Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction

Timestamp Notes 00:00 – Good Morning Dopey / Dopey Wednesday intro song. 01:14 – Dave opens the show and announces the unofficial Dopey theme song challenge. 02:20 – Film Festival is two days away; Dave encourages people to come if they still can. 02:55 – Father’s Day rant: dads texting other dads “Happy Father’s Day.” 04:20 – Dave calls his father Alan live for Father’s Day. 05:15 – Alan weighs in on masculinity, texting, and modern fatherhood. 08:30 – Dave and Alan discuss the Knicks winning the championship. 10:25 – “Post-acute Knicks withdrawal” and Dave compares fans rewatching clips to “licking the bag.” 12:35 – Knicks parade talk, Mamdani speech, Dolan, and school bus chaos conspiracy jokes. 16:10 – Knicks roster talk: Robinson, Diowara, Shamet, Clarkson, second apron. 17:45 – Alan talks about coming to the Dopey Film Festival and bringing a crew. 19:25 – Dave explains Film Festival schedule: food, Mountainside intro, films, comedians, panel, Q&A. 20:00 – Patreon comments from Todd’s sister Allie episode. 20:35 – Listener asks why Dave debated putting out the Allie episode. 21:00 – Comments about Todd, Linda, Maggie the pit bull, and dreams about Todd. 22:20 – Spotify comments about Todd’s family, the apartment, and grieving. 23:10 – Dave describes Todd’s tiny Upper East Side studio, Murphy bed, bong hits, 720, and toaster oven food. 24:35 – Dopey socks explanation: send a voicemail/email or join $15 Patreon. 25:00 – Dave introduces the live YouTube/Workit Health event with Amy Dresner. Amy Dresner / Workit Health Interview 25:45 – Max from Workit Health introduces the event and Workit’s telehealth addiction care. 27:05 – Max introduces Dave, Dopey, Amy Dresner, My Fair Junkie, and recovery storytelling. 29:30 – Dave corrects the download number: 23 million, not 10 million. 30:15 – Dave and Amy remember her first Dopey appearance with Chris. 31:30 – Todd came over during Amy’s first interview; later nodded out after using heroin. 33:00 – Amy talks about her next book proposal: long-term recovery when life still falls apart. 34:35 – Amy describes losing her father, mother, and cat, epilepsy returning, losing work/housing, and staying sober. 35:35 – Amy talks suicidal thoughts, medication changes, and checking herself into the psych ward. 37:15 – Amy’s psych ward intake: false promises of good food, coffee, and comfort. 38:15 – Amy gets a crush on a young nurse and meets seriously mentally ill patients. 39:50 – Amy as “teacher’s pet” in psych ward groups. 40:40 – Entering the psych ward with ten years sober. 41:30 – Amy takes notes because the whole thing is material. 42:25 – Rexulti, antipsychotics, medication issues, and sleeping all day. 43:30 – Amy admits she was the oldest and most out-of-control person there. 44:20 – Amy talks grief, rage, Colonel Puff, her mother, and losing too much at once. 45:25 – Amy explains the vagus nerve stimulator for epilepsy. 46:20 – Battery in the chest, choking fetish joke, and doctors not knowing what to do with her. 47:15 – Amy learns her epilepsy may not have been self-inflicted by drug use. 48:20 – Meth, coke, seizures, and why Amy shot coke but not meth. 49:05 – Classic Amy story: wearing a bike helmet while shooting coke for harm reduction. 50:45 – Dave and Amy discuss harm reduction, 12-step, MAT, and staying alive. 53:10 – Amy says addiction is not a moral issue and harm reduction keeps people alive. 54:35 – Dave talks about methadone, projection, and assuming everyone on MAT was also using. 56:20 – Amy’s UCLA epilepsy unit stay: tied to the bed, electrodes, seizure monitoring. 58:45 – Amy has multiple grand mal seizures in the hospital. 01:00:30 – Doctors restart her VNS, try Depakote, and Amy pukes all night. 01:02:00 – Isolation in Lake Hollywood, inability to drive, social anxiety, and trying to write the book. 01:03:25 – Amy’s agent pushes for a stronger proposal and more vivid writing. 01:04:35 – Writing as survival: “If you can make it into a story, you can live through it.” 01:05:35 – Amy says she blew her best stories in My Fair Junkie. 01:06:20 – Dave and Amy talk about the importance of a second book about sobriety when life stays hard. 01:07:15 – Depression, dual diagnosis, epilepsy medication, and Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs. 01:09:30 – Amy has a seizure while running a meeting and gets taken off the schedule. 01:10:25 – Dopeywood, epilepsy fear, and Amy winning the Stash Word contest. 01:11:00 – Dave asks how Amy gets through daily life with isolation and illness. 01:13:00 – Amy talks writing, money, body dysmorphia, and doing video work. 01:14:30 – Live chat begins; Dopey Nation and Workit Health audience join in. 01:15:30 – Question: do young people think addiction is normal? 01:16:30 – Amy talks isolation, suicidal thinking, and needing people to come over. 01:18:30 – Amy says suicidal thoughts pass and recommends therapy, medication, sleep, and support. 01:20:20 – Question about early recovery, Suboxone, drinking, and a breakup. 01:21:00 – Dave recommends meetings, connection, prayer, hobbies, walks, and getting out of your head. 01:22:00 – Question about boundaries; Amy jokes she has none. 01:23:20 – Question: what if you feel like no one can connect with you? 01:24:00 – Dave says there is definitely some weirdo out there who will connect with you. 01:25:00 – Meetings, Dopey Zoom, Workit meetings, and trying something instead of nothing. 01:26:00 – Amy explains action changing feelings and building new neural pathways. 01:26:50 – Question: how do you forgive yourself after decades of addiction? 01:27:15 – Amy talks felony domestic violence, shame, forgiving herself, and having her own back. 01:30:00 – Dave talks changing the channel in your brain through action, hobbies, TV, and recovery. 01:31:30 – Dave invites people onto the Knicks bandwagon as a form of community and joy. 01:32:30 – Question about writing: Amy recommends coaching, outlining, proposals, agents, and writing before editing. 01:35:00 – Audience member says they are homeless and desperate for help. 01:35:30 – Amy and Dave urge them to keep asking for help, go to meetings, use libraries, and tell people the truth. 01:39:20 – Question about humor in recovery and whether laughing glamorizes addiction. 01:40:00 – Dave says humor is his survival mode and release valve. 01:41:30 – Amy says there is a line between dark humor and glamorizing addiction. 01:43:00 – Amy talks not comparing herself to others and staying in the present. 01:44:45 – Max closes the live event and calls Dave and Amy “universal recovery parents.” 01:45:30 – Amy reflects on hiding out, wanting to be honest again, and coming back. 01:46:30 – Roxanne Colelo / Dopey stoner legend shoutout. 01:47:30 – Amy plugs My Fair Junkie and talks about money, disability, and trying to survive. 01:49:20 – Amy shows Bucky the rescue cat. 01:50:00 – Dave and Amy thank Workit Health and promote the Film Festival. 01:52:50 – Dave wraps the episode, plugs Patreon, treatment help, Safe Spot, CustomStickers.com, and signs off.

Timestamps 0:01 – New Dopey Tuesday song and opening. 1:32 – Doug returns to Dopey. 2:00 – Patreon section preview and Dave's attack on Doug. 2:30 – Dave joins a local gym and recalls insulting his barber shop on the podcast. 3:20 – Dave's barber story comes back to haunt him. 4:00 – Meeting trainer Joe and getting assessed. 5:40 – Curling twelve-pound weights and surviving the early tests. 7:00 – Lunges destroy Dave's hamstring. 8:00 – Dave considers quitting and going home. 8:45 – Signing up with trainer Joe. 10:20 – Doug admits life has been stressful. 10:50 – Film Festival anxiety and banking ten episodes before vacation. 11:30 – Dave calls out Doug for missing meetings. 12:45 – More details about Dave's bad mood. 15:10 – Four a.m. wakeups and obsessive thoughts. 16:20 – Susan's bike ride request. 17:00 – Dave blows out Linda's bicycle tire. 18:00 – More domestic chaos. 18:50 – Patreon comments from Trinity's episode. 19:45 – Debate over voicemail amends. 21:00 – Praise for Trinity's laugh and personality. 22:15 – Listeners discuss Trinity's vulnerability and recovery. 23:45 – Fentanyl test strip appreciation. 24:30 – Problems with the YouTube channel. 25:20 – More praise for Trinity and "Good So Bad." 26:45 – Secret Cupcake hopes Doug stays away. 28:00 – Spotify comments. 29:00 – Dr. Dave moment about fear and recovery. 30:00 – More comments on Trinity and recovery. 31:30 – Patreon plug and Patreon Zoom announcement. 32:30 – Listener performs "Good So Bad" after missing Dopey Zoom to record it. SEO Keywords Dopey Podcast, Dopey Tuesday, Dave Manheim, Doug Caine, Trinity Dopey, Good So Bad, Dopey Nation, addiction recovery podcast, sobriety, AA, NA, personal training, gym injury, hamstring injury, Dopey Film Festival, Patreon Zoom, fentanyl test strips, recovery stories, DXM withdrawal, Good So Bad cover, recovery community, drugs addiction and dumb shit.

TIME STAMPS: 00:18 – Dave melts in the heat after removing his air conditioners and rages about broken Rodecasters. 03:29 – Introduction to Dopey Replay #33 and memories of recording with almost no equipment. 05:51 – Dave signs up for a gym evaluation and contemplates gratitude versus suffering. 07:00 – Dopey Film Festival update and ticket warning. 08:16 – Listener email about discovering Chris after his death. 09:17 – Another emotional email from a newer listener who went back to the beginning. 12:00 – Patreon comments and memories of classic DJ episodes. 14:00 – Dave recounts the tragic details surrounding DJ Don's murder. 17:30 – Spotify comments and Knicks fandom. 19:49 – Replay begins: Dopey Episode 33. 22:00 – Vinny explains his life as a stand-up comic and hardware store employee. 25:00 – Discussion of money, laziness, and avoiding traditional work. 31:00 – Chris tells the story of a genius friend who gave away all his money before attempting suicide. 35:30 – Dave awkwardly gives Leonardo DiCaprio a Dopey card at Katz's. 41:00 – Debate about whether weed is a problem and the difference between addicts and normal people. 44:00 – Dave and Vinny remember working together and Dave borrowing fifty dollars during active addiction. 49:00 – Chris tells his horrific chocolate-cereal-and-vomit story. 57:00 – Vinny begins his Amsterdam LSD story. 1:05:00 – Tok strips naked and starts searching for his dog "Java." 1:09:00 – Tok swings at strangers and gets whipped by two random men with sex whips. 1:12:00 – Dutch police calmly handcuff Tok and put him in jail for the night. 1:16:00 – Tok wakes up with no memory and discovers the whip marks on his back. 1:23:00 – Listener emails and missing Dopey episodes. 1:28:00 – Dave remembers bombing at stand-up comedy. 1:35:00 – The legendary fifty-dollar debt is finally settled. 1:41:00 – Closing song and classic Dave and Chris banter.

Timestamps 2:07 – Oro Recovery sponsorship and Bob Forrest update. 3:37 – Dave talks Dopey origins, Narcan, fentanyl test strips, Patreon and Dopey Zoom. 5:05 – Knicks championship celebration and plans for the ticker tape parade. 6:05 – Winnie the dog bursts through the screen door chasing the Amazon driver. 7:05 – Listener email about shooting heroin with blue toilet water. 8:50 – Dopey Recovery Film Festival update and guest list. 10:00 – Mountainside sponsorship and Chris meeting story. 10:48 – Janine from Chasing Heroin Podcast describes accidentally shooting fabric softener. 14:00 – Brayburn and Reframe & Reclaim documentary series. 15:30 – Patreon comments from the Brandon Novak episode. 17:54 – Dead rat stories and step work updates. 19:00 – Fake acid kidnapping story from England. 21:40 – Workit Health sponsorship. 23:20 – Spotify comments and congratulations to Emily on seven months clean. 26:10 – Dave debates changing Dopey theme songs and launches a music contest. 28:00 – Mishka Shubaly introduction. 29:45 – Mishka talks music and why he never cared about recording gear. 30:30 – Dave admits he was jealous of Mishka's success. 32:00 – Mishka discusses insecurity and self-isolation. 33:00 – Ken Rideout and writing books. 34:30 – Moving from Phoenix to rural Ohio. 36:00 – Dave's "meant to be" feeling after finishing Mishka's book. 39:15 – Helping Mark Lanegan write Sing Backwards and Weep. 41:30 – Calling Mark Lanegan a "diva cunt." 44:00 – Addiction, recovery, and not comparing alcohol to heroin. 45:30 – Mishka's seventeen years sober and views on psychedelics. 48:30 – Childhood, music, and discovering alcohol. 53:00 – Foster brother Chung and his refugee story. 57:15 – Becoming an alcoholic and leaving home. 59:30 – School shooting, parents' divorce, and drinking to numb the pain. 1:01:55 – Simon's Rock and finding misfit community. 1:04:00 – Being bullied and feeling doomed. 1:05:30 – Cough syrup culture and drugstore highs. 1:08:30 – Moving to New York and trying to become a writer. 1:11:00 – Bukowski and wanting the drunken artist lifestyle. 1:13:00 – Mishka's father abandoning the family. 1:15:30 – Discovering his father had been abused by his mother. 1:18:00 – Politics, resentment, and estrangement. 1:22:00 – Dave and Mishka discuss forgiveness and God. 1:27:00 – Getting shipwrecked in the Bahamas. 1:31:00 – Drinking urine from a hard hat while stranded. 1:36:00 – September 11 and working at Don Hill's. 1:39:00 – Discovering opioids and Opana. 1:43:00 – Deciding alcohol was worse than death. 1:46:00 – Quitting alcohol alone without rehab or AA. 1:49:00 – Becoming obsessed with running. 1:52:00 – Percocet, psychedelics, and why alcohol remained the real problem. 1:56:00 – Pink Floyd, atheism, and community. 2:03:00 – Dogs, hunting, and finding spirituality in nature. 2:11:00 – Meeting his wife and learning joy. 2:14:00 – Mark Lanegan book club plans and future collaborations. 2:16:30 – Dave reflects on Mishka and classic alcoholics. 2:18:00 – Dave performs "Good So Bad." SEO Keywords YouTube Title Ideas Drinking Pee to Survive, School Shootings, Alcoholism & Recovery with Mishka Shubaly | Dopey 587 Shipwrecked, Drinking Urine, Mark Lanegan & 17 Years Sober — Mishka Shubaly on Dopey School Shooting Survivor, Bukowski, Booze & Running 100 Miles: Mishka Shubaly | Dopey Podcast Alcohol Nearly Killed Him—Then He Ran Across the Desert: Mishka Shubaly Dopey 587: Shipwrecks, Drinking Pee, Mark Lanegan & Sobriety with Mishka Shubaly

Timestamp Notes 00:00 – Ray Brown’s “Home Sweet Heroine” opens the replay with classic Dopey parody lyrics. 01:29 – Dave introduces Dopey Greatest Hits and explains that Patreon voted for Nikki Sixx over Danny Trejo, DMC, and Hank Azaria. 02:15 – Story about getting nervous that Nikki Sixx’s team would object to Ray Brown’s Motley Crüe parody. 03:52 – Dave celebrates “Home Sweet Heroine” and calls Ray Brown the Hemingway of the Dopey world. 05:00 – Dave talks about working Step Eight with a sponsee and making amends. 06:18 – Dave jokes that his father complained he talked too much about gratitude without thanking him. 07:00 – Jules the Cocaine Bear calls in with a drunken coke-fueled party-crashing story. 08:45 – Jules offers cocaine to another guest and is accused of trying to sell drugs. 09:45 – Partygoers throw him out while smashing him into door frames. 10:45 – Fearing an attack, Jules grabs a switchblade and walks straight into a policeman. 11:40 – Police arrest him but unknowingly return his hidden cocaine inside an asthma inhaler. 12:15 – Jules flushes the coke down the jail toilet and eventually beats the knife charge. 12:55 – Kimber King joins Dave to discuss comments from her replay episode. 14:00 – Debate over whether Suboxone tastes terrible or like orange candy. 15:30 – Discussion of Dave’s infamous “peed my pants walking to Harlem” story. 17:00 – Crypto talk and warnings about gambling tendencies in recovery. 18:20 – Kimber talks about the Wednesday Dopey Zoom and singing disasters. 19:30 – Debate about ads and whether listeners complain too much. 20:00 – Kimber recalls her meth vape and saline mixture containing fentanyl, cocaine, ketamine, and Xanax. 21:30 – Dave and Kimber discuss Harvey visiting Alan at the film festival. 22:40 – AJ apologizes for criticizing Dave and says Kimber is one of his favorite guests. 23:20 – Dave celebrates the Knicks winning the championship and plans to attend the parade. 24:30 – More praise for Kimber and memories of old stories. 25:30 – Sarah comments that bingeing and purging with friends almost sounded fun. 26:45 – Dave and Kimber joke about trauma bonding and eating disorders. 27:20 – Nicotine patches and dementia prevention article. 28:00 – Kimber admits she still vapes and her daughter brings her the vape. 29:10 – Confusion over stories involving Tony Bologna and foot fetishes. 30:00 – Kimber promotes Safe Spot, the overdose monitoring service. 31:00 – Dave and Kimber say goodbye and prepare for the Nikki Sixx interview. Nikki Sixx Interview 33:10 – Nikki Sixx joins Dopey and Dave explains how The Heroin Diaries affected him. 35:00 – Nikki talks about being happiest at sixty-three with over twenty years sober. 36:30 – Raising a young daughter in long-term recovery. 38:00 – Nikki explains why he returned to rehab despite years of sobriety. 39:30 – Fame never interested him as much as being in a band. 41:30 – Moving to Wyoming inspired The First 21 and memories of Idaho. 43:00 – Nikki describes creativity and constantly recording ideas. 45:00 – Childhood memories, books, and discovering rock and roll. 46:00 – Smoking weed at six or seven after living in Mexico. 48:00 – Standing up to bullies with rocks in his lunchbox. 50:00 – Dating Richard Pryor through his mother and reflecting on childhood. 53:00 – Obsession and compulsion as the foundation of his personality. 55:00 – Selling “chocolate mescaline” capsules. 56:45 – Thoughts on hippies and why seventies music shaped him more. 58:00 – First experiences with cocaine backstage at the Starwood. 59:20 – Alcohol as his first love. 59:45 – Trying heroin for the first time and immediately getting sick. 1:01:00 – Why he continues talking publicly about addiction. 1:03:00 – Dave and Nikki discuss heroin quieting the mind. 1:04:30 – Nikki explains that moderation never worked for him. 1:06:00 – Using addictive tendencies for family, books, photography, and music. 1:07:30 – Launching children’s animation and songwriting projects. 1:09:00 – Nikki praises Dopey and recovery communities. 1:10:30 – Shame over showing the band the same song twice while strung out. 1:12:00 – Recording the audiobook for The Heroin Diaries. 1:14:00 – Raising over a million dollars for Covenant House youth music programs. 1:17:00 – Fear that rock and roll has lost its place in modern culture. 1:19:00 – His songwriting process and Vince Neil’s phrasing. 1:21:00 – Motley Crüe’s wild reputation and honesty about excess. 1:23:00 – Vince Neil’s accident and the band’s different paths to sobriety. 1:25:00 – Realizing Motley Crüe has survived forty years together. 1:27:00 – Preparing physically for another stadium tour. 1:29:00 – Addiction as a monster chained in the basement that never dies. 1:31:00 – Beatles versus Stones and why he prefers Wings. 1:32:00 – Watching the Beatles documentary changed his view of Paul McCartney. 1:33:00 – Aerosmith over Led Zeppelin and admiration for Steven Tyler. 1:35:00 – Alice Cooper over Kiss. 1:36:00 – New York Dolls versus Ramones. 1:38:00 – Sid Vicious versus Johnny Thunders. 1:40:00 – Memories of opening for the Rolling Stones. 1:42:00 – Thoughts on social media, controversy, and clickbait. 1:43:00 – Keith Richards as an early hero and meeting him backstage. 1:45:00 – The importance of receptiveness and humility. 1:47:00 – Nikki reflects on aging and protecting sobriety. 1:49:00 – Dave thanks Nikki and says they’ll save the craziest stories for another interview. 1:50:20 – Dave’s dog nearly attacks an Amazon driver and destroys the screen door. 1:50:50 – Outro and “Toodles for Chris.”