Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction

To hear the whole thing go to:

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.

Listen without ads on www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

This week on the total replay - Chris tells the depths of his SMI - maybe the first time we discussed SMI - and Chris' reluctance to accepting the SMI mantle. This is what he wrote 10 years ago: 'Chris intentionally flips out in the psych ward to get put into a 5 point restraint... and receive an injection of Ativan and Haldol. Also, he is treated by Bob Forrest and Dr. Drew.' 

First though Chris makes fun of my fish tank. We had such a good time. I cooked brusell sprouts and so much more! such a good time! 

We miss and love you Chris!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Super sweet talk with Anders Beck! Say it with an 'ah-nders' not 'and-ers'. Anders tells us his whole musical/drug/alcohol story! Nothing left out - including the crazy intervention and playing with phil lesh! May he rest in peace! PLUS sick email from Montana in prison! (thanks Nicole!) An amazing dildo filled voicemail from Daniel G! A nice mention from Steve from New Hampshire and so much more more more!

PLUS Ander's beautiful song 'Born Again' performed by Greensky Bluegrass, Anders' bonus dobro playing, Damon's 'Dopey World' and Jake from West Virginia's classic version of 'Good So Bad'

ALL THAT and more, more, more on this brand 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.

listen without ads at www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

This week on Dopey's Greatest Hits!

This replay episode features host David Manheim reflecting on personal chaos, gratitude amid frustration, powerful listener emails/stories (including a harrowing crack/coke seizure tale from Minnesota Matt), and a full classic interview with his partner Linda. They share their raw, unfiltered relationship story—from meeting via mutual friend Todd, early partying (coke, Ativan, drinking), pregnancy amid hidden heroin relapse, family destruction during active addiction, separation, supervised visitations, Dave's bottoming out, eventual sobriety, reconciliation, and rebuilding a family with two kids. Interspersed with intros, emails, Spotify comments, voicemails, and musical interludes (Firecracker rap, song snippets), it captures Dopey's signature mix of dark humor, brutal honesty, recovery insights, and "dumb shit" war stories.

The episode opens with Dave navigating recent frustrations—dealing with a guest pulling an episode due to cold feet, sponsor issues, and everyday life stressors—while emphasizing core recovery principles like acceptance, gratitude, and service over resentment. He reflects on childhood influences like Popeye's "I am what I am" mantra as a metaphor for self-acceptance in sobriety, and teases upcoming substantive guests while reading heartfelt (and critical) listener feedback. The heart of the show is the replay of a classic episode featuring Dave and Linda's candid conversation, detailing the highs and lows of their relationship: from initial attraction and drug-fueled early days, through the pregnancy discovery and Dave's escalating heroin use (including nodding out during birthing classes and missing key moments post-birth), to the devastating confrontation when Linda discovered the paraphernalia and the subsequent separation.

The story doesn't shy away from the pain—Linda's isolation during a complicated delivery, Dave's rock-bottom spiral involving heavy daily use, arrests, and black eyes during supervised visits with their daughter Nora—but it ultimately lands on hope and redemption. Dave credits their daughter as a major motivator for sobriety, and the couple discusses the hard work of rebuilding trust, family life, and even welcoming a second child. Reflections on the losses of close friends Todd and Chris add emotional weight, underscoring how addiction's toll extends beyond the individual. All that and More, more, more on this weeks new new 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.

Dave kicks off this Wednesday Dose solo from his dad's house, riffing on nostalgic broke-addict snacks (Little Debbie oatmeal pies as cheap highs) and weird fridge finds, before diving into fan Spotify comments praising last week's emotional Erin Khar episode. He shares wild Miles Davis coke-paranoia excerpts from the autobiography (Ferrari abandonment, trash-room hiding, dealer tricks), and recommending Kind of Blue and In a Silent Way as sick sick records!

Then we welcome Sandra Vergara (Selling Sunset star, Sofia Vergara's cousin/sister-figure). Sandra opens up about a traumatic Colombian childhood: brother's murder at age 9, raised by an aunt after her bio-mom's brain damage left her mentally stuck at 12, feeling like a "burden," early glue-sniffing experiment, near-fatal ruptured appendix/septic shock at 16, and constant walking-on-eggshells survival via art, empathy, and never taking abuse personally.

In LA from 18, she dabbled in makeup/acting (Fright Night), when she began drinking heavy. Blackouts, self-harm (throwing herself through glass), and suicide ideation. followed. First rehab in Medellín (befriended staff for special treatment → false security). Post-rehab: mushrooms sparked a "psychedelic love" fling, ayahuasca faced childhood trauma head-on, but led to half-assed AA and relapses.

COVID alone-time in NYC brought painting growth, but cat Stewie's death (worse than losing family) plunged her into deep  depression. Enter ketamine: started therapeutic (Mindbloom) but escalated to daily K-holes with Oculus VR for near-death/grief escapes, addictive Journey Circle weekends (MDMA/ayahuasca/mushrooms group catharsis without integration), erratic calls to mom, club blackouts, and cousin finding her passed out. Family intervention (Sophia pays, nephew packs her) lands her in trauma-focused Breathe Life rehab.

She firmly rejects "California sober" as a trap—psychedelics delayed real surrender for her; true addicts can't substitute one mind-alter for another. Full AA commitment (no more a la carte) + Kabbalah (post-breakup desperation) changed everything: tikkun (soul correction via tough life choices), turning reactive impulses (anger/gossip) into proactive restriction, daily study/meditation for frequency shifts. Ties Kabbalah to quantum physics (observer effect = perception shapes reality, entanglement = we're all connected, certainty in the unknown = surrender).

Sandra discusses Selling Sunset challenges (producer manipulation, ego, glamour vs. spiritual presence) and her new neuroscience/IFS/Kabbalah coaching for holistic recovery (mind stories, body regulation, spirit alignment). All that and much more on the brand 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.

LISTEN TO THE WHOLE SHOW at www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

This week on the teaser! We record a raw, outdoor teaser for Dopey Tuesday with returning guest Heart Attack Doug. They eulogize Dave’s high-mileage Subaru (hand-me-down from his dad), recount a hilarious pajama-clad mechanic confrontation that scored a full refund, share voicemails of Doug trash-talking show stats, joke about Dopey Zoom "polls" favoring Doug, read positive Spotify comments, detail Dave’s easy lasagna recipe, discuss Step 12 sponsorship styles, reflect on gratitude, spirituality (Dave’s non-traditional "God = universe/reality" view), quote the Big Book’s powerful closing lines, and tease Patreon-only content: with  an inspirational tribute to Dave’s late father-in-law. Classic Dopey mix of car chaos, recovery wisdom, community drama, and Patreon hooks.

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 at www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

This week on the Monday Complete Dopey Replay! Dave kicks off the brand-new weekly series reliving the classic early episodes with Chris (starting from the beginning after lost tapes 6, 8, 10 & 12), reflecting on 10 years since Dopey launched in 2016, the frozen-in-time joy of hearing Chris’s voice again, and how the show was born from two rehab friends laughing over insane drug stories. He’s still riding the emotional wave from Linda’s father Tony’s beautiful celebration of life, got his $1,100 car repair money back after a pajama-rage showdown, and begs for any surviving lost Dopey episodes (6, 8, 10, 12) with a reward offered.

New format twist: Mondays = full chronological Chris-era replays, Thursdays = Greatest Hits. Dave reads grateful/complaining listener emails (send yours: one thing you hate + one thing you’re grateful for), plays Haley’s legendary nitrous-at-the-dentist voicemail (huffing until she thinks she’s “retarded,” crying then laughing while clapping, pure Dopey chaos), and dives into the Episode 5 replay: “Skiing Drunk, Broken Neck, TBI, Jail, and…” — Chris recounts his teenage subdural hematoma from a blackout ski crash (tuna & grape juice vomit fountain, spinal fractures, spleen rupture), court-ordered stay at a traumatic brain injury facility (diaper-wearing roommate flooding the kitchen with Apple Jacks & milk, another nonstop-talking Deadhead/skinhead roommate), sneaking out to shoot crystal meth, watching porn together, and the infamous “let me suck your dick” moment that ends the story in glorious, unfiltered Dopey style.

ALL THAT PLUS EMAILS AND VOICEMAILS on a super classic 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.

Listen Ad Free! at www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

This week on Dopey! Dave powers through a music-heavy, emotional episode amid ongoing family grief (Tony’s celebration of life tomorrow), delivering sober birthday shoutouts (Jennifer Jimenez 20 years, Janine Coulter 11 years), sponsor love, listener stories, and a historic, in-depth interview with James Frey—his first-ever detailed on-record discussion of pre-sobriety life. Dave opens with a raw acoustic snippet (“Trying to score from the plug today…”), reflects on fame/pressure, plugs sponsors (Oro Recovery, Mountainside, Link Diagnostics, Recovery Unplugged, Orchard on the Brazos), and shares powerful listener submissions: Taylor’s 7-OH update (detox → AMA → relapse → QuickMD Suboxone taper + comedy struggles), Oscar (Sweden) on opioid progression to stable methadone, and an anonymous blackout chef tale (insane midnight meals with zero memory, kitchen disasters, one epic hookup dinner).

The centerpiece is James Frey’s unfiltered hour-plus conversation: childhood rage (ear infections/surgeries → early drinking/fighting), teenage rebellion (“White Boy James” in Benton Harbor bars), college coke dealing, Paris wild years, crack-fueled North Carolina descent, brutal Hazelden wake-up (face destroyed at 23), and Taoism as his lifelong sobriety anchor (meditation, renunciation, balance over 12-step dogma). He details writing A Million Little Pieces (addict rhythm, artistic defiance, no quotation marks), the explosive Oprah-fueled fame/backlash (“punk outlaw” pedestal → villain), and ongoing battles (suicidal ideation, rage, hockey fights). ALL THAT and MORE MORE MORE on this weeks super fucking robust 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.

LISTEN WITHOUT ADS AT www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast

This week on the CLASSIC Thursday REPLAY!Dave opens with life updates amid heavy grief: prepping for the celebration of life for his father-in-law (Linda’s dad), the car overheating again (mechanic drama continues), and a heartfelt decision to replay a classic “Al-Anon-ic Dopey in the family” episode with his mother-in-law, Sue—the one he calls one of the greatest ever recorded. He reflects on how addiction stories feel triumphant for the addict but painful for the “casualties” (family), shares listener comments on recent replays (including wild rehab tales from Florida), plugs stickers for Spotify comments/reviews, and reads touching emails: Wendy’s condolences + 2-year sober shoutout to Jennifer N (synchronous on Jan 15!), plus her powerful insight on coming clean about kratom/7-OH in AA and discovering others struggling too. Another email from Charlie teases the upcoming kratom documentary “Kratom Side Effects May Include” (screening MLK weekend in NYC) and the dangers of potent 7-OH isolates.

The heart of the episode is the full replay of Dave’s emotional, cathartic sit-down with Sue (recorded years ago during COVID era), covering their rocky first impressions, Dave’s early heroin relapse after Nora’s birth, the terrifying custody battles, supervised visits, court drama (Dave showing up high), financial/legal stress, Linda moving back home with Nora for years, Dave’s gradual recovery journey (18 months clean, then true sobriety), rebuilding trust, and the family’s hope that Dave/Linda/Nora could become a unit. Sue shares her perspective as a non-drug-experienced, straight-laced mom/grandma—initial denial, sadness, anger, eventual admiration for Dave’s hard-won sobriety, and deep gratitude for how he became a devoted father/provider. They laugh about Sue’s cookie-stealing, ping-pong lies (she still claims she won!), competitive games, and family adventures gone wrong (like losing Nora/Sue at Gray Fox festival). Ends on hope, surrender, and advice for families: prioritize the grandchild, understand addiction as a disease, hang in there—there’s light at the end (though not always a happy one). Dave closes with love for Sue, reflections on mortality/family. All that and more on a tough loving, good timey hard episode of that good ol dopey show.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on the Wednesday Dose of Dopey! Dave kicks off an intensely emotional episode amid personal chaos—grieving Linda's dad's death, a bizarre Verizon outage conspiracy vibe, a $1,100 car repair scam, and a half-hearted gratitude meditation to stay grounded. He reads glowing listener comments on the recent Sid Vicious/Ned Van Zandt heroin epic, plugs stickers for Spotify/iTunes reviews, and shares a powerful email from Sarah E. about her ongoing brutal struggle with 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine) dependence after accidents and kratom escalation, highlighting deception, severe withdrawals, and the "master of deception" label despite a strong sober community.

The core is a raw, heartfelt interview with returning guest Erin Khar (author of Strung Out, unlicensed advice columnist), who opens up about her recent diagnosis of small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) / chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)—a slow-growing, incurable non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma discovered via routine mammogram/biopsy around Labor Day. Erin details the terrifying pathology call, symptoms (years of unexplained fatigue, anemia, frequent illnesses), watch-and-wait monitoring (no treatment yet until lymphocyte count rises), good-news/bad-news aspects (no chemo likely, keeps her hair, many live normal lifespans especially younger diagnoses like her at 52), and how curiosity over fear helps her cope.

They explore parallels to addiction/recovery (one day at a time, sitting on hands during suicidal moments, grief + gratitude coexisting), family impact (kids' anxiety, protecting emotions), quality over quantity of life, and Erin's Substack reveal for connection. Ends with an Ask Erin advice segment, Johnny Thunders love ("Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory"), and Trinity's cover of "Wanna Be Good So Bad". ALL THAT AND MORE MORE MORE!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.