Welcome to 2026. It's much like 2025 and we're still in recovery. We were shorthanded a province but Will & Tim managed to fumble one across the finish line like the veterans they are. The boys talked about life experiences and recovery tools. Relapse prevention was the show's theme but in retrospect, relapse prevention is something we live day in and day out. We set measures in place as accountability to ourselves and for our recovery. Never put your keys to your happiness in someone else's pocket.

Our 4th season and the guys stumbled and fumbled their way into the New Year's End Zone into the new year in an act of sheer luck, perseverance, motivation... and a touch of class. Spoiler alert: the texting shorthand vernacular for bc is not British Columbia. It was a good show, the team were in rare form after and very long, and very trying bit of peak season podcast. Talkin' Trash runs twice a week. It's a podcast at its baseline, but we're producing crazy stuff.

We kicked off our holiday shenanigans tonight as we gratefully welcomed a recored number in viewership for this show. The Canadian influence continued as we invited fellow brother in recovery, Brad the Canadian. The panel all identified with some part of his story and he had a great way of telling it. Dennis Leary made his yearly appearance. As did Tim's dad. Brad Mansfield from Wawota jumped in the trenches with the guys and told a story we all connected to on some level.

Episode 165 marked show host Tim's 900th day of recovery. We don't count the days, we make the days count. That being said, it's something that says "I'm here for real" and can change the way we look at sobriety and the difference between sobriety and recovery. Two very different things. You ask a recovering addict that's put multiple years together how they did it, all unanimously say, "One day at a time". Speaking of which, we invited our old friend and "OG" Manny Vitale back on the program. Manny has his own recovery show "My Fight Our War" and has almost a cult following which both shows share in, and share to. Different show formats but ultimately we find ourselves with recovery at the forefront of both ventures and corporately we feed off each other, sometimes without knowing it. Manny's a legend and we're grateful for his dedication and friendship.

Thanksgiving is upon us once again. The holiday's can bring the best out in some people but for addicts they can seem like an added insurmountable weight and sadness is sure to follow. Countless anniversary dates are this time of year. Love, loss, grief, recovery. Each are magnified exponentially and are often triggered by festive lights or music, if left unchecked leaves us one stray thought. Many relapses happened because of a stray thought and some tinsel. We welcomed Jacqueline Hoffman, CEO of Prairie Sky Recovery Centre in Saskatchewan, Canada. Jim's alma mater, Jacqueline puts every bit of herself and her families heritage into making Prairie Sky feel like a safe environment conducive to the clients specific needs.

The team was shorthanded tonight missing a Canadian who will be back in the mix the next show which is just the 3 of us. It feels like our team can still land the plane with engine failure and no gear. Just 2-guys sobriety-and-fries for this trainwreck. The host, Tim, shared his true experience in giving being better than receiving. Will is clearly going stir crazy. Jim made in onto the program while the outro was playing, i think. Great show, good back and forth, and thank you to our recovery centers we didn't get to tonight. So check on the boys Sunday 9p and Wednesday's and check in next Wednesday as we invite former #2 NFL Draft pick, Tony Mandarich.

The boys did their thing tonight as we looked at grief in early recovery. Grief isn't just reserved for those who've lost a loved one. You can lament a situation, a relationship, a thing. Grief is about loss and we sometimes grieve for our addiction. We believe the lie that we'll never feel okay again. Even though addiction ruined our lives we still mourn for it as if it were a person lost. We get clean and sober to a life of unfamiliarity and adjustment may take some time. How we used to cope is now off the table and we have to talk about our disease with others who are afflicted similarly, just for today.

The gang was back together (minus a beard) for an emotional episode. Daily Reflections was about curbing rashness. In active addiction, our reactions to situations are automatic. Automatic asshole was our default. We enter recovery and realize that those reactions were a product of the substance and we now have the choice to handle things differently. Words can cut deeper than a knife. We not attempting this recovery thing because things were so good when we were using. We come in broken individuals. We need help and mercy to refine us on our recovery journey. Find your people, know your herd. You'll be let down. You're going to let somebody down. Holding yourself accountable when you're wrong is the best way to ensure it doesn't happen again while growing as a person by admitting your mistake. You didn't get here on a winning streak so show others the grace you were shown when you required it.