Nowhere To Go But Up

The conversation between Sean Dustin and Anthony Bucci revolves around Anthony's experience in prison and his involvement in a dog training program while serving his sentence. Anthony shares how he found purpose and fulfillment in training dogs, and how it helped him cope with the challenges of being in prison. He also talks about the positive impact of the program on both the inmates and the dogs, and how it helped him develop important skills and build relationships. Anthony continues to share his experiences after being released from prison. He talks about his initial struggles with reintegration into society and feeling institutionalized, but also how he learned to appreciate and embrace every moment of his newfound freedom. He discusses rebuilding relationships with his family, publishing a book, and taking care of his mother who had a stroke. Anthony reflects on the lessons he learned from his time in prison and the positive changes he has made in his life since his release.

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In this podcast episode, Sean Dustin interviews Jack Allen Levine, an addiction specialist, author, and serial entrepreneur. Sean introduces Jack and highlights his success in various businesses. Jack shares his story and mentions that he had a middle-class upbringing with loving parents. At 16, he started smoking and went on to use drugs such as pot, Quaaludes, cocaine, and Percocet. Jack reveals that his addiction didn't lead him to prison, but some of his choices and decisions could have. Despite his struggles with addiction, Jack managed to graduate from Syracuse University and build a successful career in advertising. Jack has embraced the recovery lifestyle and sees it as a journey and adventure, rather than a struggle. He emphasizes the importance of plugging into the recovery lifestyle and having sober friends, and compares addiction recovery to being traded to a different team. He acknowledges that there are emotions that he now feels that he used to mask with drugs, but overall, he feels that his new life is so much better than his old life of addiction. He advises people struggling with addiction not to make promises they may not be able to keep, but instead let their actions speak for them. Jack is also involved with Louisiana Addiction Research Center, which is studying psychedelics as a potential treatment for addiction. He hopes that psychedelics can be a cure for addiction, but acknowledges that it's a long road and that not everyone will be able to afford a trip guide. Moreover, he questions whether it's really a one-time or two-time treatment, or if it's a continuous treatment for the rest of a person's life, in which case it may replace one drug with another. However, Levine believes that if medically assisted treatment such as Suboxone or other treatments keep people alive and able to seek help for their addiction, it's better than having them dead from overdosing. At the end of the day, the most important question is whether a person wants help. Levine believes that there are seven ways out of drug addiction and alcohol addiction, and that there's hope for everybody who wants to recover. Jack and Sean move into a discussion on how mistakes and relapses are not the end of the world in recovery. Levine points out that we should look at our hearts and strive for a gold standard, but not beat ourselves up over mistakes. Instead, we should take it as an opportunity to reassess and see what is not working in our recovery program. Levine stresses the importance of following the recipe for recovery and trusting the advice of people who have been sober for a long time. He emphasizes the need for surrender, which is a sign that someone is ready for recovery, and to follow the advice of those who have been there before. The conversation ends with the idea that the people we may not initially like are usually the ones who will help us the most.

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Mark Bello was a civil justice attorney who primarily dealt with auto accidents, police brutality cases, medical malpractice cases, workers' compensation cases, and helped people fight insurance companies. However, early in his practice, he handled a case where a couple of kids were abused sexually by a Catholic priest, which troubled him deeply, not just because of the priest's actions but because of the way the church behaved, such as transferring offenders, hiding witnesses, covering up prior incidents by the same priest, and avoiding consequences. He promised himself that he would write a book about this, and eventually, he did. Betrayal of Faith, the first book in his legal thriller series, is about a couple of kids who are sexually abused by a priest. The Catholic Church covered up such incidents, transferred predators to communities who didn't know they were predators, and the cycle began all over again. Bello discusses his legal career and how he transitioned to writing fiction and children's books with social justice themes. He explains that he wrote a book about a biracial child who experiences racism and bullying at school and another book about the dangers of texting while driving. The conversation ends in discussing changes in the news media over the years. Mark Bello and Sean Dustin discuss how the news was delivered in the past and how it has changed to become more opinionated and slanted towards specific views. They mention that the news has become more like infotainment rather than a nonfiction account of events. They also talk about the need for accountability in media and the rise of independent media sources. The conversation then moves to politics and the need for politicians to work together for the country rather than fighting over political distinctions. They mention that national politics can be a huge distraction, and it is essential to pay attention to what is happening in your own community where things actually make a difference.

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Myself and Thomas FreeMe will be talking about the Hunter Biden lawsuit against the laptop repair owner. We also talk about the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature bank Closures.

YouTube Video:

In this episode, Sean Dustin and Wally Green discuss Wally's upbringing in Brooklyn, his escape from gang life through ping pong, and the opportunity that his friend gave him to go to Germany to learn the sport. They also delve into Wally's experience in North Korea and the dangers of corrupting the minds of the North Korean citizens. Additionally, they touch upon parenting and the importance of being responsible for oneself. Finally, Wally shares his experience as a public speaker, including his TEDx talk and the impact of a New York Times article on his speaking career. Tune in for an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation. 

YouTube Video of the Conversation: