24. Dumb phones and disclosures

24. Dumb phones and disclosures

JP get into digital minimalism, dumb phones, and the weird shame spiral of choosing AI music over replying to a prison sponsee. They also wade into disclosure in marriage, whether lusting after your own wife is still lust, and why “mindful masturbation” might be the clearest sign you’re in the wrong room. Plus: listening to the podcast on half speed, protecting Pasha’s ego, nuclear-bomb honesty, and the terrifying moment when meetings start feeling boring.

23. DSRs and temper tantrums

J&P get into whether staying busy actually helps recovery, why DSRs can feel both useful and completely maddening, and what it means to tell on yourself before your ego gets too comfortable. They also talk forgiveness as a choice, resentment as poison, and Jonathan’s very real temper tantrum over a nursery footstool. Plus: cinematic addicts, Taco Bell burrito trauma, The Power of Now, and the deeply spiritual struggle of not saying the closing catchphrase.

22. Can exposure therapy help?

Pasha comes back from a work conference tired, rattled, and with one painfully awkward problem: what do you say when a coworker asks for your secret podcast? He and Jonathan get into conferences as a minefield, the weird buildup from a thousand little looks, and why bookending might be the most practical tool they’ve found for staying sane in the wild. Also: the guy who read "lusted perverts," one very reluctant meeting chair, and a Russian Serenity Prayer to close it out.

21. Predators, monsters and perverts

Jonathan and Pasha recap the Sumas retreat, from the very specific chaos of trying to save a variety show with almost no acts to Jonathan leaving early to get home to his wife and screaming baby. They get into recruiting people off the trail, Pasha's red-bandana intimidation strategy, and why Mike K and Thomas completely stole the show with their fake phone-coordinator bit. They also talk about the weird freedom of being around people who already know your worst stuff, what happens when guys keep relapsing, and why hearing "go to God" can still be maddening when you want actual instructions.

20. Free to be me (Sumas retreat)

Kent joins Pasha and Jonathan at the Sumas retreat to talk about being openly gay in SA, why he tells guys to get sober first and sort out the rest later, and how recovery changed the way he sees his wife and their marriage. They get into early-recovery anger, saying the Serenity Prayer in Home Depot, what it was like for Kent to walk into a room full of men, and the tension around who feels welcome in the fellowship. Kent also shares some great stories about working with David Maynard, including the simple rule that told you whether he was really your sponsor: call every day.