This month we talk about Israel and the language surrounding Zionism, holding fast to our belief in equal dignity and rights for all people. Audrey visits a Seattle town hall featuring Pramila Jayapal about January 6th and the creeping threat of white nationalism. Hasan Piker’s bid to elect Socialists and progressives to Senate and Congressional seats, challenging the Democratic establishment, kicks the big donor hornet’s nest. In Audrey’s clinical work, clients lose medicaid, housing, food and transportation, which sometimes leads to suicides. DSA’s recent electoral advances kindle our hope that democracy might one day deliver the material support and challenge to imperial violence people around the world are desperately seeking.

Opening quote by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI)

Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms

Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck

Music and production by Max Foreman

Mastering by Little Castle Sound

Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A

Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)

• (00:00:00) - DSA Resolution and Corporate Greed Speech
• (00:01:18) - Intro to Outside Issues Podcast
• (00:01:23) - Confronting a Zionist Rabbi's Microaggression
• (00:05:02) - Debating Genocide, Murder, and Legal Definitions
• (00:05:54) - Zionism, Trauma-Informed Language, and DSA Divisions
• (00:08:16) - Navigating Confrontation and Solidarity with Jewish Allies
• (00:09:42) - Finkelstein on Jewish Supremacy vs Zionism
• (00:11:03) - Personal Reflections on Being Called Colonizer/Bigot
• (00:14:46) - Nothing to Feel Guilty About
• (00:15:42) - Hasan Piker's Political Campaigning and Backlash
• (00:17:45) - Democratic Establishment's Fear and Media Silence on Hasan
• (00:21:21) - Dope of Hope and Town Hall Seattle Talk on Christian Nationalism
• (00:23:51) - Staying Informed Without Burnout
• (00:26:45) - Emotional Labor, Hope, and Systemic Frustration
• (00:29:38) - Voting as Material Relief and Political Opportunity
• (00:32:51) - Generational Shift Away from Boomer Politics
• (00:36:27) - Age of Abundance and Entrenched Capital
• (00:38:50) - Obama Hope Nostalgia and Lessons Learned

This month we sit down with mother, wife, addiction counselor, and former dockworker Lorie E. Garcia, who decades in recovery still speaks at meetings, sponsors women and fosters animals to square herself with a God of her understanding. We talk about the Steps, immigrant advocacy, and healing from racism and misogynous traumas through not only the rooms of AA but therapy and “outside help.”

Opening quote by U.S. Senate nominee Angie Nixon

Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms

Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck

Music and production by Max Foreman

Mastering by Little Castle Sound

Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A

Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)

• (00:00:00) - Are radical issues worth fighting for?
• (00:01:07) - One woman's story of Alcoholics Anonymous
• (00:09:08) - One Mother's Battle With Alcohol
• (00:13:35) - How the Steps Polishes Your Rough Skin
• (00:17:50) - Post-Trauma Therapy for Substance Use Disorder
• (00:23:34) - How Did You Heal the Trauma Around Racism?
• (00:25:38) - Trump supporters speak out about racism
• (00:31:36) - The Need for Treatment for Substance Use
• (00:35:10) - Longshore Women speak out about the challenges
• (00:36:22) - Pro-Unions: I Love My Union
• (00:43:23) - 72-Year-Old Woman Rescues Three Cats and Three

Audrey welcomes friend and colleague Katherine “Wren” Hamilton, a Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT)-focused social worker. Wren began her journey towards helping others first from her own struggles with anxiety and suicidal ideations. Recovery from a host of addictions and traumas can often be traced to some form of “radical acceptance.” What Wren shares with clients and accesses herself through DBT can also help Audrey to manage her mental health struggles and Patrick to manage his breakup. If we press our emotions down, they’re bound to re-emerge at inopportune times. Feel to heal, and don’t judge your judging!

Opening quote by Maria Bamford

Rest in peace Kavinsky and Glen Hansard.

Rest in piss Lindsay Graham.

Mitch McConnell, thoughts and prayers.

Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms

Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck

Music and production by Max Foreman

Mastering by Little Castle Sound

Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A

Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)

• (00:00:00) - How to Get a Dog to Stand Up For You
• (00:01:01) - How to Love All Your Emotions
• (00:04:24) - How social work helped me get out of debt
• (00:07:35) - How to Cope With Suicidality
• (00:12:48) - Dbt Therapy: The Acceptance Skills and Change Skills
• (00:19:19) - Developing a mini vacation for mental health needs
• (00:24:50) - Dbt on Radical Acceptance
• (00:28:16) - Audrey on Judgeing Others
• (00:32:39) - Audrey on Working Full-Time
• (00:36:58) - Don't Judge Your Thinking

After touching on Pride Month and trans dignity, Audrey talks about her joy, pressures, and long term goals in helping others heal, while Patrick discusses taking a chip for 8 years of continuous sobriety. Expressions of hope and joy are vital countermessaging in the era of Trump.

Opening quote by Zohran Mamdani

Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms

Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck

Music and production by Max Foreman

Mastering by Little Castle Sound

Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A

Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)

Patrick Newman, Audrey Comber, 12 Steps, Recovery, Addiction, LGBT, Pride Month

• (00:00:00) - Mental illness in the DSM-5
• (00:05:56) - Vanessa Bee on Trans Issues
• (00:12:49) - How to Stop Being a Shoddy Clinician
• (00:14:59) - Is Social Work More Head or Heart Oriented?
• (00:20:20) - How to Rest Your Body With Burnout
• (00:21:22) - How has your sponsor affected your recovery?
• (00:26:37) - I Have a Hard Time Sitting With My Feelings
• (00:33:10) - Bob Ferguson on the millionaires tax
• (00:39:12) - He Supports Ron DeSantis

Audrey and Patrick welcome Melanie C. to talk about second chances, disillusionment with electoral politics, and Michael Clayton. Covid lockdown, parental support and medication-assisted treatment helped Melanie find recovery from a fifteen year opiate addiction. Reading Edward Said in college began her education on Palestine and her advocacy for humanity and liberation.

We shouldn’t demand that revolution and resistance come in the ideological manner we prefer. We aren’t okay with our comfort coming at the expense of human lives. As a practice, Melanie suggests that when it comes to social and political critique, we also put mirror on ourselves: how are we contributing to our communities, to our civics, beyond posting?

Follow Melanie on Twitter: @benzostraydogs

Her Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/benzostraydogs/

Opening quote by filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, about Starship Troopers

Anna Scanlon’s Substack: https://substack.com/@rockfoils

Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms

Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck

Music and production by Max Foreman

Mastering by Little Castle Sound

Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A

Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)

• (00:00:00) - "War makes fascist of us all"
• (00:00:51) - Mad Max and Fury Road: Cinephile Talk
• (00:03:57) - The Pit Fanatic On ER
• (00:07:49) - I Run Into Former Employee From My Heroin Addiction
• (00:14:09) - Bipolar patient's struggle to quit smoking after 30 years
• (00:16:22) - Melanie on Her Own Sobriety
• (00:23:19) - Anti-Israel People on the Democrats
• (00:30:45) - Members of the DSA Get Involved in the Resistance
• (00:38:02) - Gen Xers on the 2020 election
• (00:39:00) - George Clooney in '
• (00:44:03) - In The Elevator With Michael Clayton

Nick Casaccio joins us to talk about Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine and its twin dynamics of alcoholism and codependency, relating Mark Kerr’s struggles to our own recoveries. Addiction has a habit of migrating, and we discuss how gambling, shopping, and relationships have taken our stories down new rabbit holes. Nick finished school while he was in treatment more than thirteen years ago, and through Covid, bodybuilding, relationship struggles and physical ailments has continually offered himself in fellowship.

The ultimate purpose of celebrating recovery milestones is to inspire newcomers and share our experience strength and hope to those who still suffer.

Opening clip by Mark Kerr, from a 2009 interview

Episode cover art by Perry Kneisel

Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms

Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck

Music and production by Max Foreman

Mastering by Little Castle Sound

Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A

Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)

• (00:00:00) - A Men's Stag Birthday Bash
• (00:05:42) - How I Learned To Stop Drinking Alcohol During My Dark Times
• (00:11:08) - Gambling Helped Me Finish High School
• (00:17:18) - Casinos are a Bad Place for Gambling Stars
• (00:22:36) - Bipolar Patient Nick On His Spending Sprees
• (00:26:19) - The Smashing Machine: Ending Explained
• (00:27:13) - The Importance of 'The Codependent'
• (00:34:16) - Bipolar patient celebrates her 10th birthday

Audrey welcomes another wounded healer to Outside Issues: spiritual advisor Matthew Blankinship, who helps professionals and peers get stronger in their 11th Step. To become an expert in any field, Matthew believes ten years and ten thousand hours are required, to graduate from “digging the ditches to building the high rise.”

After a traumatic brain injury, paralyzed muscles and Vegas nerve severance (among other injuries), Matthew dedicated his life to healing at age 33, beginning his life anew. Divine wisdom - which aided Matthew in his own recovery as it helps Audrey recover from trauma and grief - is something with only light in it. It works for everyone.

Our highest and best goods project outward to people and the planet. Politics at their best, can be an extension of this. Mental health care and a spiritual practice give us the tools to keep ourselves in check so we can then help others.

Follow Matthew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattblankinship

Opening clip by Brad Dourif and David Milch

Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms

Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck

Music and production by Max Foreman

Mastering by Little Castle Sound

Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A

Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)

Filmmaker and humanist Anna K. Scanlon joins the pod to talk about her recovery from hopelessness, which has led to a great period of creative synthesis culminating in “Toss Up,” her recently-completed film inspired by a career working on political campaigns.

Anna's recovery came from a lot of places, notably a nudist resort in Mexico where she found herself after Bernie’s 2020 campaign hit the rocks. With her inspiration she pairs a capacity for forming strategies and executing plans. Moreover, her recovery’s focus on “romanticism rather than reason”, on love instead of anger, has given her a new lease on life.

Anna’s Substack: https://substack.com/@rockfoils

“25 Propositions about the New Romanticism” by Ted Gioia: https://substack.com/home/post/p-184683172

Opening clip by Wagner Moura via ACLU

“You read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discover that it happened 100 years ago to Dostoyevsky. This is a very great liberation for the suffering, struggling person, who always thinks that he is alone. This is why art is important.”

― James Baldwin, Conversations with James Baldwin

Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms

Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck

Music and production by Max Foreman

Mastering by Little Castle Sound

Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A

Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)