The Zac Clark Show

Dr. Michael McCormick, Chief Medical Officer at Release Recovery and our resident doctor on The Zac Clark Show, returns for an urgent conversation about today’s rapidly changing drug supply.

Following the suspected overdose deaths of two students at Ole Miss, Zac and Doc discuss what they’re seeing firsthand in addiction treatment – from kratom and concentrated kratom-derived products to counterfeit pills, nitrous and emerging synthetic opioids – and why experimentation today carries risks it didn’t a generation ago.

Importantly, Doc explains why you do not have to have a substance use disorder to overdose, and why someone experimenting for the first time may be especially vulnerable.

As a doctor, person in long-term recovery and father with a son in college, Doc also shares how he talks to his own kids about drugs – and why “don’t do drugs” is no longer enough.

Zac and Doc close with three practical messages: test your drugs, carry Narcan and have the hard conversation. Thisi is an important conversation for parents and young people alike.

Connect with Dr. Michael McCormick

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-a-mccormick-d-o-2131269/

https://www.instagram.com/drmichaelmccormick/

Connect with Zac

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclarkhttps://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

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Benton McClintock built an online following by being loud, outrageous, funny – and often completely fucked up. Behind the characters and viral videos, though, his relationship with drugs and alcohol was getting harder to control.

In his early 20s, Benton was waiting tables in New York City while trying to build a career online. Drinking became part of the job, drugs were readily available, and eventually he says he couldn't go to work without drinking. At the same time, the wild persona he created while using was beginning to attract an audience.

Then, at 27, Benton met the man who would eventually become his husband. When he learned that he was sober, something clicked. Benton decided he wasn't going to drink anymore – and he hasn't since.

Benton joins Zac to talk about growing up with depression and a chaotic family life, using alcohol and drugs to quiet his mind, getting sober without a traditional rock-bottom moment, and the fear that sobriety would make him less funny and creative. He also opens up about finding his own path in recovery, his complicated relationship with AA, marriage, acting, social media, and realizing that getting sober doesn't necessarily mean you're finished confronting addictive behavior.

Two years into sobriety, Benton says plainly that his life today wouldn't exist without it.

Connect with Benton

https://www.instagram.com/bentonmcclintock/

https://www.tiktok.com/@bentonmcclintock

Connect with Zac

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclark

https://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553

https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephanie Wittels Wachs is the CEO and cofounder of Lemonada Media, host of the award-winning podcast Last Day, and author of Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis. But none of this work would exist without her younger brother, Harris Wittels.

Harris – the beloved writer, producer and comedian known for Parks and Recreation and Master of None – died of an opioid overdose in 2015 at just 30 years old. Before his death, Stephanie watched someone she loved cycle through addiction, treatment and relapse while her family struggled to understand what they were supposed to do.

In this deeply personal conversation, Stephanie tells Zac about the call when Harris first revealed his OxyContin addiction, the mistakes she believes her family made with the information they had at the time, and the moment she finally understood that her brother wasn't choosing to hurt them – he was sick.

More than a decade later, Stephanie has devoted much of her life to understanding the questions she couldn't answer then. She and Zac talk about opioid addiction, relapse, medication-assisted treatment, 12-step recovery, harm reduction, Narcan, boundaries, grief, guilt, and why there may not be one path to recovery.

At its heart, this is a conversation about something millions of families struggle with: how do you help someone you love when you can't make them get sober?

Stephanie’s new book – Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis – is available now: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Last-Day/Stephanie-Wittels-Wachs/9781668093184

Connect with Stephanie:

https://www.instagram.com/wittelstephanie/

Listen to Last Day:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/last-day/id1468896686

More about Lemonada:

https://lemonadamedia.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Connect with Zac

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclark

https://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553

https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tony and Grammy-nominated performer Lena Hall joins Zac for an honest conversation about addiction, sobriety and the side of success people rarely see. A Broadway veteran who won a Tony for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Lena has built a career spanning theater, music, film and television, including her current role on Apple TV’s Your Friends & Neighbors.

Lena opens up about how wanting to fit in eventually became a cycle of drinking and using to the point of blackout – even as her career was reaching new heights.

She shares how debilitating panic and anxiety finally led her to question her relationship with substances, and how curiosity helped carry her into sobriety.

Now 10 years sober, Lena reflects on childhood pain, AA and Al-Anon, mental health, her experience with ayahuasca and the complicated question of what “sober” actually means – along with creativity, Broadway and why she continues to share her recovery publicly.

Connect with Lena

https://www.instagram.com/lenarockerhall/

https://www.instagram.com/labiahead_band/

Watch Lena on Your Friends & Neighbors

https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/this-is-what-happens/umc.cmc.36i6dji213wclhgotvqb214b8?showId=umc.cmc.74o37kzay0yuuub8iumddjsg&action=playSmartEpisode

Connect with Zac

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclark

https://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553

https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when the race probably should be canceled — but nobody stops running?

Zac breaks down one of the wildest races of his life: the Paramus Race Faster Half Marathon, where torrential rain turned the course into knee-and waist-deep water, rushing currents, slippery trails and even a detour into traffic. Despite it all, Zac and hundreds of other runners kept going.

After footage from the race went viral, Zac reflects on why he never considered stopping, the strange tunnel vision that takes over when you're chasing a finish line, and the unexpected sense of community that came from getting through something difficult together.

This is the story of the craziest half marathon Zac has ever run — and why he'd probably keep running until someone physically pulled him off the course.

Connect with Zac

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclark

https://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553

https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At 20, David Millar's life revolved around getting high. His cocaine use had progressed to crack, drug-induced psychosis and a point where he says he was completely okay with dying.

Seven years later, David is sober, in medical school and running ultramarathons.

In this episode, David tells Zac how addiction took him out of college, why the treatment he experienced in early recovery ultimately helped inspire his path into medicine, and how getting sober allowed him to discover an academic ability he never believed he had. He also opens up about growing up with an alcoholic father, getting sober at 20, rebuilding his life through structured sober living, and later watching the roles reverse when his father arrived at the ER where David was working in severe alcohol withdrawal.

David and Zac also talk about running, discipline, spirituality, the complicated relationship between addiction and mental health, and David's mission to show young people that sobriety isn't the end of your life – it can be the beginning of one you never imagined.

Follow David Millar

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david.millar.mindset/

Connect with Zac

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclark

https://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553

https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fifteen years ago, I had no hope, no purpose, and no idea what my life could become. Today, I get to look back on 15 years of sobriety -- and everything recovery has given me.

In this solo episode, I talk about what it was like, the moment everything changed, why I still believe my story is my greatest asset, and why I’ll never stop sharing it.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: you are worthy of change. And you have to keep going.

Connect with Zac:

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclark

https://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553

https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tyler Jackowski has built an audience of millions by making people laugh, but his path to becoming a full-time content creator was anything but planned.

Before social media, Tyler was a teacher – an experience that continues to shape his life and his mission to give back to educators. In this episode, Tyler sits down with Zac for a funny and open conversation about going from the classroom to becoming a successful creator, while navigating the anxiety and imposter syndrome that came along with it.

Tyler opens up about the period when he would leave social situations smiling and joking with everyone, only to go home and cry alone; the panic attack that sent his heart rate to 210 BPM; and how therapy, medication and learning to prioritize his own mental health changed his life.

They also talk about Tyler’s years as a teacher, what social media gets wrong, his relationship with success, and his work giving back to educators through America’s Heroes.

A conversation about what can exist behind the version of ourselves everyone else sees — even when millions of people are watching.

Follow Tyler Jackowski

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tylerjackowskiofficial/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fishin4clout

More about Tyler’s company – America’s Heroes Contest:

https://www.instagram.com/americasheroescontests/

https://americasheroescontest.com/

Connect with Zac

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclark

https://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553

https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the New York Knicks championship parade, a man became unresponsive high above a crowd of thousands. Phones came out. Simone Kelly ran toward him.

Simone is a 24-year-old volunteer EMT and neuroscience student at Drew University who hopes to become a physician specializing in emergency psychiatry and addiction. At the parade, she climbed onto the structure, recognized the signs of a suspected opioid overdose, called for Narcan, administered it, and helped save his life. The moment quickly went viral.

Simone joins Zac to tell the story behind the rescue and talk Narcan, overdose, harm reduction, addiction stigma, service, and why treating people who are struggling with dignity can save lives.

More Information about NARCAN: 

https://narcan.com/en/

Follow Simone Kelly

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simmykelly/

Connect with Zac

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclark

https://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553

https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian, former Saturday Night Live writer, and author Rosebud Baker joins Zac for an honest conversation about addiction, grief, motherhood, divorce, and what long-term recovery actually looks like.

Rosebud reflects on losing her seven-year-old sister, getting sober at 22, writing her memoir Fully Baked: A Messy Memoir, working at SNL while raising a newborn, and navigating divorce -- and how recovery isn't about becoming someone new, but about getting to the truth of who you already are.

One of the most powerful moments comes when she explains why losing her sister and giving birth to her daughter felt strangely similar -- both shattered the life she thought she knew and forced her to see how fragile, and precious, all of it is.

This is a conversation about what happens after the drinking stops: emotional suppression, family patterns, burnout, and the deeper work of staying present for your whole life without escaping yourself.

Learn more about Rosebud Baker’s memoir here: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668016222?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Follow Rosebud Baker::

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosebudbaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rosebudbakerstandup

Connect with Zac:

https://www.instagram.com/zwclark/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-c-746b96254/

https://www.tiktok.com/@zacwclark

https://www.strava.com/athletes/55697553

https://twitter.com/zacwclark

If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

@releaserecovery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices