EPISODE · Sep 14, 2026 · 1H 23M
Dopey Total Replay #45: Nick Reiner’s First Dopey Interview: 18 Rehabs, Harm Reduction, a GHB Overdose & Alina Lodge
from Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction · host Dave & Chris
DopeyCon Tickets: https://buytickets.at/thedopeyfoundation/2345507Join Patreon and Save $15 on Tickets: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcastSummary:This Week on the Total Replay! Nick Reiner’s first appearance with Dave and Chris in 2016. Nick is currently incarcerated and has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of killing his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer and producer Michele Singer Reiner. Dave addresses the criticism he received after previously replaying Nick’s appearances and explains why omitting this episode would violate the purpose of replaying the entire Dopey archive in order.Dave reads a deeply compassionate letter from listener Leah, who identifies with Nick’s history of mental illness and treatment failure. She mourns Rob and Michele while wondering whether the Dopey Nation could somehow let Nick know that he isn’t completely alone.In the original interview, Nick discusses growing up as Rob Reiner’s son, writing Being Charlie and appearing with his father on Howard Stern. The conversation quickly develops into a passionate debate about AA, the commercial treatment industry, abstinence, harm reduction and whether different people require different definitions of recovery.Nick argues that fear and all-or-nothing thinking can make relapse more dangerous, while Dave and Chris explain why attempts at moderation repeatedly led them back to heroin and other destructive behavior. The three discuss Bill Wilson’s experiments with LSD, Suboxone, psychedelics, Rat Park, genetic addiction and whether mindset can influence a person’s relationship with drugs.Eventually, Nick reveals that he has attended approximately 17 or 18 rehabs. This leads Dave and Nick into stories about Alina Lodge. Dave recounts manufacturing alcohol inside the program, escaping into the woods and eventually shooting crack in Harlem. He then describes drinking GHB from a Blue Mountain Blast Powerade bottle, waking up in a hospital under the name “Charles McCullough” and discovering that the hospital had left the remaining GHB beside his bed.Nick follows with an Alina Lodge story involving an older woman, cocaine, an unfortunate shower encounter and the later discovery that she had died by suicide. The episode ends just as the three decide that Nick’s appearance needs to be divided into two parts.It's a rough new/old episode of that good ol dopey show! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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What this episode covers
Timestamps 00:00:23 – Why today’s replay is so heavy 00:01:00 – Nick Reiner and the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner 00:01:34 – Was replaying Nick’s interviews opportunistic? 00:02:47 – Why Dave refuses to remove an episode from Total Replay 00:03:05 – DopeyCon, costumes and tickets 00:04:06 – Leah’s letter about mental illness and identifying with Nick 00:07:32 – Compassion for Nick without minimizing what happened 00:09:12 – Dave’s response and contact from a potential defense attorney 00:09:58 – Patreon comments about Chris and Dopey’s future 00:14:44 – Spotify comments and favorite drug songs 00:16:53 – Original 2016 interview with Nick Reiner begins 00:18:55 – Dave lies his way onto Howard Stern while high 00:21:14 – Rob Reiner, Stand by Me and Being Charlie 00:23:32 – Nick’s problems with AA and the rehab industry 00:25:47 – God, twelve-step dogma and different definitions of sobriety 00:28:09 – Nick’s argument for harm reduction 00:30:30 – Bill Wilson, LSD and alternative pathways 00:32:51 – Nick uses a Soberlink during the interview 00:35:02 – Does long-term sobriety automatically create wisdom? 00:37:17 – Why Nick stopped counting sober days 00:38:00 – The psychiatrist who understood research chemicals 00:39:38 – Suboxone, Ashtanga yoga and treating the whole person 00:42:00 – Relapsing during a trip with his girlfriend 00:44:10 – Maslow, self-actualization and Rat Park 00:46:31 – The rats who continued using heroin 00:48:54 – Genetic addiction versus substance-use disorder 00:49:35 – Promoting Being Charlie while privately smoking weed 00:51:10 – Getting high after television appearances 00:53:15 – Who should be allowed to appear on Dopey? 00:55:31 – Recovery podcasts and the East Side Crackhead 00:57:45 – Dave and Chris clash over harm reduction 00:59:58 – Weed, chocolate and addiction to tomorrow 01:02:21 – The former IV drug user who returned to drinking 01:04:42 – Chris’s advice about Dave smoking weed 01:05:35 – Nick reveals that he has attended 17 or 18 rehabs 01:07:04 – Dave makes prison alcohol at Alina Lodge and escapes 01:09:12 – Crack in Harlem and the Blue Mountain Blast GHB 01:11:26 – Waking up in the hospital as “Charles McCullough” 01:13:43 – Nick’s experience at Alina Lodge 01:15:51 – Cocaine and the shower encounter 01:18:08 – Nick learns that the woman died by suicide 01:20:12 – Cry Help and the rehab prank call 01:22:16 – Part-one conclusion
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Dopey Total Replay #45: Nick Reiner’s First Dopey Interview: 18 Rehabs, Harm Reduction, a GHB Overdose & Alina Lodge
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