Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction

LISTEN WITHOUT ADS: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

PATREON - LISTEN WITHOUT ADS - www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

listen without ads on www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Full Show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 🔥 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ad Free on www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DOPEYWOOD TICKETS: https://events.leapevents.com/event/dopeywood-2026 PATREON: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DOPEYWOOD TICKETS: http://events.leapevents.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Patreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DOPEYWOOD TIX(ALMOST SOLD OUT!) showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Patreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DopeyWood Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 FULL SHOW ON PATREONL www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dopey Wood Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Listen without Ads on Patreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast: 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dopeywood Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 NO ADS: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 🧠 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DopeyWood Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Patreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DOPEY WOOD TICKETS: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 PATREON: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast UPFUL LIFE POD: upfullife.com This week on Wednesday's BEHIND THE DOPEY! The first half: Then it shifts. B comes on and it gets real: Then it goes deep into: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DopeyWood Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Patreon for FULL SHOW: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dopeywood Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Patreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DopeyWood Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Ad Free on $8 and up on Patreon - www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dopeywood Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 PAtreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dopey Wood Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Patreon for ad free listening: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DopeyWood Tickets here ! https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Patreon for the whole show! www,patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dopey Wood Tickets! https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 Patreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.