Episodes

Lori Bell was conceived when her father got drunk at a traveling circus, wrestled an anteater, got fired, and was dropped off in the next city — Kansas City, where he wandered into the unemployment office where her mother wor...

David’s trouble started when the DEA caught him with five kilos of cocaine at the age of 20. On probation, he moved to St. Louis with court approval, finished college in three years, and was released early from probation. He ...

Born in Kansas to Mexican parents, Omar was sent as a baby to live with his grandparents in Mexico. He returned to Kansas around age five where he learned English, was bullied and sexually abused, then drifted into gangs and ...

Taylor Cavanaugh grew up in San Diego with drugs and alcohol in the house from early on. His father had substance problems and financial instability, and Taylor was eventually kicked out of high school for dealing ecstasy and...

Andi gave her son his first iPhone at age 7, a gift that seemed harmless until it slowly devolved into gaming marathons, failing grades, and a complete erosion of his sense of right and wrong. After trying parental controls, ...

Judge Wayne Mallia went straight from law school into the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office, working there for 13 years and spending nine as First Assistant DA. He was later elected as a district court judge in Galv...

David became a father at 18, finished college while working full-time, entered Nissan's executive training program, and then built a successful marketing agency serving plastic surgeons. As his success grew, so did a hard-par...

Frustrated by an education system Aaron viewed as compliance-driven and devoid of meaningful agency, he left teaching to work in trauma and addiction recovery. Over 20 years teaching high school, Aaron observed that his stude...

Although Curtiss was sexually abused as a child, he did well in school and football until a humiliating pep‑rally incident in seventh grade led him to quit sports and start smoking marijuana. Drifting into fights, he landed i...

Jessica's childhood fractured early. Her alcoholic father went to prison for a DWI, and by the time she was six, her parents had divorced. Her mother remarried, folding the family into a blended household with an adopted step...

Rachel’s parents divorced when she was just a baby, and she lived with her mom, who struggled with alcoholism and mental health issues, while her older sister went to live with their dad. By ninth grade, she was rarely at sch...

Craig “Bubba” Norton was first exposed to addiction when his mother died from alcoholism in 1982. His father later entered treatment, and during a family program Craig realized at age 20 that he was also an alcoholic. After m...

Nikki grew up in a small town with a mother who struggled with alcoholism and periods of abuse but was also loving and devoted. As a teen, she began using substances like weed, pills, and whippets. At 19, she sought help from...

Richard Galvan began stealing, getting arrested and drinking vodka alone in sixth grade. He snorted and sold his Ritalin, stole his mother’s pills and drank cough syrup. By his early teens, he was selling pills, using meth, a...

Judge Katrina Griffith grew up wanting to be a lawyer, encouraged by her mother during arguments with her older brother in "mom's court." As a teenager, she saw the juvenile system affect family members. After college, she en...

Born and raised in East Texas, Randy Grimes grew up in church with an older brother and sister and played football and baseball. He attended Baylor University, where he had a strong football career and met his future wife on ...

Jenifer grew up in a home marked by physical and verbal abuse, which shaped how she viewed trust and relationships. She got pregnant at 18 and had her son, Hunter, at 19, raising him mostly on her own. At 28, she married, but...

Doug experienced abuse in early childhood, and at age 12 when his father left, he spiraled into severe depression, suicidality, and repeated psychiatric hospitalizations. As a teenager, he discovered alcohol and used it to ma...

Born in Italy to Russian parents, Dan came to the U.S. as a baby and grew up in a highly driven immigrant community near Princeton, New Jersey. An only child, he was pushed hard to be successful in academics and athletics, wi...

Seeing him on this podcast for the first time in 13 years, Matt admits to his old friend Austin York that he robbed him during the chaos of their using days in Southern California. Like Matt, Austin got into trouble very youn...

After Cynthia was molested in childhood, she used food as a coping mechanism, developing bulimia and extreme body dysmorphia. As a teenager, vaccinations triggered hormonal and immune imbalances, causing mood changes and hive...

Chris grew up in Odessa, Texas, in a home where alcohol and drugs were part of everyday life. At 15, he altered his birth certificate to work in the oil fields. By 19, he was drilling, and by 25, he was running crews—building...

Kratom is a plant-based substance that’s easy to find in smoke shops, gas stations, and even health food stores. Marketed as a natural remedy for pain, energy, or opioid withdrawal, it’s gained a reputation as a “safe” altern...

Growing up in Spring, Texas, Jordan was a standout student and star athlete. Raised in a supportive, yet strict household, he excelled in sports and academics, graduated near the top of his class, and was inducted into his hi...