20. Free to be me (Sumas retreat)

26. I Am Weak

J and Pasha record from a not-so-private Mount Rainier lodge and somehow turn whispering, staff members, and “no sexaholics in the national park” into a conversation about weakness, ego deflation, and letting God in through brokenness. They get into The Spirituality of Imperfection, Paul’s thorn in the flesh, service work gone sideways, making amends, and why sometimes the thing we hate most is exactly where recovery starts. Plus: Pasha's sponsor is catching up on old episodes, and Pasha may or may not be hiding under a table.

25. Sex drunk in Armenia

Pasha gets back from Armenia with stories about Yerevan, Russian-speaking SA, jazz clubs, and a hostel grandma who apparently knows how to make a goodbye way too intimate. J and Pasha also get into bookending, casual lusting, spiritual fitness, and why connecting with God and using the actual tools might have to be a both-and thing. Plus: chewing ice cream, the Russian slip, Pumba sniffing out the truth, and negative self-talk as a very questionable recovery strategy.

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.