Bear Comes Clean

Happy New Year! Bear Comes Clean Season 2 is coming sooner than you think. Sooner than even I thought. We'll return with cohost Jennifer on Wednesday, January 21st.

So, why listen to this teaser when you just got all the information you need upfront in the description? Why do anything? Join me for exactly fifteen minutes of Jesus, bears, tattoos, and random nonsense to cleanse your palate for the upcoming season of Bear (and Jennifer) Comes Clean. See you in two weeks!

Season One comes to a close on this very merriest of Christmases. Yes, it's long overdue and off cycle from the normal Wednesday release cycle. That's explained in this forty-ish minute episode. And no, Jennifer is not on the show this week. She will join us biweekly when we return for Season Two in 2026.

Thank you to everyone who downloaded, subscribed, or just listened to an episode here and there. We'll get a few episodes queued up in early 2026 so we can get back to our every other Wednesday release cycle. See you all in the new year!

Bear's sister joins the podcast as its first guest. They talk about life, love, music, relationships, religion, and much more. Bear reminisces about his past and dreams of his future. Despite the fact that this episode is an hour long, it's really good. That's mostly because Jennifer is brilliant and incredibly interesting. So, just listen to the whole thing when you drive to work, get ready for bed, or whatever until you've heard the whole thing.

Episode 5.5 will come out at 12:01 am on November 19th. It's pretty dope. I talk about spending three days in a psychiatric ICU. For real. And the sixth full episode will feature Jennifer as our new cohost. It will be out on November 26th. Be cool and listen to those too. And buy us a coffee. I don't drink coffee anymore, but she might.

We finally did it. The Godcast was inevitable. I've said from the beginning that this was not a podcast about God and if it ever became a podcast about God, I'd call it A Podcast About God. Don't worry. It's not that. But this episode is.

I decided to clear the decks of all God-related topics so we can get back to the subjects I set out to discuss from day one: life, love, music, relationships, and religion. Yes, religion. But future episodes will only touch on religion in the context of the conversation we're having.

Who is this "we" that Bear speaks of? Beginning next week with Episode 5, my sister Jennifer will become a permanent fixture on the show. She'll be my first guest on the next full episode, then she'll join the show as a cohost, hopefully forever.

But for now, it's just me, waxing poetic about all things God. I won't hold it against you if you skip this episode. But I encourage you to listen. You just might learn something. And then buy me a coffee even though I don't drink coffee. I'll use the funds to pay for this show's expenses. If not, great. I'll pay for them myself.

Finally, super-awkward correction: I mention in this episode that I've never made an episode about my ex-wife. The bonus episode was recorded after this one. Whoops.

This week, I discuss my introduction to becoming a performing musician through the formation of my first band, End Over Aja. This episode introduces you to my sister Jennifer in 1994. But it also brings a whole new cast of characters who would shape my life in myriad ways beyond music.

I talk about the many people who entered my life in the 90s, some of whom are still a big part of it today. But some have slipped away over time. And while that saddens me, the'll always be essential threads in the fabric that makes up the tapestry of my life.

If you enjoy Bear Comes Clean, buy me a coffee. No, seriously. Get out your credit card and send me a buck or twenty. I'll use the money to pay for this podcast's expenses, which are minimal. I promised Halle I'd quit drinking coffee and I don't lie to my sister.

The titular character from our last bonus episode is back. But this time, she brought her best friend, the wife of a twice convicted pedophile and registered sex offender. Were you questioning why I made that last bonus episode to begin with? This is why. Give it a listen.

And for the love of God, buy me a coffee. I'll drink it this week. Thank God I stopped consuming alcohol last year. A tall pour of bourbon sounds awfully nice right now. But I'll settle for coffee and deal with the disappointment of my sisters later. ✌️

This week, our half episodes become full, single topic episodes. No more of the five minute or less of corrections and updates. Roads? Where we're going, we don't need... roads.

But we do need women. And the six women I discuss in this episode have been some of the most influential people in my life. We start with my oldest "sister" Jennifer and basically skip right past her. No matter. She's a guest on the upcoming Episode 5 and will then serve as this show's cohost. You'll meet her and love her soon enough.

Then we work our way through Julie, Asia, Jessi, and Laney. No spoilers on those four. Listen to the episode. Finally, we wrap things up with my youngest sister, Halle. Spoiler alert: she's my favorite. Don't worry. Most of the others already know that. If not, they probably just read that and they do now.

If you want to support Bear Comes Clean, buy me a coffee. That's not an ad. Literally buy me a coffee. I won't drink it because I promised Jessi and Halle I'd quit drinking coffee again like a week ago. But I'll use your money to pay for this podcast's expenses. ✌️

This episode is for a lot of people. It's for anyone who has ever gone through a divorce with kids. It's for anyone who has ever remarried with kids. It's for anyone who has ever lived with someone with mental illness. It's for anyone struggling with their own mental illness. But it's also for Magistrate Christie at the Court of Common Pleas, Wood County, Ohio. I think this would be enlightening for her.

The only person this episode is not for is the titular character, Rebecca. Because I don't make podcast episodes for people who leave their mental illness untreated until they do irreparable damage to countless people around them. This episode is how that affected me.

This episode is also about why I ultimately made the decision to completely change my life and become a clinical therapist. But if the titular character decided to listen to every word, she might be surprised by how respectfully I talked about my experience. And you might be too. If you know anything at all about my second marriage, listen to the entire 90 minutes. You might be surprised to hear a level of honesty that I've rarely reached in life.

Episode 4 will return us to our normal subjects: life, love, music, relationships, and religion. But this episode needed to be made. If I'm going to call this podcast Bear Comes Clean, I damn well be prepared to be 100% honest. And I was. See you all again on October 29th. Oh also, Hello Audio is cool. Check them out.

In the third episode of Bear Comes Clean, Bear is lactose intolerant... and lacks toast and is tolerant. Adult Unhappy Meals are false advertising. Bear and Brian split a limo four ways and go on two sets of dates. We're becoming more and more of a Godcast.

Bear is an Episcopalian Latter Day Saint, whatever that means. Jesus is doing too much. Kind of. Also, the Mormons have "way too shiny eyes,' but they're not sexist (that's a correction, more on this in Episode Four). Finally, five of our upcoming guests are mentioned.

Sign up for the newsletter here. See you in two weeks! ✌️

Nothing to see here. Just five minutes or less of corrections and updates. The next full episode of Bear Comes Clean comes out October 15th. In the meantime, sign up for the official newsletter here. It only comes out on the off weeks on Wednesdays (like today), so do it! See you next week. ✌️