Get a Grip Podcast
By Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes
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Image by Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes
Category: Personal Journals
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Subscribers: 5
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Episodes: 172
Description
Get a Grip Podcast is hosted by Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes, both in recovery from addiction and alcoholism. In each episode, they share their unfiltered stories of overcoming addiction, time in prison, and struggles with mental health—mixing raw honesty with humor. The podcast gives a voice to the underdog, breaking down the stigma surrounding addiction and recovery. Through candid conversations and real-life experiences, Louis and Aaron inspire others on their journey, showing that while recovery is challenging, it’s possible. Tune in for laughter, hope, and stories of transformation.
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
|
My Dad Taught Me How to Smoke Cr4ck… | Ep 169
|
May 27, 2026 |
|
Cheating, Cocaine & Psychosis | How I Hit Rock Bottom | Ep 168
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May 24, 2026 |
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I Was a Child Protective Services Worker Addicted to M3th & F3ntanyl | Ep 167
|
May 22, 2026 |
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How Prison Turned Me Into a Meth Addict | Ep 166
|
May 20, 2026 |
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I Was Addicted to Gun Point Robberies, Attempted Murd3r & 40’s | Ep 165
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May 17, 2026 |
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How Florida’s Oxy Epidemic Led Me to F3ntanyl Addiction | Ep 164
|
May 15, 2026 |
|
How I Put a Man in a Coma for 9 Months | Ep 163
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May 13, 2026 |
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How I Survived Growing Up With an Addicted Bipolar Mother | Ep 162
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May 11, 2026 |
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Addiction Led Me to Rob a Correctional Officer’s House — I Got 18 Years | Ep 161
|
May 08, 2026 |
|
From 40 Foster Homes to 100 OD’s & F3ntanyl Addiction | Ep 160
|
May 06, 2026 |
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I Blacked Out on Heroin… It Cost Me 8 Years in Prison | Ep 159
|
May 03, 2026 |
|
From Small Town to H3roin & M3th — Then 3 Weeks Without Sleep | Ep 159
|
May 01, 2026 |
|
From Miami Coke to Ohio Heroin — How He Finally Got Clean | Ep 158
|
Apr 29, 2026 |
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How I Woke Up in a Human Trafficking Nightmare & M3th Addiction | Ep 157
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Apr 26, 2026 |
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I Lost Everything to Fentanyl — My Story of Addiction & Homelessness | Ep 156
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Apr 24, 2026 |
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I Got Pregnant at 13… Then Ended Up on M3th & in Jail | Ep 155
|
Apr 22, 2026 |
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How My Mother’s Overdose Led Me to Fentanyl Addiction | Ep 154
|
Apr 19, 2026 |
|
I Shot Heroin With My Dying Dad & Extracted My Own Teeth… 20 Years of IV Heroin Addiction | Ep 153
|
Apr 17, 2026 |
|
Finding Heroin in Jersey Had Me Nodding in My Mom’s Mashed Potatoes | Ep 152
|
Apr 15, 2026 |
|
From Fentanyl to 7-OH… How a Legal Opioid Destroyed My Life | Ep 151
|
Apr 12, 2026 |
|
I Was Forced to Shoot Heroin at 16… It Changed My Life Forever | Ep 150
|
Apr 10, 2026 |
|
How Heroin Addiction Led Me to 10 Years in West Virginia Prison | Ep 148
|
Apr 08, 2026 |
|
How I Built an OxyContin Empire at 19… Inside Florida’s Pill Mill Era | Ep 147
|
Apr 05, 2026 |
|
I Was Pregnant at 18 and Addicted to Meth & Opiates… This Is How I Survived | Ep 146
|
Apr 03, 2026 |
|
I Was a Full-Blown Addict at 12… Then Got Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison | Ep 145
|
Apr 01, 2026 |
|
I Started Dealing Heroin in High School… and Almost Lost Everything Ep | 144
|
Mar 29, 2026 |
|
The Reality of Meth & Fentanyl Addiction on the Streets of Hilltop, Ohio | Ep 143
|
Mar 27, 2026 |
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How I Lost a Child During Crack & Heroin Addiction | Ep 142
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Mar 25, 2026 |
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How I Went From Heroin Addiction at 14 to 23 Years in Prison… Now 22 Years Sober | Ep 141
|
Mar 23, 2026 |
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What Fentanyl & Xylazine Addiction Looks Like in the Streets of Columbus, Ohio | Ep 141
|
Mar 20, 2026 |
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From Fake IDs to Fentanyl: How My Addiction Took Everything | Ep 140
|
Mar 19, 2026 |
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From My Dad’s Drug Mule at 5 to Facing 80 Years In Prison | A Life Built on Trauma | Ep 139
|
Mar 15, 2026 |
|
How My Heroin Addiction & Losing My Mom to an Overdose Inspired This Podcast | Ep 138
|
Mar 13, 2026 |
|
I Shot Heroin in Medical School and Still Became a Doctor | Ep 137
|
Mar 11, 2026 |
|
How She Graduated High School on Heroin & Survived 30+ Overdoses | Ep 136
|
Mar 08, 2026 |
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How I Survived Crack & Fentanyl Addiction and Two Teen Pregnancies | Ep 135
|
Mar 05, 2026 |
|
What It’s Like Giving Birth in Prison as a Heroin Addict | Ep 134
|
Mar 02, 2026 |
|
What Happened When I Found My Dad Overdosed After 5 Days on Crack & Heroin | Ep 133
|
Feb 26, 2026 |
|
How Heroin & Coke Addiction Shaped My Music Career While Touring with Stone Sour, Ministry & Prong | Ep 132
|
Feb 23, 2026 |
|
How I Lost 20 Years to a Cr4ck Fueled Rage Addiction In The 80's | 131
|
Feb 19, 2026 |
|
How I Became an Accessory to Murd3r After a Girl Died at the Trap I Was Selling M3th Out Of | Ep 130
|
Feb 16, 2026 |
|
I Relapsed 6 Times on Oxy, H3roin & F3ntanyl… Here’s What Finally Worked | Ep 129
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Feb 12, 2026 |
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My Grandpa Got Me Pregnant: How it Led to Oxy, H3roin, & M3th Addiction & Trafficking in a Dog Cage | Ep 128
|
Feb 09, 2026 |
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My Whole Family Was Addicted to H3roin — Losing My Sister Changed Everything. | Ep 127
|
Feb 05, 2026 |
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How I Survived Oxy & H3roin Addiction, an 18-Day Coma, and Smuggling Liquor to Palestine | Ep 126
|
Feb 02, 2026 |
|
How a M3th & Cr4ck Addiction Had Me Facing 11 Years in Prison | Ep 125
|
Jan 29, 2026 |
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My Life Full Circle: Growing Up in Beverly Hills, Cr4ck Addiction, Jail in Mexico & Losing My Leg | Ep 124
|
Jan 26, 2026 |
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Where Smoking Cr4ck & Shooting H3roin With My Parents Led Me Before I Graduated HS | Ep 123
|
Jan 22, 2026 |
|
I Was Almost Trafficked by Suge Knight as a Las Vegas Stripp3r—But My C0caine Addiction Took Over | Ep 122
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Jan 19, 2026 |
|
How I Was Facing 40 Years to Life After Trapping Out of Airbnbs & Meth Addiction | Ep 121
|
Jan 15, 2026 |
|
How I Survived Human Trafficking By 17, Getting Kidnapped and Cr4ck Addiction For 20 Years | Ep 120
|
Jan 12, 2026 |
|
My Parents Were 17 Years Old, Addicted to Opiates and Cr4ck — This Is How It Shaped My Childhood | Ep 119
|
Jan 08, 2026 |
|
Born With Cystic Fibrosis, Addicted to F3ntanyl, & Trapped in Human Trafficking | Ep 118
|
Jan 05, 2026 |
|
How I Went From Ballet Lessons to Stripping and M3th Addiction | Ep 117
|
Jan 01, 2026 |
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Foster Care To The Doorman Of A Trap House….How 20 Years Of H3roin Addiction Shaped My Life | Ep 116
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Dec 29, 2025 |
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How My Brothers Death Led To A Crippling M3th & Cr4ck Addiction With A Registered S3x Offender | Ep 115
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Dec 25, 2025 |
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Starting a Nonprofit That Got Me Locked Up: How I Went to Prison After Upsetting the VA of America | Ep 114
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Dec 22, 2025 |
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My Life Full Circle: Growing Up in Beverly Hills, Cr4ck Addiction, Jail in Mexico & Losing My Leg | Ep 124
|
Dec 21, 2025 |
|
Sobriety After Opioid Addiction & Losing Both Parents by 33... | Ep 113
|
Dec 20, 2025 |
|
How I became the Gordon Ramsey of Cooking Cr4ck | Ep 112
|
Dec 18, 2025 |
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How I Blacked Out on X4nax and Destroyed My Life in One Night | Ep 111
|
Dec 15, 2025 |
|
The Day I Sn0rted Cremains Thinking It Was Powdered H3roin | Ep 109
|
Dec 11, 2025 |
|
My Truth: Going Into Labor in a Trap House & My Babies Being Born Addicted | 109
|
Dec 08, 2025 |
|
Narcaned, Shot, Stabbed… How This F3nt4nyl Addict Finally Got Sober | Ep 107
|
Dec 04, 2025 |
|
How I Got Caught Two Felonies Over an Almond Used as a Cr4ck Rock | Ep 106
|
Dec 01, 2025 |
|
How I Went From Prison to Parole Officer | Ep 105
|
Nov 27, 2025 |
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How I Accidentally Got Addicted to F3tty and Lost Two Boyfriends Before I Hit 22 | Ep 104
|
Nov 24, 2025 |
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The FBI on Her Lawn, Leukemia, and Relapse: A Survivor’s Raw Story of Alcoholism in the 80's & 90's | Ep 103
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Nov 20, 2025 |
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How I Got Pregnant With Twins While I Was Cooking M3th | Ep 102
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Nov 15, 2025 |
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How I Got Addicted to F3nt4nyl At 30 Years Old | Ep 101
|
Nov 13, 2025 |
|
My Truth: Exploiting Myself to Survive Addiction While Another Man Profited | Ep 100
|
Nov 10, 2025 |
|
How 4 DUIs and a Felony Forced Me to Change My Life | Ep 97
|
Nov 06, 2025 |
|
Addiction Unfiltered: Xanax DUIs, Pill Runs, and a Shot at Redemption Ep | 96
|
Nov 03, 2025 |
|
My Battle with H3r0in, F3ntanyl & Methadone -- Trying to Stay Clean Ep | 95
|
Oct 30, 2025 |
|
I Drank & Used Everyday For 26 Years, Now I’m 15 Years Sober Ep | 94
|
Oct 26, 2025 |
|
What This Former Addict Told Middle Schoolers Will Shock You | Ep 93
|
Oct 24, 2025 |
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I Almost Died 3 Times During My 15-Year M3th & H3ro!n Addiction | Ep 92
|
Oct 22, 2025 |
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I Smoked Cr4ck Until My Hands Bled — Now I Preach | Ep 91
|
Oct 19, 2025 |
|
From Pregnant Teen to Addicted Stripper: Her Recovery Story | Ep 90
|
Oct 15, 2025 |
|
Heroin Withdrawal Triggered My Labor — And My Baby Was Born in Withdrawal | Ep 89
|
Oct 13, 2025 |
|
How I Got Addicted to F3nt4nyl At 30 Years Old | Ep 100
|
Oct 12, 2025 |
|
He was Locked Up Where I was a C.O - Now We Talk Prison Addiction & Surviving F3ntanyl | Ep 88
|
Oct 08, 2025 |
|
How I Hustled Scrap Metal, Got Robbed in a K-Hole, and Tried To Escape From Jail | Ep 87
|
Oct 05, 2025 |
|
Cr4ck Addiction, Rubbing Alcohol, and Handing Mom Her Last Beer While She Fought Cirrhosis | Ep 86
|
Oct 01, 2025 |
|
I Was Raised by a Cr4ck Addict After My Dad Disappeared | Ep 85
|
Sep 28, 2025 |
|
My Dad Taught Me How to Rip and Run in the Streets of Detroit | Ep 84
|
Sep 24, 2025 |
|
How I Became an IV Drug User By 17 Years Old | Ep 83
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Sep 21, 2025 |
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I Lost an Arm and Became a Heroin Addict | Ep 82
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Sep 17, 2025 |
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I Graduated from Ohio's #1 Party School with a Degree… and a Drug & Alcohol Problem | Ep 81
|
Sep 15, 2025 |
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She Was Smoking Cr4ck & F3tty While Working as a Drug Counselor At A Recovery Center | Ep 80
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Sep 10, 2025 |
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How the Chains of Xanax Addiction Changed My Life Forever | Ep 80
|
Sep 08, 2025 |
|
Surviving Addiction, Prison & Poverty in Zanesville, Ohio | Ep 79
|
Sep 03, 2025 |
|
I Turned To Crack After My Son Got Killed By a Drunk Driver | Ep 78
|
Aug 31, 2025 |
|
I Was Addicted to Heroin Before I Graduated High School | Ep 77
|
Aug 27, 2025 |
|
How I Survived Over 20 Years Of IV Drug Use And 4 Prison Stays | Ep 76
|
Aug 24, 2025 |
|
From 13-Year-Old Trailer Park Dealer to Using Every Drug Imaginable to How I Recovered | Ep 75
|
Aug 20, 2025 |
|
I Got Arrested In Front Of My Whole Town With 50 Bags Of Hero!n and Became Walmarts Most Wanted | Ep 74
|
Aug 17, 2025 |
|
My Brutal Truth Of Opiate Addiction And How Hard It Really Is To Get Clean | Ep 73
|
Aug 13, 2025 |
|
How He Went From Pawning, Forging Checks, to Scamming John Deere For 50k to Fuel His Oxy Addiction | Ep 72
|
Aug 10, 2025 |
|
He Was Exposed to Drugs by 6, Then Survived Addiction, Crime, and Prison | Ep 71
|
Aug 07, 2025 |
|
From the Sticks to Hittin' Licks — How He Lost Everything to Oxy And H | Ep 70
|
Aug 03, 2025 |
|
I Was Born From Sexual Assault and This is the Toll it Took on my Life | Ep 70
|
Jul 30, 2025 |
|
My Wife was Murdered Dexter Kill Room Style and This is How I Stayed Sober | Ep 69
|
Jul 27, 2025 |
|
He Started Using OC-80's With The Host of our Show at 15 Years Old | Ep 69
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Jul 23, 2025 |
|
From Small-Town Ohio to Strung Out In Brooklyn: My Decent Into Addiction | Ep 68
|
Jul 20, 2025 |
|
The Devil in Detox: How Rock Bottom Doesn’t Care Where You Come From | Ep 67
|
Jul 16, 2025 |
|
How Cocaine, Adderall, And Meth Led Me To Heart Failure, Relying On Batteries To Stay Alive | Ep 66
|
Jul 13, 2025 |
|
Fentanyl, Felonies, and a Second Chance — The Dark Side of Addiction | Ep 65
|
Jul 09, 2025 |
|
I Interviewed The Judge That Sent Me To Jail - Then Helped Me Get A Job There | Ep 64
|
Jul 06, 2025 |
|
Master Manipulator Transported Drugs Around Prison | Episode 63
|
Jul 02, 2025 |
|
Using Heroin At 15 Years Old Led Me To Prostitution, Trauma, a Life I Couldn't Escape | Episode 63
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Jun 29, 2025 |
|
I Was A Fetty Fiend Doing 12 Pills A Day | Episode 62
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Jun 25, 2025 |
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Fraud, Feds, and Federal Time: The Real Story of a Miami Cuban Con Artist | Episode 61
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Jun 22, 2025 |
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From 8th Grade Dropout to 2 Prison Numbers: How He Survived Addiction With 4 Kids On The Streets | Episode 60
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Jun 19, 2025 |
|
Manic Highs & Vegas Nights: My Bipolar Journey Through Addiction | Episode 59
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Jun 15, 2025 |
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Her Baby Daddy Watched Her OD on FaceTime | Episode 58
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Jun 11, 2025 |
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From CEO, to Divorced Peruvian Cocaine Smuggler, to 37 Years Sober | Episode 57
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Jun 08, 2025 |
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How She Survived A Decade Of Human Trafficking | Episode 37
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Jun 06, 2025 |
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Growing Up With A Sexual Predator For A Brother And How I Became An Alcoholic By 16 Years Old | Episode 56
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Jun 04, 2025 |
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Supporting My Family While Hooked on Opiates In Cleveland Ohio | Episode 55
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Jun 01, 2025 |
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How I Went From Breaking The Law to Enforcing It | Episode 54
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May 28, 2025 |
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MMA Fighter Kicks Heroin and Ends up on A&E's 60 Days In | Episode 53
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May 25, 2025 |
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The Truth About MAT: My Journey Out of Addiction | Episode 52
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May 22, 2025 |
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From Gucci to Guilty: He Grabbed the Bag, Then Got Bagged | Episode 50
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May 19, 2025 |
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How After a Brutal Heroin Addiction I Got Sober and Lost My Leg | Episode 49
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May 15, 2025 |
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I Survived 17 Years On The Streets In Active Addiction As A Call Girl | Episode 48
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May 11, 2025 |
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Ex-Delta Employee Tells All About Flights to Florida To Get Pills | Episode 47
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May 07, 2025 |
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Addiction Led Her to the Wrong Door — Or the Right One? | Episode 46
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May 04, 2025 |
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I OD'd and Lost Most of My Memories | Episode 45
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May 02, 2025 |
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How One Split Second Decision Changed a Man's Life Forever | Episode 44
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Apr 27, 2025 |
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The Brutal Life of Living Addiction With My Mother | Episode 43
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Apr 23, 2025 |
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From Mafia Roots to Rock Bottom | Episode 42
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Apr 21, 2025 |
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She OD'd 11 Times In 3 Days! | Episode 41
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Apr 20, 2025 |
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How One Alcoholic Mother Sought Treatment With Her Addict Daughter | Episode 40
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Apr 13, 2025 |
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Her Last Chance: Girlfriend Takes Control After Couple OD's While Driving | Episode 38
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Apr 13, 2025 |
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D.A.R.E Didn't Work For Me So Now I speak In School's and Share My Story Addiction | Episode 39
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Apr 10, 2025 |
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From Broken Homes and Addiction to Prison Cells - A Man Searching for a Place to Belong | Episode 36
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Mar 23, 2025 |
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A Rebel Raised By a Police Dective Turns Into a Prson Gang Boss | Episode 35
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Mar 16, 2025 |
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The Merciless Truth Behind Human Trafficking | Episode 34
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Mar 09, 2025 |
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Meth Made Son of God Hit by Truck | Episode 33
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Mar 03, 2025 |
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Surviving Hell: A Fentanyl Addict Reveals his Brutal Life Style and How He Made it Out Alive | Episode 32
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Feb 24, 2025 |
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An Ex-Correction Officer Tells the Brutal Truth behind Death Row | Episode 31
|
Feb 17, 2025 |
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Pill Mills and Profits: The Man Behind the Midwest Opioid Crisis | Episode 30
|
Feb 10, 2025 |
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Trap House in the Suburbs Raided After Fatal Overdose Landing his Grandmother In Cuffs | Episode 29
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Feb 03, 2025 |
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Surviving Trauma and 17 Days Without Sleep Turns Into Psychosis | Episode 28
|
Jan 27, 2025 |
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First Day of Freedom A Dangerous Career Criminal and Addict on his Last Chance at Life | Episode 27
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Jan 20, 2025 |
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A Life Shaped by the 80's Crack Epidemic: How a Cop Gave Me a Second Chance | Episode 26
|
Jan 13, 2025 |
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Public Defender to Judge and the Human Experience of Prison Sentencing | Episode 25
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Jan 06, 2025 |
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Mother, Son and the Needle : How Using Heroin With my Mother Ended In Tragedy | Episode 24
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Dec 30, 2024 |
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A Prison Guard Fell in Love With me While we Ran a Drug Ring | Episode 23
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Dec 24, 2024 |
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I Survived 20 Years as an Opioid Addict and Found Sobriety When I Met My Wife Flying a Sign Homeless | Episode 22
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Dec 16, 2024 |
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How I was Groomed To Be a Drug Dealer at 12 Years Old | Episode 21
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Dec 09, 2024 |
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Man's $200K College Bookstore Scam Exposed: Fake Prescriptions & OxyContin Addiction | Episode 20
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Dec 04, 2024 |
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Locked in Maximum Security Prison for 6 Years: The Price of Being a Meth King Pin | Episode 19
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Dec 01, 2024 |
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Waiting 7 Days to Die | Episode 18
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Nov 27, 2024 |
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Surviving Gunshots, Gang Life, and Prison: A Former Drug Dealer’s Journey to Recovery | Episode 17
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Nov 24, 2024 |
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Stealing from the System: How Burglarizing a CO’s Home Sent Me to Prison for 17 Years | Episode 16
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Nov 17, 2024 |
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Locked Up At 18: The Dark Truth Behind Ohio Prison Gangs | Episode 15
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Nov 08, 2024 |
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Addicts Get Roasted: Comedian Talks Bombing, Early Days with Matt Rife | Episode 14
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Oct 27, 2024 |
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Party Girl Shares Trauma and Reveals All | Episode 13
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Oct 27, 2024 |
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Alcoholic Attorney Tells Tales of Defending Criminals While Getting DUI's | Episode 12
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Oct 27, 2024 |
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He Scammed a Town In Alabama out of Two Million Dollars | Episode 11
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Oct 27, 2024 |
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From Cocaine to Clarity My Journey Through Hollywood’s Dark Side | Episode 10
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Oct 27, 2024 |
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Growing up in the Crack Epidemic and How He Landed 10 Years Straight In Prison | Episode 9
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Oct 27, 2024 |
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Smuggled Cocaine, Abused Meth, and Now I Help Others Heal | Episode 8
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Oct 27, 2024 |
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How a Former Convict Did 5 Years in Prison by Trying to End it All | Episode 7
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Oct 27, 2024 |
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How I Defrauded Investors of Millions at 18 Years Old | Episode 6
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Oct 26, 2024 |
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The Brutal Lifestyle of a Meth Addict and His Unique Crimes | Episode 5
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Oct 25, 2024 |
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The Juice Isn't Loose, Mass Murder, and Getting shot at | Episode 4
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Oct 25, 2024 |
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Grand Theft Auto and Fishing For Skunks In Prison | Episode 3
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Oct 24, 2024 |
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Haldol and The Nursing Home and Mental Health Challenges in Sobriety | Episode 2
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Oct 23, 2024 |
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Rapping with Chet Hanks and Failed Robberies | Episode 1
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Oct 22, 2024 |