20. Free to be me (Sumas retreat)

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.

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.