, and why people who work in recovery still need their own meetings “for fun and for free.” Zac also talks about going to Onsite when he lost his joy, what it gave him, how therapy and recovery fit together, why he runs, what MAT means to him, and how a bank teller basically saved his life when he was at the end of his run. By the end, Dave and Zach get into competition, gratitude, social media, reality TV, running the marathon, fruit, and the Dopey Fitness Challenge, before Dave closes with updates on his own walking, pushups, Couch to 5K, and Dopeywood in LA.

All that and more! On the latest Wednesday of that old school Dopey Show.

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This week on the Dopey Tuesday teaser with Aurora! 

Heart Attack Doug is in the hospital for an angioplasty and asks for prayers, leading to a conversation about group prayer, aging, and mortality. Aurora shares a story about a friend dying from undetected lung cancer, which spirals into both of them admitting they lied to doctors about smoking history out of paranoia and defiance.

They shift into classic Dopey banter — procrastination, avoidance, working out, and life admin — before reading Spotify comments. Then the episode turns into a deeper recovery moment: Aurora admits she had her first real “I want to drink wine in Europe” thought in years while planning a trip to France. Dave relates with thoughts of smoking weed in Humboldt County, and they unpack FOMO in long-term sobriety.

The conversation drifts into replacing addiction with other behaviors (shopping, work, exercise), purpose, and how recovery evolves over time. The teaser ends with a Patreon plug teasing two topics: Aurora pulling back from meetings and Dave having a strong emotional reaction to a listener.

LISTEN AT www.Patreon.com/dopeypodcast

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This week on the Total Replay we replay -  Dopey Episode 19: “Smoking on Plane”, the first appearance of his childhood friend Jeremy! Before the replay, we explain Jeremy’s history - from smoking weed and doing psychedelics together as kids in Manhattan to later doing heroin with Todd. We also talk about the Dopey Fitness Challenge, and plays a voicemail from Dade about underage drinking, Spiritualized, getting stung by a bee, vomiting on the side of the road, and getting arrested in North Carolina for driving after having consumed alcohol within 24 hours.

In the replayed episode itself, Dave, Chris, and Jeremy joke around about Jeremy being late, EZ Pass disasters, old LA stories, blood in bathrooms from shooting dope, Todd escaping out a window to avoid Jeremy’s parents, and Jeremy’s drug history. Jeremy talks about how he did plenty of drugs but was able to stop when heroin started interfering with his acting work and life, while Dave and Chris frame that as the difference between an addict and someone who isn’t afflicted the same way. The centerpiece is Jeremy’s insane “smoking weed on a plane” story, where he rolls a joint, sneaks into the airplane bathroom before takeoff on a flight from London to New York, smokes it, gets caught by a flight attendant, lies and says it was a cigarette, then somehow gets away with it. After the replay, Dave reflects on how early Dopey was more about comedy and chaos than feelings, plugs Save Spot, stickers, Patreon, Dopeywood, and teases future merch and a possible guest named Cece.

All that and more???? On the latest dopey total replay! Write us at dopeypodcast@gmail.com

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This week on Dopey we are joined by high endurance athlete and author of The Other Side of Hard, Ken Rideout! Who tells us of his super rough, tough and ultimately extremely inspiring story! From starting on the mean streets of Boston to NYC and London Wealth to DMT ceremonies, to winning crazy ultra endurance races on the Gobi dessert and being the fastest marathoner over the age of 50! All the while becoming completely addicted to opioids and his path to get off! 

PLUS - Did a listener drink and get robbed by Chris? Acid in the Eyes! The $100 Patreon Tier uncovered and so much MORE! 

On this brand new super robust episode of that good old Dopey Show!  

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notes:

Dopey Greatest Hits intro + Patreon pitch (26 cents a day rant)

Dave reflecting on Dopey music + Long Island accent creep

Episode 182 setup: Dylan (Chris’ sponsor)

Ishmael + Chopped & Screwed nostalgia

GoFundMe origin story for Dopey gear

Spotify comments + Dave’s obsession

Swedish listener email:

Amphetamine → meth → heroin

Psychosis with voices + shotgun paranoia

Recovery attempt + NA hesitation

Transition to Dylan interview

Dylan Story:

Grew up in Cape Cod, early alcoholism

Hits and kills a child at 16 (huge trauma)

Years of drinking, chaos, DUIs, trucking

Ski bum + blackout lifestyle

Alcohol hepatitis (liver bleeding)

First oxy → instant love → addiction

Builds trucking company while using

Withdrawal realization → full addiction

Peak Dopey Insanity:

Cross-country trucking + heroin addiction

5-day crack run in Jacksonville

Running out of dope in North Carolina

Buying crack instead

Homeless crews + chaos

Losing partner for days

Pissing himself in hotel

Shooting coke + heroin

Infection → PICC line into heart

Shooting drugs into heart line

Multiple overdoses, arrests, psych wards

Recovery:

Mountainside intake (manual labor deal)

Jail → “dick in the dirt” prayer moment

Spiritual shift begins

Hardcore recovery pursuit:

Meetings, meditation, spirituality obsession

Living on farm caring for animals + old couple

Gradual transformation → peace moments

Chris Section (Heavy):

Chris’ growth → overwhelming life

Relapse timeline (~6 weeks)

Discussion of pressure + identity

Grief + aftermath

Ending:

Chopped & Screwed “gayest episode ever” segment

Dave reflecting on last good night with Chris

Review from listener about addict spouse

Dylan appreciation + legacy talk

“Fucking toodles for Chris”

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This Week on Wednesday!

I talk about a crazy using dream - read spotify comments and we deep dive into the world of Kratom with Jana Wu!

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This week on Dopey I’m joined by the one and only Stephen Raymond Douglas Brown, aka Ray, and we get into everything from Cameron Crowe’s Allman Brothers stories to Jeffrey Dahmer glasses and the weird evolution of the name “Stephen.” We read an email from a listener asking how to make friends at AA meetings and what the rules of sharing are. Ray tells the incredible story of meeting a gay porn star in recovery, we talk about sharing for laughs at meetings, anti-Semitism in AA, and whether Ben Croxton stole Ray’s high school yearbook. LISTEN TO THE FULL EP ON PATREON!

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This week on the great hits! Chris's friend Alex comes through to tell us all about how he drank piss and toook DXM - plus lots of psychedelics and DMT too! Plus emails about how to make friends at meetings and tripping at Grateful Dead and Goose shows!

Plus lots lots more shenanigans of this old episode of this new dopey show!

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This week on Dopey! Dave returns from Madison, Wisconsin after recording for Recovery.com and recounts a miserable night wandering the airport like a sleep-deprived junkie without benzos. After reading Spotify comments about the Jamie Lee Curtis episode, Dave plays a wild listener voicemail about smoking crack in Chicago and jumping out of a moving car. Then an email about meth, toads, and a nearly poisoned dog leads Dave to discover the word anhedonia.

The episode’s main event is a raw interview with Faith Hill (not the country singer)—a former meth dealer from Missouri who started smoking meth at 14, sold half-pounds while carrying guns, survived a suicide attempt with fentanyl-pressed Xanax, and ultimately rebuilt her life after losing all her teeth to addiction. Faith shares stories of violence, loss, paranoia, and how she finally found recovery.

ALL THAT AND MORE MORE MORE! on a brand new spanking non country music episode of dopey!

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This week on Dopey Thursday Greatest We go back to my classic interview with George Jung from Blow. Before that I read a totally insane email about meth, acid, tweaker camps, and a weird little church in Texas, plus Spotify comments, a voicemail from Kirby about stealing Valium from a  poodle! PLUS we end the show Ray and my Dad. ALL THAT AND MORE!!!! on the new DGH!

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On this week’s Wednesday Dose of Dopey! Tim Ryan and Jennifer Gimenez. Jen talks Blow, their friendship with George Jung, and helping Andy Dick get sober. Tim tells the brutal story of losing his son, working interventions, and why he thinks the recovery industry is full of bullshit. We also get into Kratom, harm reduction, fentanyl, and why recovery is life or death. Plus listener stories, Spotify comments, and lots of Dopey Nation love.

PLUS MUCH MORE ON the wednesday DOPEY!

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This week on the teaser, I’m sitting at the dining room table with Heart Attack Doug talking about Crosstalk Larry’s funeral, the insane number of people who showed up, and the weirdest thing ever — a giant aquarium full of birds at the funeral home. We also get into Susan’s new 3D printer, my horrible track record with pets (including a blind goldfish that’s somehow still alive), Doug’s eBay guitar hustle, and Facebook banning a listener for listing his drugs of choice. Plus MORE!

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This week on the Total Dopey Replay we go way back to Episode 17 with the great Joe Schrank. Me, Chris and Joe get into addiction policy, sober living, relapse, harm reduction, AA, and whether Dopey is actually bad for the recovery community. It gets smart, stupid, and very old school Dopey. Plus Joe tells an all-time disgusting story about getting hammered at USC and puking Cajun curly fries all over some poor girl. If you like early Dopey with me and Chris figuring it out in real time, this is a good one.

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JAMIE COMES ON ABOUT 30 Minutes in!

This week on Dopey! Jamie Lee Turner is BACK! And so is JEREMY TURNER! We read emails, play a crazy whale watching tripping voicemail, a kicking kratom email and then we get to the amazing and fabulous Jamie Lee Curtis!

Jamie brings the recovery!  Her awakening, daily routine (3 daily readings + 3 gratitudes/fears/attribute texts to chains), defects (people-pleasing/fawning/fear/confrontation avoidance), agency from sobriety, ideas/production success (Scarpetta series with Nicole Kidman, Blumhouse deal, Mother Nature eco-horror). She praises Dopey as profound/Nobel-level work, critiques self-deprecation as humiliation (Hannah Gadsby quote), and shares Bear role insights (Donna's sobriety arc). She was super great!

Jeremy Turner (Oregon by way of Louisiana) calls in: meth mites (not mental, from gorse plant?), recent DUI/car tow in Vegas, heavy drinking relapse after 8 sober months, current meth use (snorting/smoking, no shooting), new Long Island sponsor "on break," job painting, girlfriend losing hope, fentanyl panic after intentional test puff, desire for abstinence but chasing tail cycle. Dave urges sleep, sponsor reconnection, Dopey Zoom check-ins.

ALL THAT AND MORE< MORE, MORE!!!! on this weeks BRAND NEW EPISODE of that GOOD OLD DOPEY SHOW!

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This week on "Dopey's Greatest Hits" replay of episode 240 with Jessica Kent (prison YouTuber and recovering addict), recorded during the early pandemic from Dave’s attic. Dave opens with current (2020-era) updates: promoting an upcoming Dopey Wood 2 comedy show in LA (featuring Marc Maron, Bobby Lee, Margaret Cho, etc.), the Dopey Foundation, Patreon perks, free Narcan/test strips offers, and the ongoing Dopey sticker contest. He reads recent Spotify comments praising/recapping previous episodes (Brace Belden, nitrous stories, etc.), plays a listener voicemail about teenage nitrous abuse, then transitions into the main replay.

The core interview covers Jessica Kent’s life: early alcohol/pill use starting at ~12–13 in upstate New York, progression to IV heroin at 17, selling drugs (weed → heroin → meth), magazine subscription sales crews while on the run, $30k+ dealer debts, robberies by partners, running from charges, accidental meth introduction in Arkansas, pregnancy and arrest (3 weeks pregnant, 2 oz meth + gun charge), giving birth in prison while in leg chains, fighting for custody of her daughter Micah post-release, white-knuckle sobriety driven by DHS requirements/hair-follicle tests, eventual full custody, and building a new life (YouTube, podcast, degree). She describes prison violence (fights over petty things like 50¢ pizza sauce, beating a child sex offender), disdain for 12-step culture in her experience, identity crisis after getting clean, and how motherhood became her anchor (not 12 steps or traditional recovery programs).

Dave closes with his father (the recurring "sweet father" segment) reading iTunes reviews, kvelling over rankings, discussing privilege critiques, financial responsibility in recovery, and playing Bob Forrest’s “Comfortably Numb” cover + “Good So Bad” to end.

ALL THAT MORE MORE MORE on the newest Old replay episode of that good old dopey show...

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On this Dopey Wednesday, I read some Dopey Nation emails + Spotify comments, play a killer voicemail from Mick Popham (dope-sick train ride, shitting in a stairwell, 20 years later: gratitude), and then I’m joined by returning guest Hannah Sward (Strip / “Summer of Men”).

Hannah gets super real about trauma, dissociation, and how old stuff gets triggered—plus how meth took over in LA (dealers, chaos, dark nights, “Speed in the Bushes,” all of it). We also get into her steamy Substack and the whole question of casual sex in recovery—what feels free, what feels risky, and what it costs.

PLUS MORE!

All that and much much  more on today's Wednesday Dose of Dopey! 

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On this Dopey Tuesday, Dave and Heart Attack Doug remember Cross Talk Larry — the vegetarian, money-collecting, sweat-soaked meeting staple who felt like he’d always been there… until he wasn’t.

They talk about the fleeting nature of lifein AA, the uncomfortable debate about flowers and donations, and whether sobriety protects you from dying (spoiler: it doesn’t).

Plus:

The air fryer conspiracy.

Raw chicken legs.

A relapse email that hits hard.

The realization that your mind can still try to destroy you — even sober.

And Dave puts Doug on the spot about sponsorship, step work, and what’s actually keeping him sober now.

AI NOTES AND GRAPHICS - SORRY EVERYONE!

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A Monday Dopey Total Replay where Dave sets up classic Dopey Episode 16—the one with Chris’s legendary “city in my boxers” LSD trip and Mark’s long, chaotic prank call to a detox intake. Along the way Dave reads Spotify comments (including kratom taper talk and new listeners coming from the Billy Strings episode), shares a voicemail story about meth, a blow-up with in-laws, and a late-season Sonoran Desert toad that leads to a 5-MeO-DMT “purge.” The replay captures early Dopey’s exhausted, bickering chemistry—cookies vs donuts, quitting cigarettes, Gloucester “chowder” nonsense—and Dave closes by reflecting on the early origin of “toodles,” asking for voicemails, problems, and more phony phone calls.

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DOPEYWOOD 2 TIX: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026

This week on DOPEY! We welcome Philly Junky, Artist, Book and Game Designer Dave Marques! We start reading the Jenni Spotify comments.

Played Allison voicemail (paramedic blowjob in ambulance post-Christian rehab relapse), Miles voicemail (veins wrecked by crack run, imaging lab vein scan horror, switched to sniffing/smoking/femoral).

Reads Dana email (using while listening to dopey, Philly trank/xylazine hell, 10-year heroin/PCP run, funny bad gas station robbery story). Dave connects deeply, offers help (Dopey Nation socials/Zoom, 25 meetings/week), we stress that recovery is doable.

Dave Marquessinterview highlights (starts ~27:52):

• Early life/family addiction — Kindergarten stealing at Nativity school, mom prison check fraud/coke/heroin, dad PCP/meth/LSD chemist (horse dewormer contract, biker gang supplier), Moonies kidnapping half-brother Jesse, parents split kids no custody, dad took Dave after mom prison/grandma rehab/aunt binge, dad sober then full alcoholic (nice sloppy drunk, Eagles yelling).
• Teen years/drugs — Pot/PCP 7th grade (~12), "love boat" blunts, rainy days romance, graffiti start 97–98 (SEV/Shiva tag), stabbed kid 8th grade (utility cutter), juvie Pittsburgh 18 months (school + D&A program, "yes them" to get out).
• High school fall — Ankle bracelet 9th grade, friend OD heroin, vice principal fight on PCP, multiple expulsions ($80k graffiti damage), umpiring/job purpose lost to girl/drugs.
• Adult spiral — Daughter born 2004, dad death 2007 heart attack (no 911 to save ambulance cost), inherited $30k → oxy dealer → heroin, escort driving (pinching bags, chaos), scams (Dave & Buster’s tickets, college copper theft, steak return scam with mom, fake bills), lost everything, daughter’s mom left after needles found.
• Jail/fentanyl era — Multiple arrests (shoplifting, attempted carjacking hiding in dryer), fentanyl OD in jail (snorted 2 bags, turned purple, lawyer visit saved him, pre-Narcan), worst detox Montgomery County (puking bile, shitting bunk, Ativan shower), 3 weeks hole (disoriented, makeshift chess/solitaire).
• Bottom & recovery — Turned down free bag in Gen Pop (first "no" in 20 years), parole home, 3 months clean no detox spot, self-made meeting papers judge accepted, mom helped (attic, toiletries), reconnected daughter at 16–18, good relationship now.
• Sober life/art — Car painting job via Ray (wash → prep), murals/barber shops, enamel pins/coloring books, Relapse vs Recovery game (card game from New Year’s inspiration, recovery/12-step jargon humor, Instagram @relapsevsrecoverygame, gamecrafter.com, Amazon/Meta struggles drug content). Ends grateful for purpose/creativity in sobriety, teases Patreon video game play.

Safe Spot overdose line (1-800-972-0590), customstickers.com

MORE MORE MORE on the world's greatest podcast on drugs addiction and dumb shit.

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This week on Dopey's Greatest Hits! Brace Belden's first episode (Patreon poll winner). We share Ray Brown's "Home Sweet Heroin" parody origin (Nikki Sixx drama), Dopey music history (UltiScrub, Good So Bad, Fentanyl J, Damon), and teases the NEW Spotify page. Plays old voicemails: Matt Wiedemeier Carroll (Waiting for Tonight 5-year anniversary, 117 days sober) and Kimber King (ketamine freakout, 20 months sober). Reads Spotify comments on Fentanyl Jay ep (love/hate, prison update, negative "murderer" email). Eric Poppismurff responds (benzo info, resources). 

Then the highlights of Brace: a raw, wide-ranging conversation with Brace (punk rocker, communist, podcaster of TrueAnon, heroin/meth addict in recovery). Brace opens up about his life: early punk obsession (Black Sabbath to Ramones/Misfits at 12), first drug use (salvia at 11–12, hill fire/arrest, weed soon after), mom's suicide at 6 (coke addict, depression), compartmentalization as coping mechanism. Teen years in continuation school (smoking allowed, flower shop credits), first opiates (Vicodin/Percocet at 17), OxyContin discovery after moving out, transition to heroin in Tenderloin ($10 high), Dr. Z dealer (SRO, pigeon shooting, jail), Jacques (MS heroin dealer), stealing from flower shops/girlfriend, arrest for $9 meth buy, rehab cycles, basement apartment gutter snipes/clonidine kick. Later Syrian resistance (2015–2016, 7 months fighting ISIS with Kurds, no opiates there, ketamine for wounds), return (lied to everyone), brewery job/union campaign, TrueAnon start (2019), ongoing sleep struggle (melatonin bullshit, trazodone dreams, Benadryl suggestion).

All that and tons and tons more on a brand new episode of that good old dopey show!

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Today on Dopey Wednesday! Dave (still shaking off a cold, snowed in on Long Island) pays tribute to Larry (“Crosstalk Larry”) — a beloved meeting  guy who recently passed away. Larry was a kind, positive soul who yelled “keep coming!” at every meeting’s end, welcomed newcomers, collected the basket for personal contact, showed up in hospitals and court, attended three DopeyCons and the Margaret Cho show, and lost his son to murder years ago. Dave reflects on missing Larry’s kind heart and vows to try to be kinder.

Lots of Spotify Bob talk!

The main talk is a powerful, emotional return with Kevin Jack McEnroe (author, former nightlife figure, son of Tatum O’Neal). Kevin opens up about his family’s addiction legacy: Tatum’s lifelong struggles (childhood coke from Ryan O’Neill, celebrity enabling, stroke/coma in 2020), Ryan’s estrangement, Kevin’s own heroin/coke/vodka spiral, liver failure, treatment, Suboxone, and the infamous Christmas visit where Tatum smoked weed in the hotel room while Kevin was newly sober. He shares the deck-the-halls-with-mom’s-Suboxone story, codependency/survivor guilt, boundary-setting (“I can’t keep convincing you to live”), and how the stroke/facility humility saved her life. Kevin reflects on being a bad liar, ring secrecy with Fern, Sergio the blind heroin dealer, and how recovery brought peace, blended-family wedding moments, and hope. 

All that and MORE! on a brand new Wednesday episode of that good old Dopey Snow - i mean show.

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Today on Dopey! THIS WAS RECORDED PRE-BLIZZARD - Dave (still shaking off a cold) welcomes back Heart Attack Doug for a classic Tuesday Teaser — Upcoming storm hype, English-speaking country rankings (America/Australia top, Canada/England/South Africa debated), Australian Bush Mechanics docu-series rec, Dopey sticker sightings, and Doug’s new band (cowboy hats, KKK rally jokes, bald head denial). Dave plugs Dopeywood 2026 (April 12 Comedy Store LA), Patreon (ad-free + Wednesday Zoom), Narcan/test strips, custom stickers (code DOPEY20), reads Spotify comments, talks Rolling Stone Yellow Balloon article (with Papa Smurf/Erin Khar help and more!

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Dopey podcast, Episode 15 replay, Knicks Madison Square Garden sneak, Chris interruption love, stay strong origin, Breaking Bad rewatch, Kevin McEnroe Spotify comments, coke paranoia voicemail, shadow people crack, Narcan test strips, Mountainside sponsor, Oro Recovery sponsor, Orchard on the Brazos sponsor, Recovery Unplugged sponsor, Dopeywood 2026, Good So Bad cover, dopeypodcast@gmail.com
 

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Today on Dopey!

this week on Dopey — We reconnect with Jenni G. Rochester rave survivor, Purchase/White Plains running buddy via Aurora. They unpack decades: Jenni’s attic stoner days, early acid/coke/ecstasy raves (Toronto runs, Sputnik parties, Rabbit in the Moon Doors cover), PCP bong hits, heavy heroin spiral (via Dave/Todd/DK circle), Brooklyn dope-sick chaos (doom sessions, Afrin-bottle tar smoking), California sober shift (mushrooms epiphany, divorce, working out), and current North Carolina life (California sober, thrifting, no heroin/ecstasy since kids). Jenny opens up about childhood trauma (abusive junkie dad, sexual abuse), brother’s $300K safe heist gone wrong, jail/probation dodging, and cold-turkey quit post-pregnancy. Dave reflects on linked timelines (heroin origins, shared friends, Southern roots insight), misses Todd, plugs sponsors (Oro, Mountainside, Orchard, Recovery Unplugged), reads Spotify comments on Kevin McEnroe ep, teases Dopeywood 2026, and closes with listener’s raw “Good So Bad” cover. Nostalgic, intense, hopeful — stay strong/toodles.

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Also if you want free Narcan/fentanyl test strips write us at dopeypodcast@gmail.com 

Today on Dopey's Greatest Hits!! Confessions of a Fentanyl Dealer! Jay opens up about his wild past: seventh-grade turkey scam hustle for his first ounce of weed, early fights and assaults building a violent rep, slug life gang brawls, first juvie (Westbury JDC horrors: Jenny Craig food theft, toothbrush shank), group home connects, escalating from weed to major coke dealing (quarter keys, cut with lidocaine/Nestlé), crooked cop stories, body brokering in Florida/California (paying addicts thousands to hit private detoxes for insurance cash), fentanyl pill empire (3k pills + loose quarter kilo hauls), Arizona Mexi connects, Ohio traffic stop bust (canine, massive fentanyl load), and rock-bottom overdose in Jamaica, Queens. Dave reflects on J's talent/magnetism, never giving up hope, current jail status, and pulls for him hard. Spotify comments read (Philip your dad on WTF nostalgia/tear-up banjo cover, Ray warning on free-lapsing/nitrous danger, Minnesota Matt praising persistence/family rebuild, Upyar questioning socks gimmick, Sean/Shawna/Kirby/Mr. Jason shoutouts), Dopeywood 2026 plug (April 12 Comedy Store LA — Maron, Bobby Lee, Cho, Hammond, No Towers, Makovsky, Miller — tickets flying), Patreon ad-free love, Nora's 16th birthday emotional spoil, and "Good So Bad" close.

AND MORE! 

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Today on Dopey!  We promote Dopeywood 2026 tickets (April 12 at Comedy Store LA with Marc Maron, Bobby Lee, Margaret Cho, Darrell Hammond, Sam Miller, Allie Makovsky, Zach Noe Towers.

Tickets For Dopeywood 2026: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026

Also if you want free Narcan/fentanyl test strips write us at dopeypodcast@gmail.com 

 We Read glowing Spotify feedback on the "Yellow Balloon" episode (jam band recovery groups like Much Obliged), including shoutouts to Benji, hippie Earl's gratitude lists/Secret Santa, and defends five-days-a-week Dopey. Shares Dana's email/story: Philly trank/xylazine struggles, listening while using (sad/lonely but less alone), hilarious failed gas station robberies with an oxy coworker (no masks/weapons, polite denials, eventual $300 haul for pills/McDonald's). Then dives into a marathon convo with Bob Forrest (Don't Die podcast, Celebrity Rehab, Thelonious Monster): Bob's anti-device/oligarch rant (Elon Musk/Jeff Bezos/curated feeds as modern Matrix, Bob Marley money quote, fight fake reality, turn off phones, go outside), social media dividing people (Gaza/Pizzagate/Epstein conspiracies as distractions from economic rape), drug market shifts (meth in fentanyl to preserve customers post-Narcan, cocaine resurgence over crazy-making meth, Kratom ubiquity as "non-addictive" supplement denial), modern addicts numbing vs. old-school enhancement, generational hopelessness (kids glued to iPads, no humor/alive feeling), AA tough love vs. today's softness, economic insecurity fearlessness in recovery, personal racism persistence, unity/civility over war, and life's joy in helping addicts. Ends with Mike Martt/Nick Thorpe's "Good So Bad" cover!

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Today on Dopey! Dave and new co-host Doug Brown kick off a banked Tuesday Patreon episode from Sayville (prepping for Florida trip, five-days-of-Dopey debate: 30 fans love it, 1 says it's too much). Dave reflects on negativity bias (2 bad comments haunt more than 98 good ones), aging roasts ("you're so old" from Ingrid Casares), sugar/carb break progress, processed food blame for modern misery (WWII San Diego streets clip), John Joseph shoutout (Chrome Ags, upcoming book, Ken Rideout hookup). Mostly mailbag: Minnesota Matt's epic Peru travel relapse tale (23yo, 30 days sober → heavy drinking on flight → cheap pure Peruvian coke from pool-hall connect, $10/gram clean lines, numb throat euphoria, dilemma on 3 leftover grams before La Paz flight to Bolivia, drug-dog risks, coke-fueled threesome tease — cliffhanger for Patreon). Matt now 8 months sober, praises Dopey tipping point, family rebuild, Chris/Todd tribute. Ends with "Good So Bad" playout and toodles for Chris.

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All that and MORE! on this brand new 10 year old Dopey Episode!

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This week on Dopey! We have the great Kevin Jack McEnroe, son of John McEnroe and (world class heroin addict-in recovery) Tatum ONeil! We start with emails and voicemails and spotify comments - Dustin on his Kratom Replapse and Leroy's crazy finding and flushing heroin on acid! 

Then we get to the meat of the show with Kevin McEnroe: 

Kevin McEnroe grew up in a house where everyone already knew his last name. 

In this unguarded conversation with David Manheim, Kevin talks about being the son of two famous parents while managing fear, secrecy, and responsibility far beyond his years. He describes protecting his mother through her addiction, learning early how to split public image from private truth, and eventually becoming the very thing he swore he wouldn’t: a full-blown addict.

From opiates and alcohol to liver failure, pancreatitis, and waking up in a hospital bed at 33, Kevin walks us through from denial to collapse. He opens up about selling his first novel while secretly drinking, faking composure, and the humiliation of being known but not respected — recognized as “McEnroe’s kid,” but unsure who he was as an individual.

This is a conversation about inherited chaos, codependency, ego, shame, and what happens when you finally stop trying to outrun your story. It’s about service. About humility. About the strange relief of admitting you don’t know what to do.

Kevin is sober now. He teaches tennis and he writes every day. He’s building a life that feels like his own.

ALL THAT AND MORE!!!!!! on this week's brand new episode of that good old Dopey Show!

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This Week on Dopey's Greatest Hits! We go back in time to our first episode with Marc Maron at the Ludlow Hotel. Born from a chance street encounter after a big cancellation.  Interspersed are listener voicemails (classic DC crack misadventure), Spotify comments, a sober dental encouragement email, Dopey Wood 2026 hype, and a heartfelt banjo cover of Dave’s song. The Maron talk covers deli obsession, early drug fears, cocaine psychosis, heroin flirtations, recovery persistence, podcast origin, and soulful interviewing—ending with gratitude for Maron’s role in Dopey’s survival and credibility.

All that and MORE MORE MORE on the brand new yet many years old episode of that good old Dopey Show!

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Dave dives headfirst into the surprisingly powerful world of Yellow Balloon groups — sober support tables that have become lifelines for recovering addicts and alcoholics at jam-band shows. The episode blends personal stories, history, and community vibes with guests Benji Rosenzweig (Storied Podcast, One Show at a Time) and Jen Dawson (Alia Health Group, hardcore Fellowship member). We hear the origin of Wharf Rats (Grateful Dead sober scene), how Fellowship (Phish-focused) branched off, and how dozens of similar groups now exist for bands like Goose, Billy Strings, Umphrey’s McGee, Tyler Childers, and more. Dave shares his own outsider curiosity as someone who used shows purely as open-air drug markets, while Benji and Jen describe how the yellow balloon became a beacon in chaotic concert environments. It’s part recovery fellowship, part parking-lot hang, part set-break gratitude circle, and — for many — the place where real connection replaced isolation.

ALL THAT AND MORE ON THE BRAND NEW HIPPY CENTRIC EPISODE OF DOPEY!

• “Yellow Balloons Saved My Concert Life” – How Sober Hippies Built Secret Recovery Tables at Phish, Dead & Billy Shows
• From Drug-Seeking to Hug-Seeking: The Insane Story of Yellow Balloon Groups
• “You’re With Family Now”: The Grateful Dead Sober Scene That Spread to Every Jam Band
• Chasing the Yellow Balloon: How Fellowship & Wharf Rats Keep Addicts Sober at Shows
• Sober Raging at Dicks: The Secret Society of Jam-Band Recovery Tables Exposed

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Episode Summary (for show notes / description)

Dave kicks off another chaotic Dopey Tuesday teaser with special guest 'Douglas Brown'!

 Rival voicemails from the ever-competitive "Heart Attack Doug," and why politics shouldn't wreck recovery friendships or meetings. 

Fentanyl death drops (blamed on Trump or natural arc?)

Family holiday stress (yelling at kids, car fails)

The Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime (cinematic flex for Latin expansion vs. stadium spectacle fail), and outrage over Spanish lyrics. Listener comments roast tough times and acronym chaos, plus Dave belts out a raw acoustic tune about bad desires and shadows. Classic Dopey mix of dumb shit banter, recovery reflections, and teases for the full Patreon episode—drugs, addiction, holiday madness with Ray and Alan. Sign up at patreon.com/dopeypodcast for the uncut version. And a bit more on that good old raytreon show!

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This week on TOTAL DOPEY REPLAY!  

The core replay is the full original Dopey Episode 11 (from ~2016), where Dave and Chris banter about AA vs. NA meetings, stereotypes in fellowships, early recovery quirks, listener feedback, random tangents (Damn Daniel viral video, gym routines, therapy at cafes), and Chris's wild story: Relapsing with a girl named Ashley in a Westin hotel (funded by his dad), getting punched in the nose during drunk play, trashing the room with blood on the ceiling, destroying it further, getting confronted by hotel security/police, losing his upcoming night auditor job at the same hotel, and dodging charges by paying for damages. The episode mixes raw addiction tales (heroin, crack, booze, trauma), humor, self-deprecation, early podcast growing pains, and light recovery talk.

PLUS super impactful email about grief, and a crazy voicemail about benzos!

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This week on Dopey!  We get  a flood of enthusiastic Spotify comments about a previous Jed Payne episode! We hear a listener voicemail on getting a pickline and reads an email from a listener in Michigan who rebuilt their life after heavy meth/heroin use. 

The main interview is with Amanda Crossley (from the Sober Girls group chat), who shares a raw, detailed story of her descent into opioid addiction: stealing massive amounts from her pharmacy job, transitioning to IV heroin in Camden NJ, robbing houses as a getaway driver, sugar-daddy arrangements with much older men, family chaos with her two addicted sisters, and ultimately writing to Dr. Phil herself at 23. The 2014 Dr. Phil episode (filmed while high) led to treatment, and she's been sober since early 2015 (now ~11 years). 

We close with our NEVER RELEASED 1999 EP from our band The Ulti Scrub Hustle: If I'm Not Home(I'm out Walkin Around), Girl of Mine and (I wanna be) Good So Bad.

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This week on the replay we remember supreme Dopey Legend, Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night! Chuck was a world class drug addict in the height of sex, drugs, and rock and roll debauchery in the 1960's and 1970's! He smashed his face whilst on seconals and his legendary penis exploded from too much sex with loving fans! Most importantly Chuck was a beautiful soul who helped scores of people to get better and to enjoy their lives! Rest in Peace Chuck Negron and Thank you!

Also Rest in Peace to Chris who is on the show too. PLUS emails, voicemails and more on a super fun and legendary trip down memory lane!

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This week on Dopey Wednesday! We hear a great alcoholic voicemail - go over some great emails and comments about weening and spirituality - then we are joined by Recovery Unplugged's Jason Cabello who tells us how he met his wife in rehab and tons of other nuggets on this fantastic new Wednesday show!

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This week on the Tuesday show we read Spotify shit - Patreon shit - read an amazing story full of disgusting hippy shit and so much much much more. 

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Dopey TOTAL Replay,! Dave hosts from his dad's apartment!  Reflecting on Chris - INSANE DUI VOICEMAIL. DOPEY Explanation for jumping walls from Dehart. The total replay features classic Dopey Episode 9 (originally Feb 2016): Chris recounts getting mugged in Baltimore after missing a bus from an Orioles game, breaking bones in a chaotic night of college drinking, blackouts, a girlfriend flying to the wrong city, and dorm-room puke-flood disasters. ALL THAT AND MORE MORE MORE on this weeks brand new super old replay episode!

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This week on DOPEY! We get super Dopey all the way through this insane super long  - super raw episode! First we congratualte Tom B on 6 years! Then we hear the Anders Spotify comments! Then we get into the lisener dopey! Josh’s terrifying Christmas Eve meth boofing disaster and Minnesota Matt’s  first crack experience. Then we go down the crazy rabbit hole of relapse and redemption with old friend of the show and OG DOPE, Jed Payne from Church and Other Drugs as he tells his FULL RELAPSE STORY! From super fucked up situation after situation to recovery and healing the fam!

All that and more on a super king size episode of that good old fucked up dopey show!

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This week on  Dopey's Greatest Hits (originally Dopey Episode 27: "Detox, Withdrawal"), where  we rememberTodd (who died from a fentanyl overdose in 2018). We play Rocker-T's  "One More" from the 1998 album Nicer By The Hour, read listener comments/emails (including a wild intervention story from "Alex" involving his mom overdosing during his own intervention). 

Then we play Dopey classic epidoe 27!  Where me, Chris and graphic design Ryan are about to do an episode when out of the blue Todd calls in, freshly busted while trying to get 'weed'.We talk  a bunch of shit about community service, arrests, weed, drugs and dumb shit. Then  Ryan attempts to coachTodd toward AA/yoga/abstinence, and tells him 'not to die' in a tragicly terrifyingly sad moment. 

All that and more on this weeks replay of probably my favorite episode of that good old dopey show.

Send in your thoughts to dopeypodcast@gmail.com

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This Week on The Wednesday Dose of Dopey!

Dave kicks off this Wednesday Dose solo from his dad's house, riffing on nostalgic broke-addict snacks (Little Debbie oatmeal pies as cheap highs) and weird fridge finds, before diving into fan Spotify comments praising last week's emotional Erin Khar episode. He shares wild Miles Davis coke-paranoia excerpts from the autobiography (Ferrari abandonment, trash-room hiding, dealer tricks), and recommending Kind of Blue and In a Silent Way as sick sick records!

Then we welcome Sandra Vergara (Selling Sunset star, Sofia Vergara's cousin/sister-figure). Sandra opens up about a traumatic Colombian childhood: brother's murder at age 9, raised by an aunt after her bio-mom's brain damage left her mentally stuck at 12, feeling like a "burden," early glue-sniffing experiment, near-fatal ruptured appendix/septic shock at 16, and constant walking-on-eggshells survival via art, empathy, and never taking abuse personally.

In LA from 18, she dabbled in makeup/acting (Fright Night), when she began drinking heavy. Blackouts, self-harm (throwing herself through glass), and suicide ideation. followed. First rehab in Medellín (befriended staff for special treatment → false security). Post-rehab: mushrooms sparked a "psychedelic love" fling, ayahuasca faced childhood trauma head-on, but led to half-assed AA and relapses.

COVID alone-time in NYC brought painting growth, but cat Stewie's death (worse than losing family) plunged her into deep  depression. Enter ketamine: started therapeutic (Mindbloom) but escalated to daily K-holes with Oculus VR for near-death/grief escapes, addictive Journey Circle weekends (MDMA/ayahuasca/mushrooms group catharsis without integration), erratic calls to mom, club blackouts, and cousin finding her passed out. Family intervention (Sophia pays, nephew packs her) lands her in trauma-focused Breathe Life rehab.

She firmly rejects "California sober" as a trap—psychedelics delayed real surrender for her; true addicts can't substitute one mind-alter for another. Full AA commitment (no more a la carte) + Kabbalah (post-breakup desperation) changed everything: tikkun (soul correction via tough life choices), turning reactive impulses (anger/gossip) into proactive restriction, daily study/meditation for frequency shifts. Ties Kabbalah to quantum physics (observer effect = perception shapes reality, entanglement = we're all connected, certainty in the unknown = surrender).

Sandra discusses Selling Sunset challenges (producer manipulation, ego, glamour vs. spiritual presence) and her new neuroscience/IFS/Kabbalah coaching for holistic recovery (mind stories, body regulation, spirit alignment). All that and much more on the brand new episode of that good old dopey show!

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This Week on the Teaser! John 'Sugar Bear' Bukaty is back! We talk abunch of shit about drugs, addiction, woowooo stiff and more! 

Including: Madonna Kabbalah, spiritual intention 2026, share vs hoard, Patreon exclusive, recovery humor, sugar relapse story, 80s pop culture nostalgia, FMK game, Debbie Harry, Gwen Stefani, synesthesia art, Dopey Nation, toodles for Chris, harm reduction, sobriety stories, New Orleans artist, Jay Shetty Madonna podcast, Kabbalah wisdom, creative recovery, benzo struggles, Spotify comments Dopey, Dopeycon 2026... ANd thats just the teaser - the real dopey is on patreon:)!

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This week on the total replay - Chris tells the depths of his SMI - maybe the first time we discussed SMI - and Chris' reluctance to accepting the SMI mantle. This is what he wrote 10 years ago: 'Chris intentionally flips out in the psych ward to get put into a 5 point restraint... and receive an injection of Ativan and Haldol. Also, he is treated by Bob Forrest and Dr. Drew.' 

First though Chris makes fun of my fish tank. We had such a good time. I cooked brusell sprouts and so much more! such a good time! 

We miss and love you Chris!

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PLUS Ander's beautiful song 'Born Again' performed by Greensky Bluegrass, Anders' bonus dobro playing, Damon's 'Dopey World' and Jake from West Virginia's classic version of 'Good So Bad'

ALL THAT and more, more, more on this brand new episode of that good old Dopey Show!

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This week on Dopey's Greatest Hits!

This replay episode features host David Manheim reflecting on personal chaos, gratitude amid frustration, powerful listener emails/stories (including a harrowing crack/coke seizure tale from Minnesota Matt), and a full classic interview with his partner Linda. They share their raw, unfiltered relationship story—from meeting via mutual friend Todd, early partying (coke, Ativan, drinking), pregnancy amid hidden heroin relapse, family destruction during active addiction, separation, supervised visitations, Dave's bottoming out, eventual sobriety, reconciliation, and rebuilding a family with two kids. Interspersed with intros, emails, Spotify comments, voicemails, and musical interludes (Firecracker rap, song snippets), it captures Dopey's signature mix of dark humor, brutal honesty, recovery insights, and "dumb shit" war stories.

The episode opens with Dave navigating recent frustrations—dealing with a guest pulling an episode due to cold feet, sponsor issues, and everyday life stressors—while emphasizing core recovery principles like acceptance, gratitude, and service over resentment. He reflects on childhood influences like Popeye's "I am what I am" mantra as a metaphor for self-acceptance in sobriety, and teases upcoming substantive guests while reading heartfelt (and critical) listener feedback. The heart of the show is the replay of a classic episode featuring Dave and Linda's candid conversation, detailing the highs and lows of their relationship: from initial attraction and drug-fueled early days, through the pregnancy discovery and Dave's escalating heroin use (including nodding out during birthing classes and missing key moments post-birth), to the devastating confrontation when Linda discovered the paraphernalia and the subsequent separation.

The story doesn't shy away from the pain—Linda's isolation during a complicated delivery, Dave's rock-bottom spiral involving heavy daily use, arrests, and black eyes during supervised visits with their daughter Nora—but it ultimately lands on hope and redemption. Dave credits their daughter as a major motivator for sobriety, and the couple discusses the hard work of rebuilding trust, family life, and even welcoming a second child. Reflections on the losses of close friends Todd and Chris add emotional weight, underscoring how addiction's toll extends beyond the individual. All that and More, more, more on this weeks new new new episode of dopey!

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This week on the teaser! We record a raw, outdoor teaser for Dopey Tuesday with returning guest Heart Attack Doug. They eulogize Dave’s high-mileage Subaru (hand-me-down from his dad), recount a hilarious pajama-clad mechanic confrontation that scored a full refund, share voicemails of Doug trash-talking show stats, joke about Dopey Zoom "polls" favoring Doug, read positive Spotify comments, detail Dave’s easy lasagna recipe, discuss Step 12 sponsorship styles, reflect on gratitude, spirituality (Dave’s non-traditional "God = universe/reality" view), quote the Big Book’s powerful closing lines, and tease Patreon-only content: with  an inspirational tribute to Dave’s late father-in-law. Classic Dopey mix of car chaos, recovery wisdom, community drama, and Patreon hooks.

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This week on the Monday Complete Dopey Replay! Dave kicks off the brand-new weekly series reliving the classic early episodes with Chris (starting from the beginning after lost tapes 6, 8, 10 & 12), reflecting on 10 years since Dopey launched in 2016, the frozen-in-time joy of hearing Chris’s voice again, and how the show was born from two rehab friends laughing over insane drug stories. He’s still riding the emotional wave from Linda’s father Tony’s beautiful celebration of life, got his $1,100 car repair money back after a pajama-rage showdown, and begs for any surviving lost Dopey episodes (6, 8, 10, 12) with a reward offered.

New format twist: Mondays = full chronological Chris-era replays, Thursdays = Greatest Hits. Dave reads grateful/complaining listener emails (send yours: one thing you hate + one thing you’re grateful for), plays Haley’s legendary nitrous-at-the-dentist voicemail (huffing until she thinks she’s “retarded,” crying then laughing while clapping, pure Dopey chaos), and dives into the Episode 5 replay: “Skiing Drunk, Broken Neck, TBI, Jail, and…” — Chris recounts his teenage subdural hematoma from a blackout ski crash (tuna & grape juice vomit fountain, spinal fractures, spleen rupture), court-ordered stay at a traumatic brain injury facility (diaper-wearing roommate flooding the kitchen with Apple Jacks & milk, another nonstop-talking Deadhead/skinhead roommate), sneaking out to shoot crystal meth, watching porn together, and the infamous “let me suck your dick” moment that ends the story in glorious, unfiltered Dopey style.

ALL THAT PLUS EMAILS AND VOICEMAILS on a super classic episode of Dopey.

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This week on Dopey! Dave powers through a music-heavy, emotional episode amid ongoing family grief (Tony’s celebration of life tomorrow), delivering sober birthday shoutouts (Jennifer Jimenez 20 years, Janine Coulter 11 years), sponsor love, listener stories, and a historic, in-depth interview with James Frey—his first-ever detailed on-record discussion of pre-sobriety life. Dave opens with a raw acoustic snippet (“Trying to score from the plug today…”), reflects on fame/pressure, plugs sponsors (Oro Recovery, Mountainside, Link Diagnostics, Recovery Unplugged, Orchard on the Brazos), and shares powerful listener submissions: Taylor’s 7-OH update (detox → AMA → relapse → QuickMD Suboxone taper + comedy struggles), Oscar (Sweden) on opioid progression to stable methadone, and an anonymous blackout chef tale (insane midnight meals with zero memory, kitchen disasters, one epic hookup dinner).

The centerpiece is James Frey’s unfiltered hour-plus conversation: childhood rage (ear infections/surgeries → early drinking/fighting), teenage rebellion (“White Boy James” in Benton Harbor bars), college coke dealing, Paris wild years, crack-fueled North Carolina descent, brutal Hazelden wake-up (face destroyed at 23), and Taoism as his lifelong sobriety anchor (meditation, renunciation, balance over 12-step dogma). He details writing A Million Little Pieces (addict rhythm, artistic defiance, no quotation marks), the explosive Oprah-fueled fame/backlash (“punk outlaw” pedestal → villain), and ongoing battles (suicidal ideation, rage, hockey fights). ALL THAT and MORE MORE MORE on this weeks super fucking robust episode of that good old dopey show.

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This week on the CLASSIC Thursday REPLAY!Dave opens with life updates amid heavy grief: prepping for the celebration of life for his father-in-law (Linda’s dad), the car overheating again (mechanic drama continues), and a heartfelt decision to replay a classic “Al-Anon-ic Dopey in the family” episode with his mother-in-law, Sue—the one he calls one of the greatest ever recorded. He reflects on how addiction stories feel triumphant for the addict but painful for the “casualties” (family), shares listener comments on recent replays (including wild rehab tales from Florida), plugs stickers for Spotify comments/reviews, and reads touching emails: Wendy’s condolences + 2-year sober shoutout to Jennifer N (synchronous on Jan 15!), plus her powerful insight on coming clean about kratom/7-OH in AA and discovering others struggling too. Another email from Charlie teases the upcoming kratom documentary “Kratom Side Effects May Include” (screening MLK weekend in NYC) and the dangers of potent 7-OH isolates.

The heart of the episode is the full replay of Dave’s emotional, cathartic sit-down with Sue (recorded years ago during COVID era), covering their rocky first impressions, Dave’s early heroin relapse after Nora’s birth, the terrifying custody battles, supervised visits, court drama (Dave showing up high), financial/legal stress, Linda moving back home with Nora for years, Dave’s gradual recovery journey (18 months clean, then true sobriety), rebuilding trust, and the family’s hope that Dave/Linda/Nora could become a unit. Sue shares her perspective as a non-drug-experienced, straight-laced mom/grandma—initial denial, sadness, anger, eventual admiration for Dave’s hard-won sobriety, and deep gratitude for how he became a devoted father/provider. They laugh about Sue’s cookie-stealing, ping-pong lies (she still claims she won!), competitive games, and family adventures gone wrong (like losing Nora/Sue at Gray Fox festival). Ends on hope, surrender, and advice for families: prioritize the grandchild, understand addiction as a disease, hang in there—there’s light at the end (though not always a happy one). Dave closes with love for Sue, reflections on mortality/family. All that and more on a tough loving, good timey hard episode of that good ol dopey show.

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The core is a raw, heartfelt interview with returning guest Erin Khar (author of Strung Out, unlicensed advice columnist), who opens up about her recent diagnosis of small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) / chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)—a slow-growing, incurable non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma discovered via routine mammogram/biopsy around Labor Day. Erin details the terrifying pathology call, symptoms (years of unexplained fatigue, anemia, frequent illnesses), watch-and-wait monitoring (no treatment yet until lymphocyte count rises), good-news/bad-news aspects (no chemo likely, keeps her hair, many live normal lifespans especially younger diagnoses like her at 52), and how curiosity over fear helps her cope.

They explore parallels to addiction/recovery (one day at a time, sitting on hands during suicidal moments, grief + gratitude coexisting), family impact (kids' anxiety, protecting emotions), quality over quantity of life, and Erin's Substack reveal for connection. Ends with an Ask Erin advice segment, Johnny Thunders love ("Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory"), and Trinity's cover of "Wanna Be Good So Bad". ALL THAT AND MORE MORE MORE!

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This Week on Dopey Tuesday! Dave opens with a raw, heartfelt intro reflecting on grief after Linda’s dad Tony’s recent passing — how it hits the whole family in unpredictable ways, amps up his worry, and pushes him to double down on recovery (morning meditation, Step 12 with his sponsor, and gratitude work). He shares a beautiful listener email from Kyle, a former heroin/crack/meth addict who found spiritual connection through a wild shroom + heroin beach trip, years of struggle, and a sober Grateful Dead moment listening to “Broke Down Palace” by the river — reminding Dave of his own Mountainside harmonies with Chris and Linda. Dave calls it “perfect” and emotional, awarding Kyle socks and relating deeply to the “hippie dippy” universal energy. He then dives into Spotify/Patreon comments on last week’s Ray Brown episode, plus the ongoing Zoe voicemail drama (some love her chaos, most roast her, Dave teases playing both voicemails next week). The episode wraps with a fun, chaotic clip of Dave, Cormac, and Selby (Asmatic Selby) bantering about early mornings, recovery day counts (Selby at 73 days!), Selby’s winter break dad fails (Santa screw-ups), and a plug for the full Patreon Reddit roundup. LISTEN TO THE FULL DEAL ON PATREON! wwww.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

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This Week on Dopey! Dave opens with a deeply personal and emotional tribute to Linda’s father, Tony, who recently passed after a long battle with Lewy body dementia, and other ailments. He shares heartfelt memories of Tony’s exceptional character—his strength, kindness, love of family, rock ’n’ roll roots, teaching career, and unwavering positivity—reflecting on how Tony’s compassion and support played a huge role in Dave’s own recovery and relationship with Linda. The episode also touches on recent losses (Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and actor James Ransone from The Wire), with Dave offering a half-hearted amend to Weir, pondering the future of Dead & Company, and urging listeners to reach out if struggling with depression. He then replays his powerful, candid interview with Alec Baldwin, where Alec gets brutally honest about his 40 years of sobriety, wild 80s cocaine-and-alcohol-fueled days in New York and LA, the terrifying overdose that led to his bottom, finding AA as his new “family,” the spiritual shift that kept him sober, and how the program carried him through massive personal and public storms (including his divorce and the Rust tragedy). All that and more on this weeks REPLAY!

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Send emails and voicemails to dopeypodcast@gmail.com - get socks or stickers if we read on the show! 

Leave reviews on iTunes and Comments on Spotify!

This week on the REPLAY! We replay of  episodes 3 and 4 (originally recorded in one marathon session), we reflece on the raw, chaotic magic of the show's beginnings with his late co-host Chris. The intro features classic Dopey elements—voicemails from Heart Attack Doug complaining about his absence from the Tuesday Patreon teasers, listener Spotify comments praising past guests like Steve Poltz, and Dave's ongoing gratitude for five-day-a-week Dopey while teasing upcoming episodes with Hank Azaria and more Reddit roundups. The bulk of the episode replays the vintage recordings: Chris shares his infamous "Dodge the Lodge" story about brewing jailhouse pruno at strict Alina Lodge, fleeing into the woods, and waking up in a Harlem ER after overdosing on stolen GHB from a Powerade bottle (leading to a months-long fruit ban back at rehab). Dave follows with his own tales of odd jobs, including working as a fake private eye in 90s clubs and his 1999 Howard Stern Show appearance where he conned his way on air with a phony "Shuffle Entertainer of the Millennium" award—only to get called out (and kicked out) by Robin for obviously being high. The replay captures the unpolished, hilarious chemistry between Dave and Chris that defined early Dopey, ending with Dave's heartfelt appreciation for preserving Chris's voice in these archived episodes.Dave says Episode 4 includes the Howard Stern story (again)

ALL THAT AND MORE! On this weeks new replay of an old old old dopey show!

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On this Dopey Wednesday!  

We get super spiritual about fear, gratitude and love! We read spotify comments which were super sweet. And then we dive deep with legendary actor and recovering addict Ned Van Zandt. Ned takes us from snorting heroin with Andy Warhol superstars in 1978, to living at the Chelsea Hotel the exact week Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen moved in, to fronting Sid heroin and eating at Burger King with him the day after Nancy’s murder. He shares his belief about who really killed Nancy, his years shooting heroin and meth, multiple relapses, jail, and finally finding lasting recovery.

Ned also talks about being Townes Van Zandt’s cousin, his acclaimed one-man show “Lost in Delle Valley" and now running the Upper West Side sober living house Transcend NYC.

All this and MUCH MORE on The Wednesday Dose!

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This week on the Tuesday Teaser!  Dave and a special guest open the show only to realize they just lost an entire hour-long recording — a full tribute episode to Mark F. is gone forever. Instead of forcing it, they pivot and talk about fear, frustration, and what it feels like when things fall apart at the beginning of a new year.

Dave shares a very real New Year’s Eve story: driving his daughter Susan to Riverhead in a 200,000-mile Subaru while the temperature gauge starts flashing, Google says the car is about to explode, and anxiety takes over. A gas station stop, a stranger with car knowledge, antifreeze drama, and a callback to Susan accidentally drinking antifreeze as a baby somehow make it into the mix.

They survive, make it to the aquarium, hit a kid-friendly ball drop, and wind down talking about cookies, brookies, peanut butter, parenting, and selling dessert to anxious people. The episode ends with a teaser for a Patreon-only interview Dave’s daughter Nora did with him for a school assignment, followed by music, wandering thoughts, and the familiar Dopey sign-off.

much much more - including two more Zoe recordings only on patreon!

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The episode opens with your intro, then the bulk of the show is Hairy Tongue Will’s massive, chaotic, detailed telling of his addiction, near-death runs, arrests, relapse cycles, dead friends, and eventual recovery.

Will describes the early Long Island chaos with Richie, Mike, and Lenny—everyone strung out on heroin, crack, coke, and whatever they could get. He recalls the first serious turn: showing up to a house where Lenny was passed out after a three-day crack run, realizing “the demons are taking over.” Mike and Richie spiral deeper, and Will keeps managing to “hold it together” thanks to jobs, work ethic, and a strange electrical-job stabilizer that kept him semi-functional.

He details years of DUIs, probation, manipulating drug tests, smoking crack constantly while still working 16-hour electrician shifts, and thriving socially because coworkers lived vicariously through him. He normalized chaos, missing only “one no-call/no-show every two weeks,” which he considered acceptable.

Will then dives into his first short attempt at stability, living in a basement apartment. His probation officer surprises him the day after a holiday: the apartment is filled with beer cans, bongs, baggies. He fails the test, is sent back to rehab/jail cycles, and explains why Long Island addicts often choose jail over treatment. He describes his surreal time in jail—being sent to the Montauk Lighthouse on work crews, eating egg sandwiches and black-and-milds with the guards, becoming “the useful guy,” actually feeling respected and purposeful.

Back outside, he tries again, fails again, collects DUIs, cycles through companies, loses jobs, hustles side work, and repeatedly relapses. A wedding night leads to another DUI. COVID hits while he’s in jail. He gets out, starts working nonstop, earns money, piles cash in a closet, stacks crypto, reads self-help books, sleeps on a mattress on the floor, becomes obsessed with success and control.

Then he meets a girl in Tennessee. He drinks again “successfully” only when he flies there. He builds a double life—working himself numb, drinking out of state, convincing himself he’s different.

Eventually, on a work trip, he gambles, wins big, drinks an old fashioned, and secretly cooks his boss’s cocaine into crack. This reignites the obsession. Will starts traveling the Northeast and Midwest, repeatedly pulling crack-seeking missions: gas stations, high-crime neighborhoods, asking strangers, “I’m looking for some hard.” He builds drug contacts in Bridgeport, Dayton, Maine, Virginia, wherever the job sends him. He smokes in hotels, hallucinates blood on floors, changes rooms repeatedly.

He recounts the deaths of friends:

Mike, whose father turned their home into a sheet-walled trap house with dealers and bikers living inside.

How Mike died with his father selling sneakers off his dead son’s body.

Richie, who got sober then died of fentanyl after nearly two years clean.

Will’s life collapses further—obsession, resentment toward God, jealousy, terminal uniqueness. He becomes a “demon,” wanting to die like his friends. He terrifies his girlfriend with delusional FaceTimes, nine-day runs, psychosis. She moves in without knowing the truth and becomes trapped in codependency.

He stays high for 26 straight days, manipulates her with antihistamine allergy episodes to cover his psychosis, hides crack pipes around the house with ring cameras everywhere. He finally admits some truth, gives her $5,000 to escape, but she stays another nine months.

He tells insane stories:

Pretending he’s a trust-fund baby to get free crack

Getting shot at by a dealer after a misunderstanding over “two grams” vs “two ounces”

Driving through wooded roads barefoot at gas stations

Dealers trying to jump him

Becoming a mule for a recently-released dealer (Ace)

Near misses, violence, and pure street insanity

Eventually, during a pickup, he gets chased, prays for police lights, and his car breaks down. Cops descend. He gets a mountain of charges (“five decades worth”). He thinks he’ll die in prison. Bail reform gets him released. He immediately uses again for 17 more days.

A sober lawyer tries pushing him toward St. Christopher’s. Will resists, manipulates LICR, relapses again, cancels his own insurance, tries to die, and after weeks of chaos his mother gets him re-approved. He enters St. Chris, still delusional, still dangerous.

There he breaks. He admits suicidal thoughts, gets a guard stationed outside his door, hears the blunt truth—you’re the worst-off guy here and you did this to yourself. It lands. Will begins working the program: spiritual direction, grief groups, codependency, meetings, kitchen duty, everything. He reconnects with his mother in sobriety. He attends court in suits provided by the facility and ultimately receives an unexpectedly generous plea deal.

He comes home early, tries to run his own program, stays sober for months, but on Mother’s Day runs into an old acquaintance who shows him a Newport box with a pipe inside. He relapses immediately for three days, misses Mother's Day entirely.

That night, suicidal again, he receives a series of calls: first from Jordan, then from his tough sponsor, who gives him clear direction—go to a sober house, go to daily groups, go to nightly meetings, call people, build structure. Will frauds his urine to get in, but once inside, follows every instruction. He stabilizes.

He recounts being 18 months sober now, having been at meetings nearly every night, with a recent slip in commitment due to chasing an “intimate partner godshot” that didn’t work out. You reassure him that it’s fine and that balance is part of recovery.

More or less thats the whole thing! On a brand new fucko, crackead episode of that good old dopey show!

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This week on Dopey! Dave rings in the first Friday of 2026 with multimedia superstar and Queen of Melrose, Cosmo Lombino—fresh off Soft White Underbelly fame—spilling a wild Harlem-to-Hollywood saga of mob-adjacent glamour (Godfather shoots at grandma's apartment, fur coats from car trunks), early gay defiance against Jehovah's Witnesses, freebase-fueled club chaos, near-misses with Michael Jackson pasta invites, MacArthur Park crack binges, cardboard-box homelessness, and finally sustained sobriety (8+ years strong) through rigorous daily step-writing, meditation, and Tarzana redemption. Dave raves about Avatar: The Last Airbender bonding with his kid, plugs Patreon Zooms and ad-free listening, reads spicy Spotify comments (mushroom nipples, crack exam tales), shares voicemails (stolen lunchbox heist gone wrong, Hexen research-chemical nightmare), teases upcoming content, and shouts out community heroes while vowing to care less about haters. 

All that and more on this first Friday Dopey of 2026!

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This week on Dopey! We kick off 2026 with a Thursday replay of one of his all-time favorites—the legendary Steve Poltz's epic first appearance from 2023, packed with altar boy wine thefts, Rugburns stage-wrecking chaos (56 stitches included), mushroom-fueled job quits, co-writing "You Were Meant for Me" with Jewel in Baja Mexico, Ramones opener mayhem, cocaine/crack spirals, a best friend's tragic murder, and ultimate rehab surrender. Dave reflects on Poltz as a true "blessing" to the show and his life, debates sticking with Five Days of Dopey, reads wild listener comments (meth pee anyone?), shares an Australian dad's white-knuckle sobriety struggles, and drops quick recovery tips while prepping lasagna for Linda's mom's 80th. All that and more on this brand new 2 year old replay show of that good old dopey show!

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This week on Dopey! Dave rings in New Year’s Eve with a raw, reflective Wednesday dose amid a “rough fucking week” on the home front, admitting family struggles (including Linda’s dad’s health) have him questioning whether to keep the grueling Five Days of Dopey schedule into 2026 while teasing resolutions like restarting the infamous Dopey Fitness Challenge, daily writing, and maybe even Tai Chi to save his creaky joints. He reads a heartfelt email from old-timer Craig begging him to go full-throttle for the community’s sake, then drops the full replay of his recent guest spot on the hippie Yellow Balloon podcast One Show at a Time—a rapid-fire qualification packed with childhood staph infections, codependency as his first “drug,” heroin-fueled career crashes, supervised visitation shame, and the desperate AA surrender that finally stuck at 41. The share ends with an avalanche of love from the Zoom crowd (random cameos from Ivan Neville and Anders Osborne included), leaving Dave both embarrassed and deeply grateful as he closes out 2025 counting blessings, overeating brookies with Susan at Patchogue’s early ball drop, and reminding the Nation: if you’re struggling tonight, reach out—tomorrow’s a new day. 

All that and more on this weeks collab show with the one show at a time podcast!

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A special guest joins us for the teaser!  (echoes of COVID-era recordings). The duo catches up casually — We recall recording in the attic back in the day, Dave mentions Linda guesting once and shares a wild memory of a bum flicking a cigarette that hit him in the mouth outside CVS.

Spotify Comments Segment Dave reads listener comments from the previous Tuesday episode (Ray & Alan guest-hosted):

• A new listener (another Ray) appreciates the Nick Reiner discussions and hopes for more old interviews.
• Mucho Gringo teases Zoe’s Patreon critique of Dave’s Nick handling.
• Richard calls the Reiner focus a “pathological obsession” and threatens to unsubscribe by spring 2026.
• Romanil agrees it’s sensationalizing and suggests smudging the attic with sage.

Dave reveals he depublished the Nick Reiner compilation episodes due to backlash and personal guilt (“It’s haunting me”).

Listener Email: Andrew Zane’s Wild Pitch Dave reads a lengthy email from Andrew Zane asking how to guest on Dopey. Highlights of Andrew’s story:

• Groomed into drugs as a child (huffing Freon, mouthwash, morning glory seeds, intro to heroin).
• Teen oxy → heroin addiction, crime spree across Midwest with a girlfriend (scamming hospitals for Dilaudid, policy changes in North Dakota(?)).
• Prostitution, prison for her, desert life in Arizona (licking psychedelic Sonoran Desert Toads, first meth).
• Arrested drunk pushing daughter’s stroller, divorce, more rehab, dope sick on xylazine-laced street heroin.
• Grindr hookup turned near-sex-trafficking + months-long psychosis.
• Overprescribed Vyvanse gone wrong; now mostly sober using kratom (harm reduction) and occasional toad psychedelics.

Andrew wants to discuss drugs + human trafficking on dating apps and stimulant overprescription.

Discussion: Sex Trafficking & Dating Apps They dive into the dark side of apps like Tinder/Grindr — coerced prostitution, pimps forcing partners, shades of consent, why victims don’t just leave. Dave admits struggling to understand the coercion aspect until reading the legal definition.

Cliffhanger & Patreon Plug Dave teases that he and Ray are starting to work on a movie script together — details only available to Patreon subscribers (patreon.com/dopeypodcast). The free teaser ends here.

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This week on Dopey! We start wrapping up 2025 with a candid check-in: feeling under the weather amid a family stomach virus, craving a Sopranos binge, and doubting plans for "Five Days of Dopey" in January (Wednesday/Thursday shows likely intermittent—send opinions to dopeypodcast@gmail.com). We share the ultimate post-Christmas blues remedy: a trip to Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge in Sag Harbor, NY, where chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers eat seeds straight from your hand in the snowy quiet—described as magical, healing, and the true "opposite of addiction."

Dave addresses backlash from replaying Nick Reiner episodes (including harsh comments like "Narcissist Grifter" and "Exploitative Jew"), explains his intent to share old conversations without commentary, notes new listeners discovered Dopey through them, and mentions turning down media interviews. He plugs ad-free listening on Patreon (patreon.com/dopeypodcast) and urges positive iTunes reviews.

Listener Emails (Oldies Read Aloud)

• Wendy: Proposes a dedicated recovery-focused social media platform to avoid bans for "junky" content.
• James D. Hart: Highlights interracial bands like Prince and the Revolution (inspired by Sly & the Family Stone), Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Smashing Pumpkins.
• Christy Adams: Celebrates 3 years clean, praises an older neuroscience/meth/GLP-1 episode, and misses the original Dave/Chris dynamic.

Stickers or socks for anyone whose email/voicemail gets read—email dopeypodcast@gmail.com.

Main Feature: Classic Darrell Hammond Interview Replay (2017) The legendary SNL cast member (longest-tenured before Keenan) gets raw about:

• SNL highs/lows, iconic impressions (Clinton, Connery), working with Lorne Michaels, and celebrity encounters.
• Childhood trauma and abuse, flashbacks, and blaming himself to protect the idea of parental love.
• Alcoholism starting at 14 (first beers felt like "the world turning from black-and-white to color").
• Self-harm as a "problem solver" and crisis creator during prolific periods.
• Wild Harlem crack house story (mistaken for a cop, defended as "that motherfucker old TV," spotting the St. Francis Prayer on the wall).
• Multiple relapses, including after a sponsor's suicide.
• Stroke-ward epiphany that finally led to lasting sobriety—seeing patients struggle to speak inspired desperation for change.
• Recovery tools: St. Francis (11th Step) Prayer, connection with others, cognitive therapy, yoga, meetings, and the "law of threes" (expect ⅓ great days, ⅓ okay, ⅓ rough).

Wrap-Up Dave re-reads old Spotify comments on the Hammond episode (debates over "This or That," therapy questions, possum facts, etc.) and closes with his heartfelt acoustic cover of "Good So Bad"—the song from the first Dopey episode he heard that inspired him to get clean.

All that and more on this weeks installment of that good old Dopey Replay Show!

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This week on Dopey! For our post-Christmas Dopey episode we kick it off with a Christmas gift review and we read Spotify comments on the Alec Baldwin episode we shout out NANA/Lili Coffin hitting 6 years sober, and weaves in sponsor love. The return of White Tighties Jeremy Turner accidentally shooting Viagra and an email all about meth-fueled multi-day porn marathons that destroy skin and phones another about brutal long-term benzo withdrawal horrors, and a wild prison-submitted bath salts tale full of paranoia and fake-reality glitches.

Then, at 25:42, Yellow Balloon recovery powerhouse Jen Dawson takes over with her unforgettable Southern story – from feeling like an outsider in a "normal" family, early prescribed Adderall and wild "nipple" psilocybin mushrooms, diving headfirst into '99 Phish tour life, crystal meth insanity, toxic soulmate drama (including a pistol-whipping incident), a venomous spider bite leading to near foot amputation and a pain-clinic fentanyl jackpot, research chemicals, shooting heroin, the devastating stillbirth of her son Dakota, a suicide attempt, multiple jail stints, and finally true surrender in a strict year-long program. Now 11 years sober, Jen shares how sweat lodges helped her connect with Dakota's spirit, rebuilding life with daughter Cyprus (now 18 and thriving), going to college, and finding lifelong community in the Yellow Balloon sober jam-band scene. Raw, funny, tragic, and deeply inspiring – peak Dopey.

All That and MUCH MORE ON THIS HIPPY DIPPY FAR THE FUCK OUT NEW EPISODE OF THE GOOD OL DOPEY SHOW!

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This week on Dopey! It is Christmas (STILL) as the 5 days of Dopey continues! We start with me alone reading spotify comments and considering not doing 5 shows a week! Then we play he replay where comedian Jessa Reed calls in and tells us all about her tweaker days. Stories include carrying a dead owl around for weeks and trying to breathe life into it via meth smoke, and drinking her own piss (repeatedly) because it had traces of methamphetamine. Jessa, a dopey hall-of-famer, also tells us how she finally got clean after a decade of pure debauchery. Check out Jessa's podcast, the Mormon and the Meth-Head. We play a voicememo from Korey about the time he shot a goofball and ran from the non-existant police for three hours straight and tore his MCL. 

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This week on Dopey! It's Christmas Eve! Wishing all the listeners a Merry Fucking Christmas! This week we open the show reminding everyone about patreon and reading a note from incarcerated Dope - Montana about prison life, Toastmasters, college aspirations, and his badass DIY cubicle decor.

We reflects on Christmas's universal meaning – love, hope, togetherness – while sending love to the Reiner family. The main interview features longtime friend and DopeyCon organizer Rachel Hechtman (@soberincentralpark), recorded the day the Nick Reiner news broke. Rachel shares her wild journey: early drinking and coke at 14, boarding school antics (including Paris Hilton-sourced coke), dealing at Dartmouth, drug-induced psychosis, a secret marriage to an Italian guy (Giuseppe!), massive weight loss (80 lbs), and getting sober through daily Central Park walks with her dog George during COVID – no 12-step, just determination, walking, and community-building.

All that plus copious Nick Reiner Spotify comments on this brand new Wednesday version of that good old dopey show!

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The episode wraps with holiday cheer: Dave and Ray perform classic Christmas carols like "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Silver Bells," plusRay does GSB!

Dave reminds listeners about the weekly Dopey recovery Zoom, monthly Patreon Zoom, free Dopey Nation meetings, and encourages joining Patreon for bonus content, including upcoming Christmas songs.

ALL THAT AND MORE ON A BRAND NEW TEASER OF THAT GOOD OLD DOPEY SHOW!

Length: ~24 minutes Vibe: Holiday chaos, recovery talk, family banter, live music, and Dopey charm.

This episode perfectly blends Dopey's signature mix of dumb shit, deep recovery insight, family dynamics, and unexpected musical moments – a great holiday treat for Patreon supporters!

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This week on Dopey! Christmastime is here again and we read emails from Dopes who motly comment on Nick Reiner, read Spotify reviews about it and try and celebrate the holidays and spread some good cheer!

The centerpiece is a long, candid interview with Alec Baldwin, recorded just before Thanksgiving. Alec discusses growing up on Long Island, early drinking and cocaine use, working in New York television, moving to Los Angeles, fame, excess, driving intoxicated, overdosing in a hotel room in Oregon, and ultimately getting sober in 1985. He describes how AA became his entire social world, how spirituality helped keep him sober, and how his faith and family carried him through later life crises — including public scrutiny, divorce, legal battles, and depression. Alec speaks openly about wanting to “just not kill myself tomorrow” during his darkest moments and how sobriety principles guided him through.

After the interview, Dave plays more holiday messages from the Dopey Nation and then has a long, emotional phone call with his father, Alan Manheim. They process the Nick Reiner tragedy, public backlash, antisemitic comments, criticism of old Dopey clips resurfacing online, and the strange irony of Dopey being thrust into the media spotlight through tragedy. They discuss parenting addicts, mental illness, fame, synchronicity, and how Dopey interviews became central to news coverage. The episode closes with reflections on resilience, staying connected, asking for help, and honoring Chris, followed by Dave playing his song “Good So Bad.”

SEO / SEARCHABLE KEYWORDS (CUT & PASTE)

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This week on Dopey we go down memory lane and listen to me and Chris plant the dopey flag and start the show. First - Chris tells the story of his first time using and I tell a story of seizing off of benzos. If you wanna make a comment - comment on spotify or on patreon or write us at dopeypodcast@gmail.com

Wishing everyone peace and love!

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In this crucial emergency episode, Dave is joined by longtime friend and recovery legend Bob Forrest to process the shock, grief, and fallout surrounding the Nick Reiner tragedy and the public backlash aimed at Dopey.

Bob speaks from decades of experience in addiction treatment, psychiatry-adjacent crisis work, and firsthand encounters with drug-induced psychosis, violence, and untreated mental illness. He explains why modern drugs—especially meth and stimulants—are producing homicidal and suicidal behavior, and why families often have no remaining safety net when things spiral.

They discuss:

Why parents can love their children and still need boundaries, charges, or intervention

How decriminalization + lack of psychiatric resources leaves families helpless

Why people project their own trauma and rage onto public figures and podcasts

The danger of separating “mental health” from active addiction

Celebrity kids, resentment, identity, and why some survive while others don’t

Why Dopey is being scapegoated—and why that logic doesn’t hold up

The conversation moves through music, recovery, punk rock, famous addiction stories, Christmas memories, suicidal ideation, parenting, and connection, ultimately landing on Bob’s central belief: connection, love, truth, and honesty are what keep people alive.

The episode ends with Bob defending Dopey’s right to tell the whole truth about addiction—ugly, funny, painful, and real—and offering a blunt but heartfelt holiday message to Dopey Nation. All that and more on this brand new Wednesday episode of the good old Dopey show.

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This week on Dopey Tuesday with returning friend, writer, and “elite ex-equestrian” Erin Carr. They joke about their disorganization, their family-like bond, and the chaos of planning episodes. Erin updates Dave on her recent election win to the NYC Education Council and what serving on it has been like—contentious but meaningful work centered on education policy and generational differences.

The conversation shifts into generational talk (Gen X, Gen Z, Gen Alpha), early internet days, and feeling grateful they grew up before social media. Erin then describes learning—through an ex—that Dopey was suddenly in the news because Dave was doing media interviews about the breaking Nick Reiner case.

Dave recounts going on ABC News unprepared, explains his new plan to publish a show every day, and details the backlash he received for releasing a Dopey Emergency Episode compiling all of Nick Reiner’s past appearances. Erin gives thoughtful criticism: the issue isn’t releasing the audio, but centering Nick rather than the murdered victims. They discuss responsibility, ethics, addiction stigma, and the complexity of public consumption of tragedy.

Dave explains why he released the compilation, his intentions, the bizarre Dopey connection to the story, and his concern over tone. Erin helps him rework the title toward something victim-centered (“The Reiner Family Tragedy”). They unpack addiction narratives, mental illness stigma, and how easily public discussion slips into blaming or sensationalizing.

The two close on themes of empathy, horror at the details emerging about the Reiner murders, the emotional weight of family devastation, and the moral questions around covering breaking tragedy in recovery media. The teaser ends with Dave redirecting listeners to Patreon for the rest of the conversation before running off to Susan’s Nutcracker performance. 

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EMERGENCY ANDY DICK INTERVENTION!!!!

Thanks to hard core dope Keaton Hudema - we catch up with Andy Dick to find out all about his recent overdose incident involving fentanyl, We talk a bunch of shit - and i try and 12 step him. All that and more on this Andy Dick Emergency Broadcast of Dopey!

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This Week on a super classic episode of Dopey! Dave is visited by local Long Islander - Will P. AKA Hairy Tongue Will. Dave opens the show drinking Ryze mushroom coffee while talking about how cold his recording room is. He announces that Dopey will be releasing five episodes per week throughout December, including replays, Patreon teasers, deep cuts, and new interviews.

He gives sobriety shoutouts — notably Lauren’s three-year milestone and Maddie Veitch from Leftover Salmon celebrating her own recovery marker. He encourages listeners to email in clean-time milestones for future episodes.

Dave then goes through a lengthy run of Spotify comments left on the Darrell Hammond episode. The comments range from people complaining about the “This or That” game, others defending it, jokes about possums, encouragement about psychedelics, questions about whether Darrell is truly sober, praise for the episode, frustration with the interview pacing, random remarks about Lime Drive and “Mike’s Amazing Stuff,” plus multiple requests for stickers. Dave reads each comment and jokes along, sometimes offering to send merch.

Ads for Mountainside and Link Diagnostics follow. Dave talks about how Mountainside is central to the history of Dopey and how Link Diagnostics offers drug testing services that help people “stay positive and test negative.”

Dave then plays an LSD voicemail from Henry in San Francisco, who took two hits of acid alone in college. Henry becomes one with his bicycle, panics at a house fumigation tent he interprets as a circus, fears he’ll be mutated by pesticides, runs home, listens to the Butthole Surfers, sees Aztec gods appearing from shifting ceiling patterns, and eventually rides it out. He is now 15 months sober and credits Dopey Nation for support.

Next he reads an email from Jerry, who describes crazy addiction history including fighting cops on PCP, overdoses, ventilators, and robbing heroin dealers. Jerry discovered Dopey by typing “heroin” into the podcast search bar while newly out of rehab in 2018. His biggest complaint is that Dave has never watched Joe Dirt.The episode opens with your intro, then the bulk of the show is Hairy Tongue Will’s massive, chaotic, detailed telling of his addiction, near-death runs, arrests, relapse cycles, dead friends, and eventual recovery.

Will describes the early Long Island chaos with Richie, Mike, and Lenny—everyone strung out on heroin, crack, coke, and whatever they could get. He recalls the first serious turn: showing up to a house where Lenny was passed out after a three-day crack run, realizing “the demons are taking over.” Mike and Richie spiral deeper, and Will keeps managing to “hold it together” thanks to jobs, work ethic, and a strange electrical-job stabilizer that kept him semi-functional.

He details years of DUIs, probation, manipulating drug tests, smoking crack constantly while still working 16-hour electrician shifts, and thriving socially because coworkers lived vicariously through him. He normalized chaos, missing only “one no-call/no-show every two weeks,” which he considered acceptable.

Will then dives into his first short attempt at stability, living in a basement apartment. His probation officer surprises him the day after a holiday: the apartment is filled with beer cans, bongs, baggies. He fails the test, is sent back to rehab/jail cycles, and explains why Long Island addicts often choose jail over treatment. He describes his surreal time in jail—being sent to the Montauk Lighthouse on work crews, eating egg sandwiches and black-and-milds with the guards, becoming “the useful guy,” actually feeling respected and purposeful.

Back outside, he tries again, fails again, collects DUIs, cycles through companies, loses jobs, hustles side work, and repeatedly relapses. A wedding night leads to another DUI. COVID hits while he’s in jail. He gets out, starts working nonstop, earns money, piles cash in a closet, stacks crypto, reads self-help books, sleeps on a mattress on the floor, becomes obsessed with success and control.

Then he meets a girl in Tennessee. He drinks again “successfully” only when he flies there. He builds a double life—working himself numb, drinking out of state, convincing himself he’s different.

Eventually, on a work trip, he gambles, wins big, drinks an old fashioned, and secretly cooks his boss’s cocaine into crack. This reignites the obsession. Will starts traveling the Northeast and Midwest, repeatedly pulling crack-seeking missions: gas stations, high-crime neighborhoods, asking strangers, “I’m looking for some hard.” He builds drug contacts in Bridgeport, Dayton, Maine, Virginia, wherever the job sends him. He smokes in hotels, hallucinates blood on floors, changes rooms repeatedly.

He recounts the deaths of friends:

Mike, whose father turned their home into a sheet-walled trap house with dealers and bikers living inside.

How Mike died with his father selling sneakers off his dead son’s body.

Richie, who got sober then died of fentanyl after nearly two years clean.

Will’s life collapses further—obsession, resentment toward God, jealousy, terminal uniqueness. He becomes a “demon,” wanting to die like his friends. He terrifies his girlfriend with delusional FaceTimes, nine-day runs, psychosis. She moves in without knowing the truth and becomes trapped in codependency.

He stays high for 26 straight days, manipulates her with antihistamine allergy episodes to cover his psychosis, hides crack pipes around the house with ring cameras everywhere. He finally admits some truth, gives her $5,000 to escape, but she stays another nine months.

He tells insane stories:

Pretending he’s a trust-fund baby to get free crack

Getting shot at by a dealer after a misunderstanding over “two grams” vs “two ounces”

Driving through wooded roads barefoot at gas stations

Dealers trying to jump him

Becoming a mule for a recently-released dealer (Ace)

Near misses, violence, and pure street insanity

Eventually, during a pickup, he gets chased, prays for police lights, and his car breaks down. Cops descend. He gets a mountain of charges (“five decades worth”). He thinks he’ll die in prison. Bail reform gets him released. He immediately uses again for 17 more days.

A sober lawyer tries pushing him toward St. Christopher’s. Will resists, manipulates LICR, relapses again, cancels his own insurance, tries to die, and after weeks of chaos his mother gets him re-approved. He enters St. Chris, still delusional, still dangerous.

There he breaks. He admits suicidal thoughts, gets a guard stationed outside his door, hears the blunt truth—you’re the worst-off guy here and you did this to yourself. It lands. Will begins working the program: spiritual direction, grief groups, codependency, meetings, kitchen duty, everything. He reconnects with his mother in sobriety. He attends court in suits provided by the facility and ultimately receives an unexpectedly generous plea deal.

He comes home early, tries to run his own program, stays sober for months, but on Mother’s Day runs into an old acquaintance who shows him a Newport box with a pipe inside. He relapses immediately for three days, misses Mother's Day entirely.

That night, suicidal again, he receives a series of calls: first from Jordan, then from his tough sponsor, who gives him clear direction—go to a sober house, go to daily groups, go to nightly meetings, call people, build structure. Will frauds his urine to get in, but once inside, follows every instruction. He stabilizes.

He recounts being 18 months sober now, having been at meetings nearly every night, with a recent slip in commitment due to chasing an “intimate partner godshot” that didn’t work out. You reassure him that it’s fine and that balance is part of recovery.

More or less thats the whole thing! On a brand new fucko, crackead episode of that good old dopey show!

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This Week on Dopey! Dave kicks off the new Thursday Retro Replay / Greatest Hits concept and explains the new Dopey weekly schedule before throwing back to one of the most beloved early episodes: Chris’s Prison Stories Part One (Dopey 67). After a classic call from Dave’s dad Alan complaining about the website reviews and telling his own fake “Fort Apache” jail story, Chris dives into his very real first sentence in Orange County Jail. He breaks down race politics, Woods and Sureños, getting classified as a higher-risk inmate, being asked to “be the falcon” and beat up a loud racist white guy, and what it felt like to be totally green in a vicious system.

Chris tells gnarly stories about shooting meth in jail with a homemade “binky” syringe that’s been up multiple asses, getting covered in staph infection, breaking the ultimate rule by pushing the emergency button, and accidentally giving his post-release girlfriend medication-resistant staph. He also admits to being a dick to a fragile bunkie named Steve by leaving him a bag of trash and tormenting him over the “fishing line,” then gets honest about how jail culture warped his thinking, almost turning love into fear and respect. Dave closes by talking about how much he misses Chris and how proud Chris was of these wild stories, and dedicates the replay to him. All that and more more more on a brand new replay of a super classic dopey show!

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Send comments to dopeypodcast@gmail.com

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This Week on Dopey REPLAY! We are joined by our amazing guest, comedian, actress, model and person in early recovery, Charlotte McKinney.

Charlotte joins at around 45 days sober. She talks about her early sobriety, feeling scared to fully commit, and using comedy as her “secret life.” She opens up about her old weed habit, quitting cold turkey, partying with boyfriends, and chasing drugs through different phases of her life. She shares some of her craziest stories — including taking LSD and going to family dinners and spending holidays totally high. She and Dave talk recovery, meetings, codependency, boundaries, and finding sober community. All that and more on the brand new REPLAY of that good old Dopey show! 

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This week on Dopey! Comedy Legend and serious recovery survivor Darrel Hammond comes on the show! We dispose of a dead opossum. We reads listener messages about Patreon, Pearl Jam, the Charlotte McKinney episode, Spotify reviews, Theo Von speculation, “Many Rivers to Cross,” NA vs AA, and future guests like Tim Dillon. There’s a voicemail about colonoscopy propofol and an email from Canadian listener Dylan about secretly smoking purple fent in rehab and still graduating before getting three years clean on methadone. Dave tells his own stories about using in treatment and invites more “using in rehab” emails.

The main interview is a long, raw conversation with Darrell Hammond about childhood abuse, feeling like an outsider, drinking his first Bush beers, baseball, impressions as survival, and finally uncovering buried trauma in intense psychodrama therapy. Darrell talks about self-blame around his sponsor’s suicide, years of in-and-out sobriety, cutting as a way to control panic and signal pain, and trying to work at SNL while hiding self-harm and drinking after the show. He gets into Clinton, the Comedy Cellar, how he finds the “funny” in impressions, the crack-house story on 137th Street, and the stroke that finally terrified him into fully embracing recovery, meetings, cognitive therapy, yoga, connection, and a “life of consultation.” He closes with his “religion” (improve myself, contribute to others’ happiness) and his take on God, gravity, Einstein, and serenity. Dave wraps with Patreon/Zoom plugs, Safe Spot and sticker/mustard ads, a quick Andrew Dice Clay impression, a mini rant about Instagram, and a sincere reminder that recovery is the best thing that ever happened to him. All that and more on this weeks installment of the good old dopey show!

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Replay from June 2022 - Carolyn 'Mountain Girl' Garcia tells her story! From ibogaine in Palo Alto, to LSD with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. Going on the road and starting a family with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. Ultimately enduring a marriage with a total heroin and cocaine addict as husband and father of her children. This is a very, very special Dopey indeed! Plus emails, and a bit more on an extra long, extra heady episode of the good ol' Dopey show!

Big big shout out to Seth Ferrante for hooking it up!

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Dave kicks off the first-ever Wednesday Dose of Dopey talking about post-Thanksgiving food insanity, a brownie-topped cheesecake Linda brought home, and his evolving stance on cheesecake as a “real” dessert. He updates the Dopey Nation on the Dopey Fitness Challenge, his failed attempt at jogging with his dog Winnie that ends with him eating pavement, ripping his pants, smacking the dog in frustration, and then feeling guilty about it all week. Dave reads an email from Haley in Mississippi, who loved the Glenis and Billy Strings episodes and promises heavy dopey stories from homelessness, prison, and IV meth. He begs for more voicemails and then plays a chunk of Miles Davis’s autobiography, where Miles describes sliding from snorting heroin into shooting it, realizing he has a habit, and sinking into a four-year “horror show” of heroin and cocaine in New York.

Then Dave introduces Naughty God (Dakota), a heavily tattooed Instagram/TikTok/YouTube creator who built a big following rating nod videos “sportscaster-style.” Dakota tells his story: growing up between a sweet, young mom and a meth-addicted dad, starting drugs at 13 by snorting random pain pills he found in a friend’s brother’s room, and becoming the classic weed-identity kid with a pot-leaf MySpace. He forms the band LAW with his friend Jacob Nowell (Bradley Nowell’s son, who now sings for Sublime), and they grow up playing shows in San Diego and Long Beach while having access to grown-up levels of partying. Dakota falls in love with cocaine in his mid-teens, then with speed, and his using gets him kicked out of LAW when Jacob gets sober and can’t handle him showing up high to everything.

After moving to Orange County, Dakota dives into selling and using coke in San Clemente, then adds Oxy 30s (“blues”), fentanyl pills, and heroin to his daily rotation. He and his tight crew—especially his best friend Robert—live in a constant loop of dealing, partying, and using. Over two months, Robert, Dakota’s cousin, and three other friends all die from fentanyl. The losses break him: he has a mental breakdown, calls his grandma, and checks himself into a San Diego hospital detox, where he’s put on 100mg of methadone and spends years on the clinic grind.

Dakota talks about being on methadone for four–five years, barely using anything else, then deciding—with help from a therapist—that he’ll never fully turn a corner if he stays on it forever. He tapers himself from 100mg down to 4mg over about a year, jumps off, and goes through a long, foggy, uncomfortable withdrawal. He’s now about a year and a half off methadone, occasionally smokes weed, sees a therapist, plays bass in his band Somehow Unseen, and works on content. He and Dave riff on nodding (“my whole life”), nod techniques, fentanyl’s short “legs,” and the economics of why heroin likely won’t “come back” in a big way.

Dakota explains how he built NaughtyGod into a fast-growing account by structuring it like a recurring “show” and inventing/collecting phrases like “Charm City Rainbow,” “Nodwalk Shuffle,” “Baltimore Street Yoga,” “Sheriff of Nottingham” to describe different nod poses. They talk about Instagram flagging and banning drug content, other junkie meme/recovery pages, and how both of them accidentally stumbled into helping people through content that started out as pure jokes and self-centered ambition. They agree to collab on a nod reel, and Dakota shouts out his band and pages.

All that and more on a brand new WEDNESDAY Episode of the good old dopey show!

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to hear the full show! It's a good and fun one! Lots of emails and 

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Billy Strings sits down for one of the rawest, heaviest, and most honest conversations ever recorded on Dopey. In this replay, Billy talks openly about growing up in chaos, losing his dad to heroin at age two, his mom’s crack and meth addiction, violence in the home, poverty, hunger, couch-surfing, and the wild, psychedelic, musical household that shaped him. He walks through the exact moments his childhood shifted from love and music into danger, raids, labs, dealers, and watching addiction take over everyone around him.

Billy tells stories about tweaking with his parents, smoking meth for the first time with his mom, first acid trips, playing guitar for 48 hours straight, metal bands, coke, crack dreams, and the insane scenes he lived through as a kid and teen.

He talks about leaving home at 13, being homeless, trying coke and meth after swearing he’d never do hard drugs, the traumatic first time he did heroin, panic attacks, confronting childhood sexual abuse in therapy, and getting sober from alcohol nine years ago.

Billy also goes deep on losing his mom in 2024, learning she died from meth intoxication, how he found out through the death certificate while on tour in Australia, the confusion, denial, anger, heartbreak, poems she left behind, and the letter from his biological father he discovered after her death — the first time he ever saw his father say he loved him.

He shares what Trey told him about Al-Anon, how he’s been listening to meetings, how his understanding of addiction has completely changed, and his desire to help kids growing up in houses like his.

This is Billy Strings telling his story exactly as he lived it — no hiding, no sugarcoating, and no shame.

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Charlotte joins at around 45 days sober. She talks about early sobriety, feeling scared to fully commit, and using comedy as her “secret life.” She opens up about her old weed habit, quitting cold turkey, partying with boyfriends, and chasing drugs through different phases of her life. She shares some of her craziest stories — including taking LSD and going to family dinners and spending holidays totally high. She and Dave talk recovery, meetings, codependency, boundaries, and finding sober community. They end with Dave’s rapid-fire game (mushrooms vs acid, Beatles vs Stones, heroin vs meth, etc.).

Next, Steve Poltz drops in with a story about the late Todd Snider. He describes getting hotboxed backstage with Todd and Evan Dando at the Ryman, being blasted on secondhand smoke, and going onstage dazed. He recalls Todd’s health decline, his death, and their long friendship.

All that and more on this brand spanking new - post Billy Strings episode of that good old Dopey Show!

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The teaser opens with you explaining the whole point of a Tuesday teaser: push listeners “like little dogs or lemmings” to Patreon, where the full episode lives. You pitch the Wednesday Patreon Zoom, the Saturday Zoom, the Recovery Zoom, the bonus videos and episodes, and joke about your inconsistent track record of scheduling Patreon Zooms.

You welcome the massive influx of Billy Strings fans after the huge episode—Rolling Stone, People Magazine, Yahoo News, and a pile of country sites covered it. You read a handful of Spotify comments reacting to the interview: praise for Billy’s vulnerability, your interviewing, people crying, people relating to losing their mothers, and some teasing about your age and your Soft White Underbelly appearance. You joke about the cinematic episode description likely being written by AI.

Then you play a clip from last week’s recording with Doug, where you two open packages at Katz’s from German Dopey fans. A listener named Saul sends a long, heartfelt note about discovering the show via her boyfriend Jake, who listened to Dopey while working in German vineyards. They sent you spelt (“Dinkle”) cookies. Doug refuses to eat them because he’s convinced they’ll kill him before his hospital appointment. You accuse him of hating “gays and gluten.”

The teaser then cuts to your and Doug’s conversation about Tank Sinatra being the other “bald Long Islander” who recorded in your garage. Doug doesn’t know who he is; you explain Tank’s meme empire, his sobriety, Shark Tank appearance, his refusal to promote your episode, and your petty scorched-earth unfollow.

Next you preview the beginning of the full Tuesday Patreon episode, where you and Doug get into reading Kevin Sherry’s furious anti-AI email. Sherry says AI art is “repulsive,” “lazy,” “morally bankrupt,” “stealing,” and makes you look like you’ve “given up.” You and Doug riff on the bad AI portraits you’ve both received, debate AI vs real art, and joke that Sherry has an “autistic flair,” which Doug mishears and then corrects. Doug argues synthesizers and sampling were also hated when they arrived; you argue AI feels different but still fun to play with.

The teaser ends with you thanking Saul for the cookies, apologizing again to Tank Sinatra for being petty, updating listeners that you now need glasses, and reminding them to join Patreon. You close with “Stay strong… and fucking toodles for Chris,” followed by a bit of a Dopey song.

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This Week on Dopey! Billy Mother Fucking Strings comes on to share his truth! But first Dave meditates, reads spotify reviews, reads an email about premature ejaculation, and a voicemail from Dopey OG Alex on meth, fent and needing makeup! Then Billy joins Dave on Dopey to talk openly about addiction shaping his entire life—from his dad dying of a heroin overdose when he was two, to growing up in houses full of meth use, crack dealers, and chaos, to smoking meth and tripping on acid with his mom as a teenager. He describes leaving home at 13, couch surfing, dropping out of school, playing in metal bands, smoking crack, and eventually getting pulled back toward bluegrass.

Billy talks about how his parents' addiction destroyed stability, how meth “fucked everything up” in his hometown, how he stayed awake for four-day binges while playing guitar with his dad, and what finally made him leave. He also describes the first time he did heroin, why he stopped drinking nine years ago, and how addiction still affects him through dreams and cravings.

He reflects deeply on his mother’s recent death from methamphetamine intoxication, discovering his dad was using too, attending Al-Anon meetings, reading his mom’s poems, and trying to break the cycle for his own son. He also talks about touring arenas, the pressure of success, therapy, panic attacks, being molested as a child, and wanting to help others impacted by addiction.

All that and much more on a wall to wall traumatic tale of how secrets can make us sick! This week and forever on the good old Dopey show!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Dave opens the Tuesday teaser alone in his house, loving the rare quiet and recording next to Susan the snake’s terrarium. He complains about his fancy Rogan-style mic breaking, says he hates stands, and talks about launching “fake meditation shit” because he likes the sound of his own voice.

He previews this week’s Patreon episode: him and Doug in the Honda Pilot “by the bay,” where Dave had a full sneezing meltdown and wound up blowing his nose into his sock for the entire show because he had no tissues.

Dave announces a possible new Dopey schedule:

Monday: standalone interview

Tuesday: teaser

Wednesday: Secret Dopey

Thursday: archived interviews or mailbag

Friday: Dopey

He announces a Patreon Zoom at 9pm.

He then reads an email from a listener named Dave, who realized his sponsor is the guy who made the Firecracker rap for DopeyCon. Dave plays the Firecracker rap and riffs on how good it is, how white recovery rap can be weird, and how much he loves the shout-out to Artie Lange and Chris.

The emailer says he’s 18 months sober and thanks Dave. Dave tells him to send more rap.

Then the teaser cuts to Dave and Doug in the Honda Pilot, roasting each other. Doug calls Dave a homeless person for blowing his nose in a sock. They argue about Rich Roll, Doug’s critiques of Dave’s interviews, Doug’s surgery, Dave’s voice, meditation, and a guy on Soft White Underbelly. Doug claims Dave was needy and weak on his second Rich Roll appearance. Dave pushes back.

All that and not much more on the all new patreon teaser for the good old dopey show.

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This week on Dopey!In this unbelievably heavy episode, Dave sits with Glynis as she unpacks a lifetime of addiction, trauma, and survival that spans Massachusetts, Texas, L.A., jail, pimping culture, meth psychosis, fentanyl, gang life, and ultimately federal prison. Glynis describes early emotional wounds, resentment toward her mother, the “magnet” pull of addiction, and how heroin became the only place she ever felt OK. She talks about couch-surfing and freezing nights in Boston, smoking meth for the first time in Texas, disappearing on multi-day runs, underground game rooms, GHB comedowns, and getting sucked into the world of pimps, sex work, and Money Mike — a relationship built on psychological control, fear tactics, and the twisted logic of “pimp and ho culture.”

Her story escalates into car thefts, robberies, abscesses, neck shots, living in trap motels, being handcuffed to a sink by gang members, and eventually becoming a renegade escort in L.A., buying ounces and then pounds of fentanyl off Skid Row. Glynis explains how she was recruited to smuggle undocumented people across the border — driving a Mercedes with people hidden in the trunk while cartel-connected spotters fed her instructions through Bluetooth. She’s arrested, violently kicks fentanyl in federal custody, falls from a bunk, hits her head, and becomes cross-eyed for months. COVID lockdown hits prison, she begins praying out of desperation, and she’s unexpectedly released early. Dumped into a chaotic men’s sober house, she meets “Jimmy the Poet,” the only sober person there, and for the first time listens when someone suggests recovery. Glynis begins 12-step work, finds community, and slowly becomes a stable, married, sponsoring adult who can finally say she didn’t stay broken forever.

All that and way more on a rough and tough new episode of the good old dopey show!

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join patreon for good extras!

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This Week on Dopey! I'm in Philly at the Rise for Recovery Conference! I was on Soft White Underbelly! I read Spotify comments, and one of the single greatest dopey emails ever! And Old School Dopey Kirby sends in a voicemail about what it means to be an addict. Then we welcome the incredible Roddy Bottum, keyboardist for Faith No More and lead singer/guitar of Imperial Teen, and author of his new book, The Royal We. Roddy talks about growing up gay in a hard-rock world, his early San Francisco punk days, and how Courtney Love briefly joined Faith No More before their friendship and drug use turned dark. He remembers touring with the Chili Peppers, getting arrested for weed, experimenting with heroin, and being surrounded by chaos as Faith No More blew up with “Epic.”Roddy opens up about how addiction and grief collided — the deaths of his friend Cliff, Kurt Cobain, and especially his father, who died of cancer soon after Roddy got sober. He and Dave talk about recovery, guilt, and the weirdness of surviving when so many others didn’t.

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This week on Dopey I met Jeff Ross at Katz’s (he thought I’d be short and fat), go through Spotify comments!

There’s a voicemail from Tom in Oregon about trying to cop dope in Vietnam that goes very gay and sideways. Then there’s a super sweet email from Bailey in Chicago, a recovery coach who just hit five years. I also ramble about Mountainside, Oro Recovery, and Recovery Unplugged, and Recovery.com who all actually help Dopey Nation people when they’re in trouble.

Then Rich Roll comes over to my dad’s apartment. Rich literally just flew back from Japan and tells me his first dopey story about doing a guided psychedelic session in Mexico with psilocybin and MDMA. He talks about family trauma, ego, trying to find grace, love, all that spiritual shit — and somehow makes it sound cool. We talk about AA, time, identity, relapse shame, and podcasting. He’s deep and I’m just interrupting him constantly.

We also talk about music (he’s a Radiohead, R.E.M., Smiths guy — no Dead) and the state of podcasting.

All that plus more on the somewhat AI powered new edition of the good old dopey show.

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MORE! MORE! MORE!

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This week on Dopey! Dave opens the episode feeling sick, dreading his upcoming dental implants, and joking about painkillers, nitrous, and Tylenol PM. He congratulates longtime dopes Margaret Hernandez (36 years sober) and Mattie Veach (recovering from cancer surgery), prays for the Knicks, and introduces guest RJ Elizarraz, co-host of Against All Odds with Rachel Slocum and founder of Oak Forest Recovery.

Before diving in, Dave reads Spotify comments from the Brace Belden episode — about therapy, high memories, Suboxone, and more — gives shoutouts to listeners, and pushes the legendary Dopey socks. He jokes about how each platform reacts differently: Patreon loves him, Reddit hates him, Facebook doesn’t care.

He plays an old Miles Davis clip about Charlie Parker doing drugs and sex in a taxi while eating fried chicken, and finds the recovery moral in it — acceptance is the key. A listener named Nathan from San Francisco sends a disgusting classic: at 12 he cooked and ate his own poop hoping it would make DMT. It didn’t. He puked, got bullied, overdosed, and finally got sober. Dave laughs, calls it top-notch Dopey storytelling, and awards him socks. 

Then comes the main interview with RJ Elizares. They record in RJ’s Westlake Village home — complete with an infrared sauna, cold plunge, and jade crystal massage bed. RJ also runs a marketing agency for medical clients and has a 13-year-old daughter.

RJ tells his story:

Grew up in Westlake, straight-edge nerd playing video games and paintball.

Swore he’d never do drugs, then caved at 15 after a best-friend betrayal.

Smoked weed with his stepbrother, laughed hysterically at Maury Povich, devoured frozen peas, and instantly became “the stoner.”

Started selling weed and stealing paintball gear; pulled off a heist from an optometrist’s back-room store until his stepbrother turned him in for the reward.

Skipped school, bribed attendance clerks with weed, got caught high at a parent meeting, expelled.

At continuation school, excelled while high, manipulated teachers, and got expelled again for lying.

Ran away on a dirt bike, sold weed full-time, then transferred to another continuation school where a rival stabbed him in the arm with a pencil for “selling on his turf.”

Graduated early by testing out, kept selling, moved out, and lived off weed money.

With his girlfriend (later the mother of his daughter) did ecstasy, coke, Xanax, mushrooms, pills — everything but heroin.

She overdosed on ecstasy and stopped breathing before being revived — a turning point moment.

🔍 SEO KEYWORDS

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Dave reads a Spotify comment from Emma about a pork ad and debates if it’s anti-Semitic, then begins a new segment reading from Miles Davis’s autobiography — a vivid story about Charlie Parker pawning Miles’s belongings for heroin.

Next, longtime Dopey Nation member Selby calls in with a story about getting through TSA with weed gummies and ends with “stay strong, Dopey Nation, and fucking toodles for Chris.” Dave laughs about TSA searches, harmonicas being mistaken for weapons, and promises either to play harmonica on the road or stop traveling with it.

The teaser transitions into the Patreon preview with Ray Brown and Dave’s dad, where a discussion about politics erupts — his dad talks about kindness, empathy, immigration, and frustration with leadership. Dave tries to steer it back but ends up apologizing for the tangent. The teaser closes with Dave’s song “I Wanna Be Good So Bad,” a raw, humorous original with lyrics about bad desire, frustration, calling his dad, and seeking peace and love.

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Public apology

Recognizing patterns

being a jerk

LSD

More!

Hipsters!

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Special thanks to Mountainside Recovery for being our title sponsor, LICR for taking in Jay, Recovery.com, RELEASE RECOVERY, The Phoenix House, Wellbridge Recovery, Curious Elixers, Cirque Lodge, Redemption Addiction Treatment Centers, Mike's Amazing Mustard, SoBrewed Coffee, Claire Comai, Rachel Hechtman, Katz's Delicatessen, The Great Cormac, Shortbread Society for the Othello, Janie's Life Changing Baked Goods, Shirley Haperin, My Brother in Law and super amazing producer/stage manager Louis Buelli, Kelly Wills from BRAIN FLOWER DESIGN, Dolmar Pedro, Howard 'Beach', Buksbaum, Danny Ameri, Jason Cabello and Recovery Unplugged, Hardest Working Dope Eric Papa Smurf, Dopey Art Director Britta Borgman, My Cousin Ivy, Ginny, Caroline Dowling, Gil Sachs, Ned Van Zandt, Scott Apgar, Dave Goldweitz, Jim Sondow for coming early and Novak's Video guy Isaac - and anyone ive forgotten please send me an email at dopeypodcast@gmail.com. 

All the folk in the show! (in order of appearance)Adam David, IDGAF FOOD, Kari Nautique, Brandon Novak, Brace Belden, Handsome Evan, Roddy Bottom, Shane Enholm, The Great Ray Brown, My Beautiful  and Brilliant Linda, James Frey,  Hank Azaria, Fentanyl Jay, Lenny from the Beach, Carl Radke, Sam Miller, Alan Manheim

SUPER BIG THANKS TO TOM FREY and all the fucking bums from the BEACH! 

AND MASSIVE SHOUT OUT for all the super dopes who came - you guys are the best - too many to mention but super thanks to MarK F for the record, Jen for the Chocolae and James Glenny for the tireless art and travel!

Special thanks to all Facebook Admins/ Dopey Zoom Hosts/ Arists/ musicians, writers and anyone who has been a part of our weird and wild podcast family. It all is very emotional for me. Especially big thanks to Ben and Melannie for helping out wiith Facebook/META and the struggle that is dealing with them and me.

Super Special thanks to my family! Linda, susan and Norah for putting up with me through the insanity leading up to dopeycon. And super big thanks to my dad alan for sending me down the long horrible road of addiction that lead to recovery and dopey.

Dopeycon is a ton of emotion for me - to see us all come together and have a good time means more than i can share. To hear that Dopey means anything to you is just so special and powerful for me. I know how much it would mean to Chris too. Stay Strong to our brothers and sisters in and out of recovery and fucking toodles for Chris.

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This week on the teaser! We recap Dopeycon, I complain about META shutting down the Dopey FB page, we read an email and Doug goes nuts fat shaming me. It's pretty funny - hear the whole thing on patreon!

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A new kind of Dopey! A kinder, Gentler Dopey? Me and New Yorker Rock Critic, Amanda Petrusich sit down to discuss recovering from grief. Amanda lost her husband suddenly during covid from a random seizure. Hear how Amanda got through it raising their one daughter, Nico alone. Plus some of Amanda's experiences covering Phish, Aerosmith, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan and more!

Plus Ben Croxton's shooting story(but not how you think), a horrible kratom death, and me basking in the adulation of being included in Rolling Stone Magazine! Plus a bunch of other stuff - all here!

Also More on this Dopeycon Eve's offering of the good old Dopey Show!

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Dopeycon tickets:

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thedopeyfoundation/1765668

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He explains anesthesia’s demands (no pain, no memory; muscle relaxants; airway control), the human connection of pediatric anesthesia, and the hope-work of pain management. In 1999, curiosity and stress led him to divert fentanyl: he edited paper records, carried a 2 mL syringe for a month, then IV-used with sterile technique. After a six-week gap he used again, convincing himself he could “handle it.” Use escalated to daily “after work,” leaving him in daytime withdrawal. The department chair paged him about missing fentanyl; instead of punishment, he offered help and a path into California’s 5-year diversion program (treatment, meetings, testing). Giles detoxed cold turkey, went to AA (first meeting mostly doctors), found he wasn’t unique, and built long-term sobriety (nearly 26 years by his telling), learning service and vulnerability through treatment feedback groups.

With sobriety he finished residency, married, had a son, worked in cardiac anesthesia and pain, and then moved into addiction treatment (Malibu), where his science and lived experience met the work. He and Dave range widely: purpose/mission as a recovery engine; Bill W., boomerangs and ants; truth-serum myths; Halsted (cocaine→heroin), Freud letters, Hitler’s amphetamines/opioids (book Blitzed), kratom (mixed withdrawal profiles), benzos vs. opiates (benzo withdrawal = fear), intraoperative awareness & memory, Suboxone vs. abstinence (cast/training-wheels framing), fentanyl’s dominance (counterfeit pills; heroin now rare), and whether fentanyl appears in non-opioid street drugs (he says he’s seen it). ALL THAT AND MUCH MORE ON A BRAND NEW EPISODE OF THAT GOD OLD DOPEY SHOW!

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The teaser isn't great but the actual episode is wicked fiah.

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This week on Dopey! We are joined by old school recovery/addiction legend Johnny Mac! From Queens! But first we learn about Sky Fly in PA, we hear from a benzo addict in the UK and then hear a nice story about Salvia from Loosey in California! Then we get this fuckin Johnny Mac! A 74-year-old New York junkie-turned-AA old-timer, who lays out his wild ride from Woodside Irish Catholic rules to acid-dealing in Ecuador, nodding out on heroin in Queens, and finally finding peace in AA. Johnny talks about his first bag at 16 (while tripping on mushrooms), copping in Bushwick and Harlem, nearly dying on the toilet, watching friends die, and pulling scams from coke hustles to copper wire “mongo.” He tells insane stories from La Perla in Puerto Rico, sneaking bundles on planes, running a Port Authority newsstand, and OD’ing only to chase the same dope the next morning. But through all the chaos, Johnny shares deep reflections on God, spirituality, and why being “stupid enough not to drink and keep showing up” has kept him sober. This one’s pure Dopey gold—equal parts junkie chronicles and spiritual wisdom. 

All that and more! On the good old dopey show!

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This week on tuesday teaser! We rejoice at the release and all around greatness that is the Charlie Sheen Netflix show - AKA Charlie Sheen.

Then we play a tiny smidge of Luc Zarrato from IG's Marathon2sobriety

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This week on Dopey! We are joined by Tik ToK superstar Gabby Eagen! But first we hear some of the notes and comments from last weeks Dopey - we read an email from a Russian film maker heroin addict who used to get high off poppy seeds. The we hear a crazy drug story from a crazy dopey who gopt stung in his eye by a bee! Then we hear from Gabby! Dave chops it up with TikTok creator and tie-dye shop owner Gabby (Gabrielle) Egan. She grew up in Fayetteville, NC; first got high on Triple C’s in middle school and smoked weed at 12; got pregnant at 13; joined the Army at 17 (diesel mechanic) and drank heavy. Fame hit on TikTok during COVID. Two alcohol arrests landed her on TMZ (Vegas blackout/“kicking a cop,” later a Nashville headbutt). In Sept 2024, Rachel from Against All Odds brought her to an AA meeting—Gabby white-knuckled a hotel night with no weed, flew home, and hasn’t smoked or drank since (sober date 9/20/24). She talks bipolar I (diagnosed 21), quitting carts/edibles, withdrawals, motherhood of four (his/hers/ours), pop-up tie-dye hustle, anxiety about meeting followers IRL, and how group accountability (Sober Girls chat) plus sitting in discomfort keeps her straight. She caps it by telling her whole story in 60 seconds. ALL THAT PLUS MORE on a brand new edition of that good old dopey show! 

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An Old Anonymous friend comes through and we talk propofol, guy on guy 69 and other dumb shit. 

PLUS a Canadian EMAIL - is it the end of Dopeycon?

Get tickets to possibly the las DOPEYCON ever - here! 

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thedopeyfoundation/1765668

Listen to the rest of the teaser show here:

www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

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This Week on Dopey! Getting ready for DopeyCon - who is coming? This week on the show we have a voicemail from Matt WC on shooting coke - a riveting kratom email - and then we pay a house call to Tzvi Heber in Los Angeles - of Ascendent Recovery and he shares a not usual Dopey Recovery story starting out deep within the orthodox Jewish community. We cover - Jewish identity, loss, resentment, addiction, recovery, community, basketball, opiates, personal growth, spirituality, addiction, recovery, detox, OxyContin, fentanyl, family, spirituality, gambling, community, self-esteem and how Tzvi got better! Plus gambling kicking and much more on a brand new episode of that good old Dopey show!

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This week on the teaser - i read some emails - reflect on the end of summer and get excited for dopeycon - before handsome evan shows up with his family problems!

Listen at www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

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Montana, OG DOPE, writing in from prison, about smuggling fentanyl and Percs past cops by hiding a bundle between his butt cheeks. Another listener voicemail “Gay for Crack” tells a darkly comedic tale of hustling a guy in Baltimore who offered crack in exchange for sex.

Then Anders Osborne and Bill Taylor (Trombone Shorty Foundation, The Phoenix) recount using and surviving during Hurricane Katrina — a lawless, apocalyptic New Orleans with flooded streets, National Guard, no electricity, and dealers flooding in. Anders tells a jaw-dropping story of stealing a kid’s BMX bike at 4 a.m. to ride six miles to cop from a bug-collecting dealer uptown. Bill shares how Anders helped him find recovery after years of vodka mornings and loneliness.

The episode dives deep into recovery philosophy, spirituality, and Anders’ realization after playing Jerry Garcia’s guitar at Red Rocks that fame and status will never fill the void. They reflect on the “Send Me a Friend” foundation, their bond in recovery, and the meaning of service.

Their segment ends with Anders’ High Sierra butterfly story — a psychedelic nightmare/vision where he stripped naked and flapped around during a String Cheese Incident set on LSD, morphine, cocaine, and Dilaudid. Anders later connected the experience to his mother’s deathbed promise to return to him as a butterfly, making the tale haunting and strangely spiritual.

Then Howard 'Beach' Buksbaum Returns to share about his new black girl AI group 'lux'!

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My Dad is back to talk shit!

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This week on Dopey we celebrate Dopes Heather and Jen! Both with ONE YEAR! We read some emails and I got to sit down with the legend! IDGAF Foods (aka the guy behind eating hot dogs off the floor on Instagram) for a brutally honest trip through his addiction, art, and recovery. From smoking crack at 15 in Manchester, CT, to guzzling buckets of Molly and shards of ketamine out of Kahlua bottles, to swallowing and later digging through his own shit for balloons of drugs, his story is a nonstop circus of chaos. He dodged arrests, hustled Oxy 80s and Hartford heroin, spent $500 a day chasing tar and Roxies in Utah, and somehow never got caught.

Out of the madness came art: digital psychedelia, album covers for major bands, and eventually his IDGAF Foods account—where eating sketchy food became exposure therapy and a way to help addicts. Along the way: scam hustles, OCD hand-washing, sitting in trees at parties to dodge cops, exposure therapy with oat milk, Jimmy Fallon holding up his artwork, and a grandmother calling him an idiot. Now clean since 2012, he’s turned the insanity into purpose, with IDGAF Foods helping people avoid relapse by saying “Don’t Be a Fucking Pussy.”

All that and more on this brand new episode of that good old Dopey Show!

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📋 Show Notes

Teaser/Intro:

Dave’s septic tank explodes into the shower; plumber drama and Beach Club day.

Announces Park City Song Summit panel on “Writing Under the Influence” with Anders Osborne, Anders Beck & Matt Warren.

DopeyCon VI lineup: Ian Fidance, Sam Miller, Jake from WV, Aaron Carr, Ray Brown, Dave’s dad, Linda, Brandon Novak, Hank Azaria, maybe Jason Biggs; tickets via Patreon.

Notes that August 16th (“Dopey Day”) marks Chris’s birthday; urges listeners to put the Dopey logo over their eyes and send photos.

Dopey Day & Listener Messages:

Dave celebrates his own upcoming 10‑year recovery milestone.

Reads emails from Madeline (new listener noticing a story about Chris comforting a driver), Rick from Baltimore (finding out about Chris’s death while in rehab), and congratulates those anniversaries.

Plays voicemails from Jake (63 days sober), Aaron Carr, Ishmael (tongue‑in‑cheek), Ray (suggesting listeners vote for Dave), and more.

Conversation with Annie (Chris’s partner):

Now in California, married with a son and pregnant with her second child; reflects on seven years since Chris’s death.

Describes Chris’s kindness, humor and availability; acknowledges he loved drugs and struggled with sensitivity.

Emphasizes relapse as part of recovery and the dangers of fentanyl; recounts the night he relapsed before a Taylor Swift concert, their fight over driving his sister, and how he died alone.

Urges listeners to care for themselves and others; shares her own experience of losing crippling anxiety after surviving her worst fear.

They laugh about Sammy’s anal glands and joke about Halloween babies versus Christmas birthdays.

Listener Story & Updates:

Kelly tells a story about buying Molly, meth & heroin, shooting up in a motel with toilet water, passing out, and getting arrested on multiple charges.

Dave updates listeners on Fentanyl Jay (alive and in detox), thanks Justin Cambria for helping him, and plugs Mountainside Rehab & Recovery Unplugged.

Kimber calls to remind everyone about SafeSpot (1‑800‑972‑0590); Dave mentions customstickers.com for Dopey merch.

Classic Clip (Dopey 104):

Dave and Chris read emails about Troy’s passing and discuss the dangers of relapse and fentanyl.

Share stories of cheating drug tests: bleach drops in urine, Tide with Bleach Alternative, hiding urine in a rubber duck strapped to one’s groin, etc.

Talk about shooting coke in feet, hitting veins in the neck, life at a brain‑injury clinic.

Dave and Chris banter about ginger beer, advertisers, and their silly battles over “toodles.”

Dave recites a Dumbledore quote: “Help will always be given to those who ask for it,” reminding listeners that recovery works if you do it and nobody has to die.

Honors those who’ve died: Troy, Dave Marshall, Andrew, Colleen, Todd, Chris, Brian Hot Wheels Connolly, Annie Eley, Don, Ryan Leone, and others.

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Septic saga: Dave’s septic tank blows up into the shower; plumber drama ensues.

Park City Song Summit: Dave previews his session with Anders Osborne, Anders Beck and Matt Warren on writing under the influence vs. in recovery.

DopeyCon 6 lineup: Ian Fidance, Sam Miller, Jake from WV, Aaron Carr, Ray Brown, Dave’s dad, Linda, Brandon Novak, Hank Azaria, Jason Biggs, and other “influencers/junkies galore” — tickets on Patreon.

Spotify comments: Fans want comedian Modi at DopeyCon (he probably won’t be there); others complain about teaser paywalls; praise for Patreon content.

Dopey Day: Aug. 16 — put the Dopey logo over your eyes to honour Chris and all addicts who’ve died.

Heart Attack Doug preview: Dave introduces Doug (aka HAD), who’s become a Zoom legend. Topics they plan to cover include:

Johnny Mac, Leonardo da Vinci, breakfast, summer vacations

Finger-picking guitars vs. “finger-banging” jokes

The Dopey Nation, Doug’s “gender fluidity” bit

Fentanyl Jay sightings, the Dopey Handbook, tipping plumbers

Doug’s obsession with cop gear and law-enforcement swag

Closing: Dave invites listeners to join Patreon for extra meetings and ad-free episodes, signs off with “stay strong” and plays the Dopey song “I Wanna Be Good So Bad.”

🔍 SEO/Search terms

Ask ChatGPT

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Annie’s anniversary: Dave marks one year since Annie Ellie died, plays her voicemails and messages, and reflects on how fragile life in recovery is.

Travis’s email: A listener’s relapse saga: he meets a girl at a meeting, falls in love, helps her get sober, then watches the relationship implode into infidelity and emotional breakdown.

Rachel Slocum returns:
• Talks about relapsing, volunteering during Texas floods, and how service triggered a heavy depression; admits isolating in bed and feeling like a “lazy, dirty sewer rat.”
• Finds old PhotoBucket photos showing how skeletal she looked on OxyContin, and discusses body image and denial.
• Chats about being an “influencer” vs. “content creator,” getting her Instagram banned, then restored, and how fragile her self‑worth felt.
• Debates weed: she loves the smell but hates vaping; she and Dave share stories of stoner snacks, weed vaporizers at concerts, and the eternal “crack or heroin?” question in a silly “This or That” game.
• Dave and Rachel riff on Roblox addiction: Dave admits he and his daughters play “Grow a Garden” obsessively, buying seeds and selling veggies like junkies.
• Dave invites Rachel to do stand‑up at DopeyCon and they both nervously laugh about bombing on stage.

Doug Bopst interview:
• From felony to fitness: Doug explains how a cellmate taught him push‑ups and faith, turning jail time into the start of a new life.
• They reboot the Dopey Fitness Challenge: more steps, more protein, less sugar, maybe join a gym — and debate smoothies vs. whole milk, Ozempic vs. ayahuasca.
• They talk Billy Joel: Doug and Dave quiz each other on Billy Joel, Elton John, Zeppelin and Stones song titles; discuss the sadness in Billy Joel’s documentary and question whether he ever really got sober.
• Weed wars: Doug insists today’s high‑THC weed and vaping are dangerous; Dave pushes back with nostalgic stoner stories; they both riff on weed at concerts, edibles, and how weed compares to Ozempic and mushrooms.
• Fatherhood & love: Dave urges Doug to have kids, insisting parenthood gives back more than any high; Doug admits he’s not sure.

You said:

did rachel tell a good drug story?

ChatGPT said:

Stopped after 20 seconds

You said:

vomitting

ChatGPT said:

Worked for 14 seconds

In this episode Rachel doesn’t spin a classic “Dopey‑style” caper involving cops or car crashes, but she does share a vivid slice of what using was like for her: she describes taking Oxycontin, chain‑smoking Newports and puking so much she’d have to ask her boyfriend to pull the car over so she could throw up – once even throwing up in a Red Lobster parking lot right after trying to force down a meal. Those vomiting stories are about as close as she gets to a full‑blown drug tale in this conversation.

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👉 Full Erin Khar episode + DopeyCon 6 tickets only on:

🎟️ www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

📓 Episode Notes:

🐎 Guest: Erin Khar – author, advocate, and recent NYC election winner

🧠 Topics: stigma, recovery, school boards, getting called out, Ask Erin segment

🎂 Dopey Day is August 16 – Chris’s birthday and a day to remember all who’ve died from addiction. Put the Dopey logo over your eyes 🖤

🎤 Dave saw Wilco, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson

🥴 He got mistaken for Ted Cruz

🏋️‍♂️ He’s on a crash keto diet before heading to Park City Song Summit

🎟️ DopeyCon 6 is coming: Ian Fidance, Sam Miller, Erin Khar, Brace Belden, Jake from WV, and more TBA

👩‍🎤 Still looking for another great woman for the DopeyCon lineup

🔥 Patreon is the only place for tickets + full episode: patreon.com/dopeypodcast

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Early Life & Tattoo Beginnings:
JS grew up going back and forth to NYC, starting Fun City tattoo shop in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, working with punk legends, including Iggy Pop and hanging around the Lower East Side near Katz’s Deli. Took over Spider Webb’s tattoo shop and innovated tattoo styles internationally.

Wild Addiction Years:
Struggled with violent, restless addiction in LA, carrying guns, dealing with near-death overdoses, and hitting rock bottom multiple times. Describes being surrounded by tragedy (neighbors dying, violence) while strung out.

First Sobriety Attempts:
Found AA through a phone call, went to meetings while sick and broken, experienced his first sober year full of fear and confusion but connected with a tribe. Stayed sober for 10 years but was still dangerously angry and unstable.

Relapse & Real Surrender:
After years dry but miserable, relapsed hard on speedballs and other drugs. After a near-fatal speedball overdose, sincerely prayed for help for the first time — a turning point that led to a true surrender and lasting recovery.

Spiritual Awakening & 12 Steps:
Recommitted to sobriety at 48, dove deep into 12-step literature and principles, learning the disease was rooted in selfishness, self-centeredness, and insanity, not just substances. Developed a personal understanding of “God as we understood Him” and built a spiritual relationship that restored sanity.

Plant Medicine Experiences:
Explores ayahuasca and ibogaine ceremonies in Brazil and Mexico — the mother and stern general of plant medicines. Describes transformative, often brutal trips, communicating with ancestral spirits, and being a bridge to help suffering souls find peace.

Integration with AA:
Believes his foundation in AA allowed the plant medicine experiences to speak in a language he understood, blending 12-step spirituality with psychedelic healing. Emphasizes these tools aren’t for everyone; people must be called to them.

Writing & Legacy:
Channels his higher self to write influential, raw literature about addiction and recovery. Proud of his work that connects deeply with people facing darkness.

Wild Stories & Encounters:
Remembers meeting Johnny Depp and Hunter S. Thompson, including a hilarious story about buying mummified fingers at a flea market and delivering a sarcastic note to a hotel room.

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📓 NOTES:

Aurora returns to Dopey Tuesday after time away

Dave jokes she’s been "downgraded to Tuesdays"

Aurora just came back from working on Love Island in Fiji

Norah (Dave's daughter) sent Aurora reviews of the show while on vacation

Aurora shares what Fiji was like (sunrises, culture, working overnight)

She didn’t swim under any waterfalls (but wants to)

Dave proposes a spinoff show about the Love Island crew hooking up

DopeyCon 6 updates: Ian Fidance, Sam Miller, Ray Brown, Aaron Carr, Adam David, Linda, Dave's dad, and more

Tickets are only available via Patreon

www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

Meta/Instagram account takedown still weighing heavy

Gratitude for Dopey, recovery, and community

Call for more voicemails, reviews, Dopey Day involvement

Ends with a mystery version of “Good So Bad” — request for the artist to come forward

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Then, a massive deep-dive with Spun writer and speed enthusiast Will De Los Santos. Will shares his life story: being the child of a statutory rape, watching his stepfather survive a gunshot suicide attempt, freebasing coke with his half-brothers, and falling into crank addiction while making a UCLA film school reel. He explains how crank fueled his creativity and led to writing Spun, how he got high in Jason Schwartzman’s trailer, and how Bob Dylan lit his cigarette outside a Santa Monica boxing gym. He also opens up about relapsing after 8 years clean, the damage to his relationship with his ex Weiwei, and his long climb back through Oro, Betty Ford, and sober living—with support from Jay Mohr.

Will’s new project Spaghetti is a recovery redemption story born during his relapse, and he’s now 8 months sober and ready for a new life.

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This week in the Teaser! We just got back from a beautiful family vacation, but it started on a heartbreaking note—our friend Don “DJ” Rentz died. I’ve known Don for nearly a decade. He was a real part of the Dopey family, and losing him shook me. Then today, we found out Ozzy Osbourne died too. Somehow that hit hard as well—he was such a part of the world Dopey lives in. And just days before, he got to play this massive farewell show. It’s wild how fast life moves.

In the middle of all this, Meta took down the Dopey Instagram. Ten years of dumb memes, serious moments, milestones, and memories—just gone. I know it’s just a page, but it’s frustrating to see how little the bots understand what we do. We talk more about it on the full Patreon show.

I also reflect on the trip—hiking with my kids, seeing wolves and geysers, and even running into a Dopey fan in Yellowstone. Selby and I get into all of it: the loss, the joy, the weird beauty of it all. Plus: DopeyCon 6 is coming October 4th in NYC. If Dopey has meant something to you, we’d love to see you there.

Follow the new Instagram @thedopeypodcast, leave a review, tell a friend. And as always—stay strong Dopey Nation, and fucking toodles for Chris.

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This week on Dopey! It's ChrisMiss Time Again - and we remember Chris and think about what we've lost in our latest ChrisMiss episode. We are joined by Ted and Colin—two of Chris’s closest friends—for a long, emotional, laugh filled but ultimately tragic journey through grief, memory, relapse, recovery and death. They recount wild and deeply human stories of Chris: his powerful magnetism,  his “whatevs” persona, and the time he hugged a drunk driver who had just killed someone. Then, we go deep into Chris’s relapse, the shame that may have surrounded it, and the fear of losing connection.

From Mountainside to Katz’s Deli, from a poetry slam to the drunk tank, from legacy to myth to bionic legs traded for heroin—this episode is everything that made Chris unforgettable. PLUS: a classic Dopey voicemail from Tim in Philly involving coke, Cookie, and crackhouse head, and a replay of Episode 71 with Chris. It all ends with the classic version of “Bad Card” and a full-circle Dave and Chris musical outro. Stay strong Dopey Nation, and fucking toodles for Chris.

Opening:
Dave recalls Dave Marshall, the first Dopey community member to die. Dave, Chris, and Dave Marshall once recorded a now-lost episode that ended in a bizarre fight—possibly because Chris was trying to impress Marshall.

Talking Grief:
Dave asks Colin and Ted how they grieve Chris. Colin mentions laughing at dumb things and feeling like Chris is still there. Ted recalls vivid dreams where Chris walks him through his relationship with his wife, like a ghostly Scrooge-style guide. The dream was so powerful he woke up crying.

Dreams of Chris:
Dave shares that Chris is always dead in his dreams, and that he recently had one with both Chris and his mother (also deceased). Chris always knows he’s gone in the dream—making them painful but powerful.

Trend of Death:
The conversation shifts to the changing trends of death in recovery: less overdoses, more suicides, including people they knew.

Settlers of Catan:
Chris’s obsession with the Settlers board game—cheating newbies, logging fake wins on a wooden log, and playing alone while stacking stats. The actual Settlers Log might be lost.

Connection & Community:
Colin reflects on connection as the heart of Dopey and recovery. Chris embodied that connection for many.

Why Did Chris Relapse?
They dive into theories around Chris’s relapse:

He was doing well—finished his master’s, in a stable relationship, BTN job picking up.

Dave wonders if Chris thought the promises of recovery would be better high.

Colin and Ted say Chris might’ve feared losing relationships if he admitted he was using.

Shame and stigma—not about being an addict, but about breaking the recovery identity—were likely massive.

Chris’s Persona:
“Whatevs” was Chris’s favorite line, but everyone agrees—he actually cared a lot. He just didn’t want people to know.

Origin Story:
Chris and Dave met at Mountainside, where Chris became Dave’s “Eskimo”, showing him that 12-step worked.
Chris used to visit Katz’s Deli to impress Dave and his girlfriends.
They texted or talked every single day from 2015 to the day Chris died.

The Fatal Crash Story:
Ted and Chris are en route to a poetry slam when they stumble on a deadly car crash—they are first on scene.

Ted goes into shock.

Chris takes action—calls 911, finds a guy with smashed legs, then chases the drunk driver into the woods.

The driver is blackout drunk, crying, and doesn't know what happened.

Chris hugs the man, tells him he killed someone, and holds him as he cries.

Later, Chris keeps in touch with the man, who is sentenced to 30 years in prison. It was his seventh DUI.

Synchronicity:
A year later, Chris relapsed. Ted and Colin had to call the cops on him.
The same officer from the crash scene showed up to arrest Chris and put him in the drunk tank.

Chris’s Duality:
Dave sums it up: “We’re the same people who kill people. We’re the same people who help people. And we can turn up totally wasted again at the drop of a dime.”

Recovery Today:
Ted no longer goes to meetings. He stays clean through fatherhood, meditation, self-help, spirituality, and service.
Colin is still active in both 12-step and Dharma recovery, running meetings and staying connected.

The Island & The Source:
They call the Berkshires “The Source” (or “the island from Lost”) and reflect that Chris might have needed to stay there.

Dopey Origins:
Ted recalls Chris calling Dave from their house, excited about starting something.
They joke about Ted’s long resistance to appearing on Dopey, and how his job working with kids made him hesitant to be publicly associated with drug stories. He recently shared his full story with his students.

Legacy of Chris & Dopey Growth:
Dave reflects on how Chris’s death helped grow the show in ways that feel bittersweet.
Ted and Colin say they thought Dopey was “so dumb” when it started but now are blown away by what Dave’s done with it.

Robot Legs Story:
Ted shares a picture of Chris’s titanium leg braces, used to treat ankle issues from drinking.
Chris once tried to trade the $5,000 robotic legs for heroin—the dealer said no.

Cookie & Classic Dopey Returns:
Dave plays a classic voicemail from Tim in Philly:

Shoots coke in Kensington

Reggie and Cookie join him

Reggie says Cookie gives “the best head”

Tim says no, but once the coke hits—he caves instantly

They do the drugs in Reggie’s mom’s house, possibly

Classic filthy, funny, dark Dopey stuff

Throwback to Dopey Episode 71:
Dave plays a full classic Chris segment:

Shooting coke

Euphoric recall

Lego hot dog stands

Meeting speakers

“Built-in forgetters”

Chris’s obsession with scale, smell, and push

“Favorite part was waiting for the rush before it hit”

Final Thoughts:
Dave shares how much he misses Chris.
Notes the podcast would not exist without him.
Chris is still part of it every week.
Reflects on his old sponsor telling him “you have to step over bodies,” which he rejected.
Chris’s death has saved lives.
Dopey grew because of him—but Dave would trade it all to have him back.

🔍 Cut-and-Paste SEO Terms (225 max):

pgsql

CopyEdit

Chris Miss Dopey, remembering Chris Dopey, Ted and Colin Dopey, fatal crash Chris story, Chris relapses Dopey, Settlers of Catan log, bionic leg heroin story, robot legs Dopey, Dave Marshall Dopey, grief in recovery, fentanyl overdose, Kensington crack story, Tim from Philly Dopey, Cookie blowjob story, coke and crack stories, Mountainside rehab, Dharma recovery, whatevs Chris Dopey, classic Dopey 71, euphoric recall coke, relapse shame, Dopey legacy, hugging a killer, Dopey grief episode, Dave and Chris podcast, drunk tank, poetry slam crash, relapse identity, Dopey history

Let me know if you want pull quotes, clip ideas, titles for segments, or Patreon teaser copy next.

And one last time:
Fucking toodles for Chris.

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www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 

📓 Detailed Notes:

Dave opens the teaser from somewhere in the Rocky Mountains — unless he was “eaten by a grizzly, mountain lion, or fell off a cliff.”

It’s Chris Miss week, so he’s been grinding hard, producing five Dopey episodes in a row, and is totally wiped out.

Packing panic:
Dave’s mother-in-law shows up last minute to micromanage their family’s trip prep.

Real ID confusion:

Dave talks about the new airport policy requiring a "Real ID."

TSA claimed his wasn’t valid during the Dopeywood trip to California.

Linda’s mom warns that they might not be able to fly — even though Dave just did.

Dave reflects on the term “feature,” Long Island lingo for added elements on an ID.

The teaser transitions to the Patreon episode with Kimber King.

Kimber is drinking Red Bull White Peach, proudly showing off her case (not a “slab”).

Dave and Kimber talk energy drink habits:

Kimber hates sugar-free versions.

Dave recalls Jolt Cola—“twice the sugar and all the caffeine.”

Dave explains the chaos of prepping for the trip, stockpiling content for while he’s gone.

They discuss a Dopey Nation relapse shared on the recent Patreon Zoom:

A “well-known” community member (unnamed) has relapsed and is looking for treatment.

Dave calls it heartbreaking. Kimber says it’s sad, but this is the nature of addiction.

They agree that both things can be true: it’s sad and it’s also the reality of the disease.

Kimber seems a little off, and Dave teases her about being nervous. She denies it.

Dave recalls Kimber’s last appearance, when she said she was craving coke for Christmas.

Tease ends with:
👉 “Did Kimber shoot coke for Christmas?”
➡️ To find out, join the Patreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

Dave closes with:

“It’s hard to prepare.”

“Hard to deal with children.”

Sarcastic gratitude affirmations:

“I love my life. I love my family. I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, my life is good.”

Final words:

“Love is the answer. Let your freak flag fly.”

“Stay strong, my brothers and my sisters, in and out of recovery.”

“Join Patreon.”

“Fucking toodles for Chris.”

“Wish us luck out there.”

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Jeannine talks about doing meth that was pink, accidentally getting strung out at 30, and finding herself in a cinderblock junkie jungle gym run by tweakers. She reflects on her arrest record, her failed attempts at controlled drinking, and how it all somehow led to a decade of recovery, a podcast, and a TED Talk on post-traumatic growth. 

PLUS: a touching email from a listener who outran the cops with a trunk full of weed and somehow lived to tell the tale. A beautiful PCP voicemail and much much more on a brand new epiksode of that good ol Dopey Show!

Don’t forget: DopeyCon 6 tickets are out on Patreon. Leave a review. Send a voicemail. And follow us on youtu

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Dave’s on vacation in the Rockies, losing sleep and dreaming hard

Doug thinks group conscience is sacred — unless he doesn’t like the chairperson

The “prison walk” AA escape plan explained

Bobby Lee controversy & Reddit backlash gets a nod

Ray the Clammer's sandwich wisdom returns

Doug wants stilettos and a thong; Dave wants out of the meeting

Outro includes the classic Dopey song + shoutouts

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💔 Emergency Dopey Episode from vacation in Montana

🕊️ Remembering Don Renz aka DJ – friend, guest, Dopey Nation member

📞 Don’s sister calls Dave from his hospital bedside

🚨 LAPD investigating Don’s death after an alleged assault in Koreatown

📣 Please share Don’s brother Maxwell’s Facebook post

👮‍♂️ Don's final days: fear, paranoia, and meth-induced delusions that turned out to be tragically real

📼 Classic 2016 Dopey: Don, Chris, and Dave—one of the best ever

💊 Don’s insane story: stealing 1,000 Vicodin from a pharmacy at 17

💉 Morphine, fentanyl patches, forged scripts, rehab on his 18th birthday

🍰 Vicodin in his pocket, methadone tales, sadness and hilarity

🧠 Recovery, methadone, relapse, and deep reflections

🕯️ RIP Chris, Ryan, Todd, Annie, Troy, Brian, William... and now, Don.

🙏 If you're using or struggling, please get help. 

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This week on Dopey! Up and coming Comedy and podcasting Legend Ian Fidance enters the Dopeysphere! Ian brings the old school serious alcoholic dopey. He takes us from his straight-edge ska band days in Delaware to waking up blue-faced in a pile of vomit after huffing computer duster. We hear how a fifth-grade beer led to a full-blown romance with vodka, coke, and gay bars across New York. Ian talks about his failed teaching career, multiple stints in rehab and Oxford Houses, drinking mouthwash, and why he once thought handing in his AA coins at a bar would earn him a free drink.

PLUS  ska vs. hardcore, Howie’s AI R&B girl group Lux, living in halfway houses, and relapsing in your dorm room after writing a goodbye letter. They go deep into grief, comedy as higher power, relapse logic gymnastics, and getting sober without getting spiritual—then finding your way back. Bonus points for a great round of the Dopey game (BossTones vs. Less Than Jake, LSD vs. Mushrooms), Ian’s insane DUI story, and an epic takedown of Katz's vs. Sarge’s. Plus: voicemails, God talk, stolen AA basket money, and more!

All that and much, much more on this brand new, old school episode of that good ol dopey show!

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📓 Episode Notes

Dave’s prepping for a huge family vacation to Utah → Lava Hot Springs, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons (mispronounced as Tetones).

A brutal East Islip dance recital leads Dave to declare: “Kicking heroin is better than this.”

Susan’s performance was great — but spaced out by 3 hours of toddler dance hell.

Revelation: No more long-ass Dopey events. DopeyCon will be 90 minutes max.

Dinner with Linda, the kids, and Dave’s dad → awkward French lesson about “Tetons” = breasts.

Farmer’s market trip → meat sticks, truffle cheese, overpriced smoothies, and the dreaded $5 guilt energy bar.

Dave chips a tooth on said bar → questions mortality and suspects maybe someone else’s tooth was in the bar.

John Bucati appears to talk about New Orleans, sampling, and Life of Pi → Dave calls bullshit and reminisces about watching it high on Grand Street.

Announcement: July 24th is Chrismiss in July, August 16 is  Dopey Day (Chris’s birthday).

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Listener email highlights reactions to the Bobby Lee episode and Reddit backlash.

New Zealand listener Lily calls in with an epic pill-shelving story that ends in her robbing herself.

Musical guest Adam David performs Needle and the Damage Done.

Dave brings out comedian Moshe Kasher, who goes in on ayahuasca, porn ghosts, parenting trauma, and crowd work chaos.

Jason Cabelo celebrates 9 years sober and gets a Dopey coin live.

Annie Lederman joins the Stashword game and later performs a hilarious and filthy stand-up set: mimosa nicknames, AA slogans, drunk driving, IVF, sperm quality, and her fiancé’s hair pills.

Jack Osbourne, Moshe, and Dave discuss Bobby Lee’s no-show, ghost stories, and ayahuasca in recovery.

Rich Roll, Bob Forrest, and Erin Khar debate medication-assisted treatment, trauma, psychedelics, and life transformation.

Amy Dresner tells her infamous coke-and-bike-helmet story live with Dave.

More Stashword, audience chaos, and Dopey Nation shoutouts.

Shane Enholm performs Mud Pies.

Dave ends with a singalong of I Wanna Be Good So Bad and a heartfelt farewell to Ray the Clammer.📝 Episode Notes:

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Dave's up at 5:30 AM with no sleep aids but hopelessly hooked on s’mores

Father's Day gift: a $40 crackhead s’mores hot plate from his daughter

Microwave s’mores vs. monstrosity s’mores — full breakdown

Massive processed sugar binge: Rice Krispie s’mores, Yaso bar, and Linden’s cookies

Full Dopey morning: prayer, meditation, AA, garbage duty, and Susan’s lunch rescue

A teaser for the Damon Baker episode (photographer + filmmaker)

Sweating at Katz’s and plotting the return of the Dopey Fitness Challenge

Bobby Lee Reddit drama: deleted thread accusing Dave of racism

Selby explains how Reddit mods can still see deleted posts

Solstice hippie parade recap from Selby’s island in the Pacific Northwest

Backyard lawn mowing pride and skin-smoothing conspiracies

Full Dopey intro song performance to close it out

“Stay strong, Dopey Nation, and fucking toodles for Chris.”

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Listener emails: brutal black tar vein damage stories (toes, dick, and yes, arteries) plus a chilling NJ dope shack bust and snowstorm cigarette hike

Dad’s odd updates on protests, bad golf, AI school drama, and swampy lakes

Behind-the-scenes Dopey studio chaos, show length fights, and hyped DopeyCon 10-year party plans with Sam Miller confirmed

Bobby Lee jumps in: stealing beers from his dad, shooting meth at 12, and that unforgettable speedball masturbation session in a medical book aisle

Childhood trauma under a strict Korean roof, bullying, and how drugs became his escape hatch

First rehab at 16, early sobriety struggles, and the surreal calm he found in AA meetings and art museums

Finding comedy through AA shares and improv; the jump to MADtv and flopping hard

The infamous Vicodin withdrawal meltdown — shitting his pants on set and all the chaos that came with it

Deep dive into porn addiction, how it fucked his relationships, and the brutal relapse after losing his dad

Spiritual battles — wrestling with God’s will vs self-will, plus tales of bizarre AA characters like oxygen tank old guys in Oklahoma

Closing with a no-holds-barred “This or That” game: meth vs heroin, jerking off rules, and the legendary beef chip story

Bobby’s raw reflections on relapse, fame, and carving out peace in a messy, fucked-up life

My dad comes on to update the nation and to kind of ruin a classic episode

🔍 Searchable Terms

Bobby Lee relapse
Bobby Lee sobriety
MADtv Bobby Lee
Bobby Lee Vicodin withdrawal
Bobby Lee meth addiction
Bobby Lee porn addiction
Bobby Lee Korean family trauma
Bobby Lee shitting pants story
Dopey Podcast Bobby Lee
Bobby Lee AA stories
Bobby Lee comedy origin
Bobby Lee improv
Bobby Lee “This or That” game
Dopey Podcast raw recovery
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David Manheim Bobby Lee interview
DopeyCon 10 year
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AA weirdos Oklahoma
Bobby Lee beef chip story

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Doug’s back! In the Subaru, in the parking lot.

Dave’s depressed because his dehumidifier sucks.

Reddit trolls say the teaser and YouTube are trash.

Dave reads feedback, gets defensive, then promotes Patreon.

Harley Flanagan story: punk rock prodigy, molested, violent, stabbing at CBGBs, Rikers, Cro-Mags beef.

Dave fantasizes about reuniting Harley and John Joseph on Dopey.

Doug critiques AA meetings, newcomers double/triple dipping.

Dave freaks out about not getting full share time.

Pete gives “God morning” texts to everyone except Dave.

Dave volunteers to bring cake but refuses to serve it.

Ice cream talk: Ninja Creamy, protein sorbet, and Ghirardelli brookies.

Email shoutouts: Esteban the weed-brained Sinatra singer, Kitty Cat Collins, and Lou on Fentanyl Jay.

Final thoughts: you can't get someone sober unless they want it, and Dave didn't take sleep aids for one night.

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Dopeywood!

Note about Todd

A  voicemail from a listener in Mexico: “¿Qué pasó David?”

Email about a guy sober off weed and a listener who relapsed on shrooms and weed.

Dave reflects on the cyclical pain of relapse in the Dopey Nation.

Jessie G Segment

“I formed like a make-believe relationship with him [Chris].”

Jessie first listened to Dopey while working hotel jobs in 2018.

“Early recovery sucks no matter which way you cut it.”

“I was doing kratom and still eating acid in sober living.”

She felt totally alone — “My roommates were gone, I was just in my house.”

“I had to threaten suicide one night to get help.”

“I think I would make a fine crackhead.”

“I was just in my room with my foils.”

“I was on probation… and doing really well… but using at the same time.”

“I ended up getting arrested in Scranton.”

“The methadone detox was the easiest of my life.”

“I got a new number and was like, perfect.”

“I was living a double life — one part spiritual, one part crazy.”

“I was like, just give me a fucking bag.”

Describes traveling while using: “I could see in my mind’s eye the hotel we were in.”

“COVID made it easy to disappear.”

“Kensington was a wake-up call.”

“I want a real life.”

Todd Curry Tribute with DK

“He was just a spark, man… I love Todd a lot and I miss him.”

“He personified fun. If fun was a person, it was Todd on drugs.”

“Do you think I beat a dead horse with Todd? I just can’t stop honoring him.”

Dave introduces the term “Todd Shot” — Dopey Nation’s version of a “God Shot.”

DK agrees to come back next year with stories of getting high with Todd.

Dave invites listeners to submit Todd memories or tributes.

Outro

Reflections on the importance of recovery: “It’s the greatest thing I have in my life.”

Outro song: “One More” by Rocker T

“Stay strong Dopey Nation and fucking toodles for Chris.”

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Mid-century modern hotel confusion

Jason Cabello returns! Recovery Unplugged + Toxicology podcast

Magic Mind and mushroom mishaps 🌿🍄

Kraboxone™: Kratom + Suboxone fusion 🧪

Dopeywood recap: triumphs, drags, tech fails

Dave’s LA meth story and forgotten tribute to Todd 💔

The Stash Word disaster (and why it’s still fun)

DM from a coke addict trying to detox 💬

A musical finale + shoutout to Scott Wick the rap god 🎶

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DOPEYWOOD COMING!

AWESOME EMAILS AND VOICEMAILS!

ABBEY:

Postpartum anxiety and getting prescribed benzos

Her first time using heroin — in sober living

Moving back to Pittsburgh with her dad to get her life together

Building a YouTube following with her daughter Myla

Dealing with fame, trolls, and the dark side of "sober influencer" culture

Why she stopped posting her daughter online

Setting boundaries in co-parenting

The emotional side of recovery, relapse, and internet backlash

Her evolving relationship with recovery, privacy, and motherhood

🦪 Part 2: Ray the Clammer – A Tribute

Growing up on the South Shore, catching clams with his feet

First time freebasing: “My heart exploded. I fell to my knees. It was great.”

Ten years of coke dealing, freebasing, and losing everything

Smoking away all the product, burning bridges, losing his union job

Homeless in NYC, sleeping under Port Authority, working “security” for a pimp named Otis

Suicidal thoughts in the subway tunnels

The moment he didn't jump, and got back on the train to Long Island

Brought home by police as a missing person

Finds NA, relapses, gets honest — and stays sober from 1993 until his death

Devoted to service: rides, hotlines, detox speaking, always showing up

Passed away with 30 years clean — this recording was his goodbye gift to Dopey Nation

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Dave compares Doug’s Memorial Day scare to Ray the Clammer’s UTI-induced brain fog

Ray heads to rehab; Dave wants to publish a book of Ray quotes

Doug calls the meeting a “beginner’s asylum”; Dave defends the newcomers

Rule 62, “start your day over,” and other Rayisms get debated

Dave reflects on dirt, struggle, red cardinals, and the poetry of recovery

Bagel store confrontation: Dave rolls his eyes and almost gets whacked

Reddit backlash: Dave reads Dopey Nation critiques of teaser format

Fans on Reddit defend the show and say the $5/month is worth it

Dave tweaks the teaser style and explains his morning social media ritual

Mentions of Dopey Zooms and upcoming Patreon Zoom night

Dave teases birthday content for a future episode

Shoutout to Scott Wic aka The Rap God

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First Shot: A friend made him do it for free—"Misery loves company"—then couldn't stop

OD Stories: OD'd twice in one day—once behind the wheel on FDR, once after snorting Bronx bags, woke up in hospital, ripped tubes out, lied about asthma

Mom's Heart Attack: 4 days after OD, mom has a heart attack from stress

Hustles: Selling weed, flipping Suboxone, scamming friends, "like a credit card"—balances, fronts, juggling

Jam Band Scene: Heavy on acid, ketamine, nitrous, Calvin Klein (coke + K), LSD handling mishap at Camp Bisco led to paranoia for a week

Methadone Clinic Madness: Working in the clinic, finding crack pipes, wild characters, hustles in the waiting room

Recovery Pivot: Got clean after the ferry breakup, went to White Deer Run, cut methadone taper on day 3, Old Testament-level detox, started working the 12 steps, counselor Heath changed his life

Working in Treatment: From the methadone clinic to Ascendant, saw the whole spectrum

Writing: Wrote Slingshot Diaries in Maryland, self-published hundreds of copies, found purpose

Reflection: Raw honesty, doesn’t glorify but doesn’t hide it either—“thank God for grace and mercy”

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🧠 Touring with Shane MacGowan and snorting meth off his thumbnail

🏨 Destroying hotel rooms across Australia (banned from Quest Apartments!)

💡 20 years in recovery: why Steve stopped going to meetings

🎤 Using music and stage time to carry the message

😡 Dave and Steve debate Bob Weir and John Mayer (spoiler: Dave hates Bobby)

💩 Dorm blackout story: naked in the hallway

💌 Emails from South Africa, 10-year sober milestones, kratom struggles

🏀 Knicks fan rant with Devin, post-loss meltdown

🕍 Jewish guilt, moil trauma, and the power of a Nashville Seder

🎵 Poltz performs “Shine On” live + bonus track at the end

📦 Shoutout to Poppasmurf for shipping Dopey merch

📣 Thanks to Oro Recovery, Mountainside, Recovery Unplugged, Safe Spot, and CustomStickers.com (use code DOPEY20)

🎨 Dopey art shoutouts: Brita, Piz, Edward, James Glennie, Chrissy, and all the Dopey Nation Zoomers

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🧬 Coke, klonopin, benzos, nodding out mid-Xbox match, screaming at his roommate

📦 Upper West Side methadone clinic and snorting dope on the Staten Island ferry

📸 Starting “@immaeatthis” on a subway ride—going viral, getting paid, and staying sober

🧸 Emotional amends, dumb lies (Blackwater contractor? really?), and hope through service

🎉 Dave celebrates Susan’s 7th birthday with a musical performance

📨 Emails from Montreal bus drivers, Bayshore pill seekers, and Dopey lifers

🧦 Send in a voicemail = socks? Maybe. Stickers? Definitely.

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Dave vs. “New York City Dave”

Shout out to Boston Dave G (but still, fuck Boston)

Is The Last of Us now just lesbian Eat Pray Love?

Getting recognized on the street (and overstaying the moment)

Ray's Grindr adventures: “I clean toilets and give BJs”

Anti-aging meds, eye lifts, and midlife crisis merch drops

Music segment: “Good So Bad” live from the studio

Dopey Wood lineup updates: Darrell Hammond OUT, the rest still IN

Come to DopeyWOOD!— tickets are free!

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🌸 Family Time: Dave spends the day with his daughter Susan, planting flowers and reflecting on fatherhood.

🧂 Mustard Seed Parable: Conversation with Mike’s Amazing Mustard leads to a deeper discussion about hope in recovery.

🚨 Josh C. Update: Following a drug task force raid, former Toodles for Chris scholarship recipient Josh Clark is arrested for meth, LSD, and DMT but secures a scholarship to Divided Sky rehab in Vermont.

🤖 AI Frustrations: Dave vents about ChatGPT fabricating a story about Chris smoking crack out of a shrimp shell – a made-up detail that cost him money in clip production.

📞 Prison Voicemail from Polly: Shocking account of sharing needles with hundreds of inmates, smuggling ass tobacco, and the grim reality of hepatitis spread in prison.

🎤 Sam Miller’s Story:

Childhood trauma and gas huffing at age six.

Selling liquid LSD drops at 15, including putting acid directly into his eyes.

Meth addiction while working at a puppy mill, witnessing a MRSA outbreak that killed puppies.

Suicidal thoughts and a near-death experience involving a stolen car and being tied to a chair by a best friend.

Clarity moment: Waking up under a tarp, realizing his life was in shambles, and walking miles to his mom’s house to beg for help.

Early recovery: Living in a trailer, reading books by the light of a Game Boy, and attending multiple 12-step meetings daily.

Sam’s rise in comedy, the first open mic feeling like the first high, and the healing power of storytelling.

Friends lost to overdose, including the haunting phone call from Justin pretending to shoot himself.

🎭 Sam on Comedy: Finding the sweet spot between dark humor and trauma, and how comedy became his new addiction.

🚀 Dopey Wood Announcement: Dopey Wood event in four weeks – tickets are free for Dopey Nation.

🧦 Dopey Merch & Sponsors: Shoutout to customstickers.com, where Dopey Nation can get 20% off using code Dopey20.

🔥 Closing Segment: Dave reminds listeners to leave a review, join Patreon, and stay strong, Dopey Nation. Toodles for Chris.

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