EPISODE · Jun 3, 2026 · 1H 43M
Serious Crack Smoking! Sleeping on the Subway! Rikers Island! Brownsville, Brooklyn! & 36 Years of Recovery - The Wednesday Dose of Dopey with Michael Muniz
from Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction · host Dave & Chris
Film Festival Tickets: https://buytickets.at/thedopeyfoundation/2216905 Listen Without ads on patreon: www.pareon.com/dopeypodcast This week on the Wednesday Dose! The episode kicks off with a classic hippie Dopey email from listener MB, who recounts a spectacular Phish tour nitrous disaster. After days of ketamine, booze, overpriced cocaine, and lot balloons at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado, MB face-plants into the dirt while clutching multiple nitrous balloons, destroys his glasses, spends a miserable flight home dry-heaving and hallucinating, and somehow survives a concussion-level experience. The story ends on a positive note with nearly ten months clean and sober and a request for dream guests Gibby Haynes and Jason Isbell. Dave then dives into Patreon and Spotify comments, including continuing fallout from the Dopey Sticker Contest. Selby files an official election challenge, claiming the contest was stolen and accusing Dave of failing to refresh Patreon before announcing a winner. Dave doubles down, insisting Felix Heads remains the champion despite accusations of voter suppression, corruption, and sticker fraud. Along the way listeners discuss ADHD, religion, Knicks fandom, kratom recovery, Long Island stories, and the eternal mystery of white crack dealers. The heart of the episode is an incredible interview with Michael Muniz, a 69-year-old Brooklyn native with 36 years sober. Michael tells a quintessential New York story that stretches from Brownsville gangs, schoolyard fights, and witnessing the neighborhood transformation of Brooklyn in the 1960s and 70s to marijuana, acid, cocaine, crack addiction, homelessness, Rikers Island, and ultimately recovery through Phoenix House. Michael shares stories about seeing his deceased father’s face in the clouds during an LSD trip, discovering crack in the Cypress Projects and instantly becoming obsessed, losing everything while sleeping on subway trains and wandering New York’s tunnels, robbing his mother, surviving violent encounters, and eventually finding his way into Phoenix House. What began as a plan to simply get clean long enough to save money and return to crack eventually became a lifelong recovery journey. The conversation explores therapeutic communities, recovery philosophy, family loyalty, homelessness during the crack epidemic, the culture of Brooklyn neighborhoods, Rikers Island in the 1980s, and the power of second chances. Michael also describes a dramatic courtroom moment where, facing serious federal charges, he convinced a judge to give him probation instead of prison after speaking honestly about recovery and wanting a different life. By the end, Michael reflects on his 36 years of sobriety, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, acting career, and belief that recovery is a lifelong process. Dave and Michael bond over drug dreams, gratitude, family, and the reality that while the desire to get high may never fully disappear, a meaningful life in recovery is infinitely better. The episode closes with Michael from the band Good Kid performing a live version of “Good So Bad,” All that and MORE MORE MORE on the Wednesday dose of that good old 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
Timestamp Notes 00:00:00 – Opening & Birthday Week Dopey Wednesday intro song. Dave records from his father's house in his underwear. Birthday week reflections. Knicks playoff anxiety. Excitement and stress surrounding the upcoming Dopey Recovery Film Festival. 00:01:30 – Dopey Recovery Film Festival Push June 26 Film Festival announcement. Katz's food and desserts. Discount tickets for Patreon members. Dave encourages listeners to attend. 00:02:45 – Phish Nitrous Disaster Email Listener MB writes in. Post-COVID Phish tour adventures. Ketamine, alcohol and nitrous-filled weekend. Buying overpriced cocaine from a lot dealer. Nitrous balloon faceplant in the parking lot. Broken glasses and possible concussion. 00:05:45 – The Flight Home From Hell Dry-heaving on a Frontier flight. Hallucinations and head injury fears. Driving two hours home after landing. Severe leg pain and confusion. MB celebrates nearly ten months clean. 00:08:15 – Patreon Sticker Contest Chaos Debate over who actually won the Dopey sticker contest. Selby claims election fraud. Dave insists Felix Heads remains the winner. Voice memo from Selby challenging the results. 00:10:45 – Patreon Comments Discussion of anxiety and parenting. ADHD revelations. Religious commentary and recovery. Congratulations to listeners celebrating clean time. 00:14:40 – Spotify Comments Listener reactions to the Handsome Evan episode. Recovery updates from listeners. Kratom recovery discussion. Crack dealer jokes. Knicks playoff excitement. 00:18:55 – Introduction to Michael Muniz Dave introduces Phoenix House speaker Michael Muniz. Meeting at the Phoenix House Soiree. Michael's powerful recovery story. Interview with Michael Muniz 00:20:00 – Meeting at Phoenix House Michael reflects on speaking at the Phoenix House Soiree. Celebrity guests including Hank Azaria and Aisha Hinds. Recovery community and connection. 00:23:00 – Brooklyn Roots Growing up in Brownsville and East New York. Family life in public housing. Baseball, gangs and neighborhood culture. Willie Randolph connection. 00:29:00 – Gang Culture in 1970s Brooklyn Local gangs and territorial neighborhoods. Fighting to avoid gang membership. Street codes and respect. Shooting a gun for the first time. 00:37:00 – First Drug Experiences Father's death and emotional impact. First marijuana experience. Discovering alcohol. Early drug use while maintaining good grades. 00:46:30 – LSD & Seeing His Father's Face Acid trips during his youth. Seeing his deceased father's face in the clouds. Believing it was a warning message. Never taking LSD again. 00:49:30 – Cocaine Takes Over First exposure through tooth pain. Immediate attraction to cocaine. Escalating use. Southern Comfort, bars and Wall Street nightlife. 00:53:00 – Wall Street Career Graduating with an accounting degree. Working in brokerage firms. Becoming an assistant supervisor. Successful career while using drugs. 00:56:00 – First Crack Experience Meeting women in the Cypress Projects. Watching crack being cooked. Trying it for the first time. Instant obsession. Becoming a crack addict almost immediately. 01:01:00 – Stealing From Family Robbing his mother's apartment. Selling household possessions. Family fallout. Losing control completely. 01:03:00 – Homelessness Living on subway trains. Sleeping on the A train. Eating from his mother through a chained door. Brothers searching for him. 01:05:30 – Rikers Island Drug arrest and warrant. First incarceration. Surviving jail politics. Choosing not to use drugs inside. Returning directly to crack after release. 01:09:00 – Life on the Streets Gun held to his head. Violent encounters in East New York. Carrying a machete looking for revenge. Living inside NYC subway tunnels. 01:12:30 – NYC Tunnel Culture Underground communities. Life beneath the city. Homeless survival during the crack era. 01:15:00 – Entering Phoenix House Brother offers a subway token. Decision to finally seek help. Original plan was to save money and eventually return to crack. 01:17:30 – Therapeutic Community Life Phoenix House structure. Peer accountability. Group therapy. House responsibilities. Recovery culture. 01:22:00 – Federal Charges Catch Up Postal inspector investigation. Federal cocaine charges. Court appearance while in treatment. 01:25:00 – The Courtroom Speech Speaking directly to the judge. Owning his mistakes. Receiving probation instead of prison. Turning point in recovery. 01:29:00 – Recovery Philosophy Drug dreams. Learning emotional sobriety. Building a new life. The difference between abstinence and recovery. 01:33:00 – Phoenix House Philosophy Reciting the Phoenix House creed. Remembering lessons from his late brother. Family, service and gratitude. 01:36:00 – Staying Sober for 36 Years Recovery as a lifelong process. Dreams of using. Choosing sobriety daily. Building a meaningful life. 01:38:00 – Family & Acting Career Children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Nearly 400 acting credits. Reinvention in sobriety. 01:40:00 – Closing Thoughts Michael's gratitude for recovery. Reflections on aging and purpose. Dave wraps up the conversation. 01:41:00 – Outro & Good Kid Performance Dave promotes the Film Festival. Final Dopey announcements. "Good So Bad" by Michael from Good Kid. Stay strong and fucking toodles for Chris. SEO Keywords (Cut & Paste)
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Serious Crack Smoking! Sleeping on the Subway! Rikers Island! Brownsville, Brooklyn! & 36 Years of Recovery - The Wednesday Dose of Dopey with Michael Muniz
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