Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction

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.”

00:00 – Intro music and Wednesday Dose opening 01:10 – Dave marks eight years since Todd Curry died 02:00 – Knicks championship, summer updates, film festival reminder 03:00 – Narcan, fentanyl test strips, and listener stories 03:40 – Double D’s Tigers party bus story begins 05:00 – Free t-shirt hustle at Comerica Park 06:20 – Smoking crack behind dumpsters in Detroit 07:45 – Failed Canada trip and border search 09:30 – Getting banned from Canada 10:10 – Patreon comments on Kevin McEnroe 13:30 – Spotify comments, cigarettes, stepdaughter advice, meetings 18:45 – Allie Curry joins the show 20:00 – Remembering Todd’s first accidental Dopey call-in 22:00 – Allie talks about the anniversary of Todd’s death 23:30 – Why Todd’s birthday feels harder than the death anniversary 25:00 – Allie’s kids and what they remember about Uncle Todd 28:00 – Dave reflects on keeping Todd alive through Dopey 30:00 – Todd hiding the podcast from his family 31:30 – Todd’s denial, charm, and keeping people from worrying 35:00 – Allie remembers seeing Todd obviously high at breakfast 37:30 – Dave talks about recording with Todd while he was high 40:00 – Family denial, parents wanting to believe things were okay 43:00 – Todd after Ithaca, old girlfriends, and lost years 46:00 – Todd’s last sober-living period and his final days 48:30 – The day Todd died and Allie almost went to wake him up 50:30 – Allie’s parents, grief, and keeping Todd’s memory alive 53:00 – Young Todd stories, stealing, skiing, getting into trouble 55:00 – How Todd lives on in Allie’s kids 57:00 – Dave and Allie talk about parenting, criticism, and family patterns 1:02:00 – Dave remembers reconnecting with Todd in New York 1:05:00 – The dangerous period when Dave and Todd used together 1:08:00 – Allie talks openly with her kids about drugs and Todd’s death 1:11:00 – The tiny funeral and family shame around overdose 1:15:00 – Todd’s friends, Rob, Galoo, and the people who loved him 1:18:00 – Tough love, enabling, money, rehab, and impossible questions 1:23:00 – Todd fighting with his building over smoking 1:25:00 – Allie’s son looking like Todd 1:27:00 – Dave closes with love for Allie, Todd, and the Dopey Nation 1:28:00 – “Good So Bad” outro Summary: This week on the Wednesday Dose of Dopey, Dave marks eight years since the death of his close friend Todd Curry, who died from a fentanyl overdose. To honor Todd’s memory, Dave brings on Todd’s sister, Allie Curry, for a deeply personal conversation about grief, family, addiction, denial, and what it feels like to lose someone so loved, complicated, funny, and unforgettable. Before the conversation, Dave shares updates about the Knicks championship, the upcoming Dopey Short Film Festival, Patreon Zooms, Narcan and fentanyl test strips, and reads a classic Dopey story about winning free Detroit Tigers tickets, scamming free t-shirts, smoking crack behind a dumpster, trying to go to Canada, and getting banned from the country. Then Dave and Allie talk about Todd’s life, his Dopey appearances, his humor, his family role, his addiction, and the strange pain of remembering someone eight years later. Allie reflects on how Todd’s birthday can feel harder than the anniversary of his death, how her kids remember him, how her parents handled his addiction and death, and how family denial and shame shaped so much of the experience. Dave remembers Todd as one of the foundational characters in Dopey history: the friend who called into the show without knowing he was being recorded, the hilarious storyteller, the hustler, the lost soul, and the person whose pain and charm became part of the show’s DNA. Together, Dave and Allie explore the impossible questions around enabling, tough love, interventions, family secrets, and the strange ways grief stays alive. It’s a bittersweet episode about keeping people alive by remembering them, telling the truth, laughing when possible, and honoring the people we lost to addiction.

TIMESTAMP NOTES 1:16 – Dave introduces Trinity, claiming she is somehow more famous than he is. 2:00 – Trinity explains she first came to the beach meeting while addicted to cough medicine and getting high on dextromethorphan. 2:45 – Trinity tells the story of drinking a bottle of NyQuil and discovering her first real drug high. 3:15 – Discussion shifts to Dopey YouTube. Trinity says the studio looks "like a stroke" and volunteers to help improve the channel. 4:00 – Trinity explains how she first discovered Dopey after seeing Dave and Handsome Evan recording at the beach. 4:45 – Trinity admits she was secretly using while attending beach meetings and carrying fake sober time. 5:30 – Dave teases Trinity about eye contact, autism, and becoming a Dopey Zoom regular. 6:00 – Trinity says the podcast is great but the YouTube presentation needs work. 7:00 – Discussion about treating YouTube as its own show and bringing more direct engagement to the camera. 8:00 – Trinity defends Dopey's inside-baseball style and says listeners enjoy hearing behind-the-scenes content. 8:45 – Patreon comments begin, leading to a lengthy discussion of Heart Attack Doug. 9:00 – Trinity describes Doug as looking like a mannequin and declares Tuesdays with Doug significantly gayer than Tuesdays with Ray. 10:30 – Listener comments praise Trinity, Doug, and the show's chemistry. 11:00 – Dave tells a story about learning piano while stealing Durban Poison weed in Berkeley. 11:45 – Trinity reveals she used to be the "Weed Fairy" of Huntington and sold large amounts of marijuana. 12:30 – Discussion of HBO shows, Mad Men, and listener feedback. 13:00 – Trinity admits she often listens specifically for the Doug episodes. 13:45 – Conversation shifts to Dopey Zoom and the importance of continuing to attend meetings. 14:30 – Dave gives Trinity a hard time about her recovery and reminds her she currently has 227 days sober. 15:00 – More listener comments, basketball talk, and embarrassing family stories. 16:00 – Trinity talks about playing softball as a pitcher and her failed attempts at college. 17:00 – Trinity says she could potentially see herself helping build Dopey in the future. 18:00 – More comments, Knicks discussion, dragons, and Doug forgetting Trinity's name. 19:00 – Trash-can hot dog stories and jokes about Long Island meeting characters. 20:00 – Discussion about rolling blunts, rolling machines, and Trinity's weed-dealing past. 21:00 – Spotify comments and Dave refusing to turn a family vacation into a Dopey meet-and-greet. 22:30 – Dave and Trinity read "Just For Today" on Resistance to Change. 23:00 – The reading focuses on fear, growth, relationships, and staying stuck in familiar pain. 24:00 – Trinity admits fear and complacency are major themes in her life. 25:00 – Dave points out that despite fear, Trinity has managed to build 227 days sober. 25:45 – Patreon teaser for Trinity's full addiction and recovery story. 26:30 – Trinity performs a cover of "Good So Bad," explaining it was one of the first things she heard on Dopey and helped inspire her recovery.

Timestamps 1:09 – Dave remembers Todd Curry on the anniversary of his fentanyl overdose death. 2:43 – The Knicks win their first NBA Championship in 53 years and Dave celebrates with ice cream and family. 5:03 – Remembering DJ Don Jr. Rentz and introducing one of the most beloved episodes in Dopey history. 6:11 – Listener email connects the 1999 Knicks-Spurs Finals, addiction, recovery, and the current championship run. 9:37 – Jackie Kelly celebrates 11 years sober while living out of her car. 10:16 – Dave compares Jalen Brunson, friendship, perseverance, and recovery. 13:09 – Spotify comments and reactions to last week's replay episode. 18:45 – Replay begins with Dave, Chris, and special guest DJ Don. 20:20 – DJ explains how he got his nickname and Dave tells a classic Ted story. 26:08 – DJ's addiction begins after a car accident and prescription opioids. 28:25 – Doctors prescribe fentanyl patches to a teenage DJ. 30:51 – DJ experiences opioid withdrawal for the first time. 35:25 – Forged prescriptions, fake oxy scripts, and getting caught by pharmacists. 39:00 – DJ's first rehab experience in Flint, Michigan. 43:45 – DJ lands a job at a pharmacy immediately after rehab. 49:40 – The legendary pharmacy theft story begins. 58:06 – DJ steals 1,000 Vicodin and hides them in a watch box. 1:04:53 – DJ gets caught on his 18th birthday. 1:09:35 – The aftermath, rehab, and consequences. 1:16:40 – Methadone debate and recovery discussion. 1:28:12 – Dave tells his classic 9/11 methadone clinic story. 1:37:30 – Dave's disastrous Northern California weed-trimming adventure. 1:44:20 – Recovery talk, meetings, surrender, and finding a better life. 1:50:30 – Final thoughts on recovery, friendship, and gratitude.