The Worst Dopey Episode Ever? Drug Song, Robo-Tripping, Nitrous & the Structured Episode | Total Replay #44
Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug AddictionShow Notes
Timestamps
00:00:00 – “Rocket Canoe” opening 00:01:08 – Labor Day and the working people 00:03:33 – Why episode 44 is the “Structured Episode” 00:03:57 – DopeyCon lineup and changes 00:05:03 – Joey Diaz, Jeff Ross and Artie Lange possibilities 00:06:01 – Dopey theme-song challenge 00:06:33 – Limited-edition merch and DopeyCon tickets 00:07:30 – Should the classic Dopey hat return? 00:08:27 – Daniel’s blue-ketamine and Stinky Pete story 00:11:08 – Daddy’s enormous box of dildos 00:12:20 – The original reactions to the Structured Episode 00:13:17 – Remembering Devin’s mother, Helene 00:15:40 – Patreon comments and homemade blow darts 00:18:03 – Chris’s chilling words and Spotify comments 00:20:27 – “The fatness” at a Grateful Dead show 00:21:35 – Selling feet pictures and getting money for drugs 00:23:32 – Dopey episode 44 begins 00:24:00 – Dave reveals his plan to impose structure 00:25:45 – Chris’s imaginary PowerPoint presentation 00:26:15 – Dave’s morning bathroom requirements 00:30:16 – Structure officially begins with Siri 00:30:35 – Macaulay Culkin, heroin and current events 00:32:57 – Siri responds to a suicide question 00:33:21 – Kelsey Grammer, drinking and recovery 00:35:03 – Drug songs: “A Horse with No Name” 00:39:25 – The Velvet Underground’s “Heroin” 00:42:53 – “Under the Bridge” began as a poem 00:44:30 – More drug songs and drug-song arguments 00:49:27 – James Brown’s “King Heroin” 00:51:18 – Crack songs, cocaine songs and reggae 00:55:30 – “I’m Waiting for the Man” 00:57:20 – Paul McCartney’s marijuana song 00:59:25 – Ecstasy and getting loaded 01:01:31 – Sublime, reefers and “Smoke Two Joints” 01:02:42 – Chris’s teenage Robitussin addiction 01:05:00 – The four DXM plateaus 01:07:02 – Whippets, nitrous tanks and “hippie crack” 01:08:00 – Dirty loops and isolating with weed 01:09:15 – Passing out on nitrous at a Phish show 01:10:40 – Inhalants, Dust-Off and drugs that frightened Chris 01:12:00 – Future, lean and the “Panda” confusion 01:14:45 – The AA meeting and the Luke Skywalker speaker 01:16:25 – Thinking before acting 01:17:40 – Resentment over not being called on 01:18:35 – Chris shares at a meeting 01:19:45 – Why Dave wants Dopey to become successful 01:21:10 – Obsessively checking the download counter 01:22:08 – The structured experiment officially fails 01:23:33 – AA, NA, CA and war stories 01:24:30 – Chris describes cocaine cravings and the needle 01:25:35 – Reviews, dinner and final goodbyes 01:27:04 – Closing song
Five ad breaks
These all land at clean transitions:
00:12:20 – After Daniel’s voicemail 00:22:38 – Before introducing the original replay 00:42:53 – After “Heroin,” before the next round of drug songs 01:02:41 – Drug-song segment ends; DXM story begins 01:14:35 – After the lean segment, before the AA discussion SEO title
Dopey Episode 44 Replay: Drug Songs, DXM, Nitrous, Robotripping, Heroin Stories and Recovery
More from Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction
Time Stamp Notes: | 00:00 | Opening music | | 01:21 | Oro Recovery | | 02:41 | Welcome, meeting Joe, and Mandy’s Tool concert voicemail | | 05:05 | Acid kicks in—and the guy beside Mandy has his penis out | | 06:25 | “You got a license for that?” / DopeyCon merch | | 08:44 | Harold’s Anchorage story: shooting meth while in heroin withdrawal | | 11:09 | Mountainside wrap-up, BetterHelp, and Patreon comments begin | | 13:29 | Betty reactions, signs from Chris, and LICR | | 15:50 | More Patreon comments: trauma, spirituality, and the missing voicemails | | 18:08 | Workit Health / Mackie’s recovery update from Montana | | 20:31 | Recovery Unplugged / transition into Joe’s interview | | 22:56 | Meet Joe Belmonte of Stronger Body, Stronger Mind | | 25:18 | How Dave and Joe connected over recovery | | 27:35 | Disclosing heroin addiction / growing up on Long Island | | 29:40 | Buying his first bong with a fake ID | | 31:53 | First high, angry music, and Papa Roach | | 34:15 | His parents’ divorce and using drugs to shut off feelings | | 39:03 | Music, working out, and escalating drug use | | 41:24 | Turning anger into intensity / paying for drugs | | 43:50 | A police officer father, Catholic school, cocaine, ecstasy, and Xanax | | 46:15 | Webster Hall all night, construction work all day | | 48:38 | Shoplifting and his first DWI | | 51:05 | Falling in love with blues | | 53:28 | Losing his license, getting kicked out, and moving in with Grandpa | | 55:51 | College, court-mandated treatment, and accepting addiction as his future | | 58:17 | Pawning music equipment / eleven years without a sober day | | 01:00:46 | Falling in love on ecstasy | | 01:03:10 | Stealing Rokus and Fire Sticks across Long Island | | 01:05:36 | A $1,500–$2,000 daily pill habit and mounting arrests | | 01:08:02 | Busted at Walmart | | 01:10:27 | Grand larceny and the introduction to heroin | | 01:12:53 | Heroin stamps, court, and the stigma of dope | | 01:15:20 | Crossing the line from pills to heroin | | 01:17:44 | Learning to inject / addiction gets darker | | 01:20:05 | Living in his car while his girlfriend stays down the block | | 01:22:27 | Family boundaries, speedballs, and stealing from friends | | 01:24:48 | His father finds an interventionist / treatment marketing discussion | | 01:27:01 | Meeting Louie: the first recovering heroin addict Joe had met | | 01:29:23 | Totaling the car he lived in / agreeing to treatment | | 01:31:51 | Pregnancy, treatment, and planning “one more run” | | 01:34:20 | The overdose, waking in the hospital, and severe leg injuries | | 01:36:42 | “Where is she?” / learning his girlfriend and their unborn baby were gone | | 01:39:07 | Uncertainty about walking again / finally accepting help | | 01:41:36 | Grieving in early recovery and returning to fitness | | 01:44:03 | Rebuilding, estrangement from her family, and relapse | | 01:46:28 | Cold copping heroin after nearly three years sober | | 01:48:54 | COVID and another relapse | | 01:51:07 | Trying to party “normally” / starting his fitness business | | 01:53:32 | The business grows while addiction returns | | 01:55:54 | Losing the relationship and getting deeply involved in recovery again | | 01:58:22 | Fatherhood, meetings, sponsorship, and training Dave | | 02:00:38 | The Tin Man / “I don’t want to overcome” | | 02:02:53 | Joe hates the Beatles / living with grief | | 02:05:14 | Introducing the new Dopey Fitness Challenge | | 02:07:26 | Burpees, consistency, and Dave’s workout complaints | | 02:09:31 | Challenge recap, interview wrap-up, and Spotify comments begin | | 02:11:59 | The Betty debate: remorse, judgment, and recovery | | 02:14:20 | More listener reactions and encouragement | | 02:16:48 | Final comments, credits, and Toodles for Chris | | 02:19:06 | Closing music |
Time What happens 00:28 Healing vibes, Manhattan meetings, and introducing Smiling Joe 02:50 Austin’s “Acid in the Butt” Rainbow Gathering voicemail 05:16 Retracing the blackout and finding his pants and hat 07:40 Dave’s reaction; requests for stories; John Joseph comments 10:02 More listener reactions to John Joseph 12:28 Studio changes, Joe’s recovery sayings, and replay introduction 14:54 Meeting Joe; how “Methadone Joe” became “Smiling Joe” 17:03 Childhood fear and his mother’s severe mental illness 19:25 Stealing young and refusing help 20:56 Childhood sexual abuse, truancy, and a promise to a judge 23:02 First drinking and identifying with The Panic in Needle Park 24:59 Beer, glue, friendship, and growing up in the sixties 27:16 Survival mode, stealing, and dark humor 29:06 Neighborhood gangsters and leaving school 31:22 Working in Manhattan; psychedelics and JFK’s roof 33:29 Airport acid trips and the progression toward heroin 35:54 The sixties drug scene and heroin arriving in his neighborhood 38:02 First injections; heroin feels like “kissing God” 39:41 “Eddie, I’m in trouble”—knowing he loved heroin 41:38 The early credit-card and gift-certificate scam 43:45 Getting stopped on the way to score 45:44 Police find the missing heroin; stealing enormous underwear 47:38 Selling stolen goods; diamond-ring theft story follows 52:05 Heroin quality, stamps, and dealers’ marketing 54:01 Early methadone; taking shoplifting orders 55:42 The stolen girdle and the car surrounded by police 57:49 A courtroom seizure and waking up handcuffed to a radiator 1:00:05 Transferred to Rikers Island 1:02:02 His friendship with Eddie and getting physically worn out 1:03:57 Methadone, a Manhattan apartment, and a new girlfriend 1:06:21 Her father pulls a gun and chases him 1:08:17 Becoming friends with her father; the fatal ride Joe didn’t take 1:10:28 Honesty, addiction, and becoming a “better junkie” 1:12:26 Getting his equivalency diploma and entering St. John’s 1:14:17 Four years as an A student while taking methadone 1:16:29 Coming off methadone and becoming Disco Joe 1:18:36 Heroin returns; working on Wall Street 1:20:25 The $30 million gold scheme—and why he backed out 1:22:51 Cocaine enters the picture; methadone and speedballs 1:24:49 Cocaine blackouts and psychiatric hospitalization 1:26:47 Disliking cocaine but continuing for fifteen years 1:28:40 The heroin-and-cocaine combination becomes inseparable 1:30:45 Construction money, a house, a car, and addiction 1:32:51 Detoxes, seizures, and keeping the cycle going 1:34:59 Family loyalty and the lawyer’s horrifying advice 1:37:12 His father’s example; early exposure to recovery 1:39:08 Hearing someone identify as an “alcoholic addict” 1:41:17 Finding a place in AA and following the first direction 1:43:11 Physical exhaustion, Marworth, and the move toward Mastic 1:45:23 Making a pact to attend meetings—even while still using 1:47:40 Showing up high and refusing to stop coming 1:49:39 Ninety days, a standing ovation, and using the next day 1:52:03 Powerlessness, surrender, and a daily recovery practice 1:54:34 Welcoming Dave and becoming comfortable in sobriety 1:56:29 Vulnerability, commitment, and “borrow my God” 1:58:25 Building a relationship with a loving higher power 2:00:30 Willingness and filling the void 2:02:34 Recovery effort, quality of life, and final reflections 2:04:30 Interview ends; present-day wrap-up and credits follow 2:13:09 Closing dedication and song
Time Topic 00:12 Opening song 01:13 Welcome, Narcan, October merch, and “Upon Awakening” 03:38 JD D. Hart finds a bag of drugs at work 08:14 JD’s conclusion; listener comments begin afterward 10:38 Gambling, process addictions, and chasing dopamine 13:01 Audio complaints, fixing the sound, and JD’s casino memories 15:26 Keith Fierman joins: crawfish, friendship, and Cirque Lodge 17:33 The intervention involving a naked woman on a horse 19:50 Birmingham childhood and the day JFK was shot 22:12 An abusive stepfather and childhood trauma 24:30 Recovery before trauma work; resentment and forgiveness 26:54 Experiential therapy and creating the protection he never had 29:13 Heroin makes the world feel safe; first drugs at eleven 31:33 The Allman Brothers and music as a lifeline 33:58 Seeing Bob Marley and growing up a stoner 36:19 Getting backstage with the Grateful Dead 38:35 Standing up to Steve Parish and being welcomed in 41:01 Working life before addiction took over 43:24 Employee of the year, opioids, and Owsley Stanley 45:49 Orange Sunshine and Phil Lesh’s LSD elevator analogy 48:08 Phil’s gift of weed; meeting Trey with his son 50:33 Owsley’s jewelry and the first heroin experience 52:57 Trauma, fear, and waking up craving 55:19 Lortab, withdrawal, and trying to quit alone 57:43 Secret heroin flights from Birmingham to New York 1:00:08 Doctor shopping, Dilaudid, and shooting up 1:02:37 Scoring near Katz’s and encounters with the Rolling Stones 1:05:00 Keith Richards; the treatment center admission disaster 1:07:25 Getting sober and opening a free program for women 1:09:46 Helping families and trying to break the cycle 1:12:10 Finding a calling in intervention work 1:14:25 His objections to televised interventions 1:16:49 Day 198: yelling at God and going bowling 1:19:12 Music, connection, and the family’s role in recovery 1:21:36 Studying addiction, enabling, and rejecting “hitting bottom” 1:23:45 Finding help without a supportive family 1:26:13 Onsite, deeper trauma work, and making recovery fun 1:28:32 Bob Dylan and the beginning of Dopey versus Phish 1:30:46 Trey’s promised interview and Divided Sky 1:33:10 Dave discusses being told Dopey is “dark” 1:35:29 Jerry Garcia, backstage life, and tripping with Bob Weir 1:37:50 Talking bluegrass with Jerry and revisiting Phil’s advice 1:40:12 Darkness, recovery, and another attempt to reach Trey 1:42:40 Recovery needs to be attractive—and fun 1:45:04 Looking back with gratitude; meeting Ringo in France 1:47:28 Ringo’s invitation and Keith’s brother at Studio 54 1:49:52 Celebrity meeting etiquette and wrapping up 1:52:19 Dave’s outro, DopeyCon update, and credits 1:54:42 Closing song continues
Time Topic 00:01 Theme song 00:53 Terrible headphones, microphone complaints, and Ray’s return 03:15 Patreon “cheapos,” Ray’s $2 membership, and the Snickers story 05:31 Dave and Ray try to understand genital piercings 06:44 More piercing questions; the DopeyCon regulars 09:04 Ray reviews DopeyCon: heartfelt praise or stagecraft? 11:21 Alan joins; the missing framed posters and Canadian tunnel photographs 13:46 Alan’s complaints: blocked cameras, the singalong, and intermission 16:00 Fantasy basketball: missed Knicks picks and injury gambles 18:14 Diabolical Seymour, draft grievances, and gambling apps 20:31 Dave’s detective-questioning cliffhanger and Patreon invitation 22:41 Closing music
Time Topic 00:25 Opening music 01:27 Welcome and remembering Bobby R. 03:48 Recovery saints, service, and doing good without taking credit 06:09 Worst Recovery Texts Contest; why Dave loves episode 49 08:36 Patreon comments, five days of Dopey, and Dopey tattoos 10:18 “Peter Piper,” Bob James, and getting Dopey music on Spotify 12:44 Remembering Chris, listener feedback, and introducing the replay 15:27 Original episode 49 begins: can Dave be nice to Chris? 17:39 Buying loose cigarettes and setting up the Ezra story 22:07 Ezra’s corner outside Katz’s 24:25 The cigarette request that starts the fight 26:52 Threats, guilt, and stomping out half a cigarette 29:13 Who would win the battle for the corner? 31:37 A new listener discovers Dopey 33:11 Introducing Tracy’s story; recovery versus debauchery 35:32 Distractions, drinking forties, and trying to read the email 36:24 ADHD and a detour into language 38:40 Tracy’s heroin run in a terrible black wig 41:02 Pulled over with heroin in the glove compartment 43:26 Flirting with the cop; Tracy’s life on methadone 45:39 Chris’s Boston neighborhood characters 47:49 The family dog steals a sandwich; discussing homelessness 50:13 Couch surfing, sleeping outside, and neighborhood regulars 52:36 Shelter stories and apartments for older artists 54:52 Chris recalls sleeping outside and stealing beef jerky and beer 57:15 Sully’s email and “synchronicity cubed” 59:39 The dope-man surveillance camera; meeting at Mountainside 1:01:52 Rehab friendships and being tired of treatment 1:04:08 Dave and Chris’s different personalities 1:05:03 Staying in touch after rehab and Chris’s relapse 1:07:07 Scoring in unfamiliar cities; friendship in recovery 1:09:23 Bob Marley and Dave’s “Natural Mystic” weed flashback 1:12:37 Euphoric recall, DXM, and eighteen hours of the same song 1:14:49 Confiscated weed brownies and the “I think we’re dead” 911 call 1:16:14 Reaction, closing requests, and sign-off 1:18:27 Closing song continues