Pondoff’s Anonymous

Episode: Shannon Bradley

Who this episode is for

• Anyone who ever drank screwdrivers in 4th grade and called it “just weekends.”
• People buried in addiction or clawing their way out with bloody fingernails.
• Families of addicts who’ve been through the emotional woodchipper.
• People who confuse “love” with “attention” and keep paying for it in scars.
• Anyone who’s ever chased that warm-blanket drug feeling until it tried to kill them.
• Folks who think Franklin County tourism starts and ends at the jail.

Episode summary

Chris, Jeff, and Jakob fire up the mics with guest Shannon Bradley for a ride that’s equal parts gut punch and gallows humor. Shannon takes them from nine-year-old vodka drinker to behavioral health tech at Illinois Recovery Center, and she doesn’t skip a single ugly or ridiculous beat.

This one’s loaded

• First drink at NINE. Pills by 13.
• Dating older guys who should’ve been carded by morals.
• Franklin County’s unofficial export: addicts and overdoses.
• Ketamine with Dad and couch-surfing as “home.”
• Why overdoses meant the drugs were “good.”
• The night she overdosed, died, got revived, and got robbed—all in one run.
• Shooting Dilaudid for the first time and describing it like a romance novel you can’t put down.
• How “getting kicked out of the hospital for a bigger OD” is somehow a thing.
• Folding a stranger’s laundry and making him cry—service work that matters.
• The long, bloody road out of toxic relationships, dope sickness, and Franklin County’s gravitational pull.

It’s not sanitized. It’s not “inspirational” in that cheesy, poster-on-the-wall way. It’s real, raw, and hilarious in the “you laugh because otherwise you’d cry” way. Chris, Jeff, and Jakob keep the conversation moving, trading digs, throwing lifelines, and sometimes just letting the silence hit.

Episode timeline

1. 00:00 Introduction and Sponsorships
2. 02:18 Weekend Experiences and Recovery Insights
3. 05:26 Introducing Shannon: A Journey Begins
4. 08:33 Shannon's Early Life and Struggles
5. 11:24 The Impact of Substance Use
6. 19:42 Emotional Challenges and Mental Health Awareness
7. 23:37 The Transition from Pills to Heroin
8. 26:01 Navigating High School and Early Relationships
9. 29:10 The Impact of Family and Environment on Addiction
10. 35:30 The Role of Service in Recovery
11. 39:23 Escaping Toxic Relationships and Finding Self-Worth
12. 51:25 Understanding Mental Health and Diagnosis
13. 54:46 The Impact of Medication and Trauma
14. 55:15 Struggles with Addiction and Relationships
15. 01:00:51 The Allure of Substance Use
16. 01:04:11 Overdoses and Consequences
17. 01:10:17 The Journey Through Treatment
18. 01:17:36 Facing Legal Consequences and Reflection
19. 01:21:12 The Burden of Blame
20. 01:22:25 Navigating the Legal System
21. 01:23:43 Family Dynamics and Support
22. 01:28:35 Life in Prison: A Transformative Experience
23. 01:34:08 The Journey of Recovery Begins
24. 01:38:18 Finding Faith and Purpose
25. 01:43:25 Life After Prison: New Beginnings
26. 01:44:57 The Beginning of a Faith Journey
27. 01:47:06 Discovering Higher Power and Recovery
28. 01:49:05 Facing Consequences and Accountability
29. 01:53:35 Emotional Healing and Personal Growth
30. 02:01:05 The Process of Reentry and Family Reconnection
31. 02:10:10 Gratitude and Purpose in Recovery
32. 02:12:27 Building Healthy Relationships Post-Recovery

Sponsored by

• LightSource Psychotherapy
• McKelvey Insurance

Who this episode is for:

- Those deep in the pit of addiction, wondering if they’ll ever climb out

- Folks who’ve seen the rock bottom but haven’t called it quits yet

- Survivors of abusive homes who weaponized humor to survive

- Anyone who’s ever stayed up for three days to “just keep drinking”

- People still haunted by a childhood home wrapped in vines

- Comedy fans who love stand-up that punches truth in the face

- Anyone who’s ever looked in the mirror and hated what stared back

- And especially: People *not* in recovery but battling their own bullshit

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Episode 27: Rafe Williams — Comedian, Sobriety Savage, and Trauma Alchemist

Rafe Williams doesn’t pull punches. Onstage or off. In this raw-ass sit-down with Chris, Jeff, and Jakob, he peels back the curtain on a life that started in the coal-mining bars of Dowell, Illinois, and took a detour through abusive childhood, drunken barstool nights, cocaine-fueled “fun,” and finally—mercifully—sobriety.

This one is messy, hilarious, brutally honest, and damn near spiritual. From getting his ass beat “just because” by his dad, to forging laughter as survival, to hitting a rock bottom not with a bang but a long, slow skid—Rafe lays it all bare.

You’ll laugh. You’ll wince. You might cry. You’ll definitely hear the gospel of “Fuck you, I’m done” recovery.

And yeah—he’s funny as hell the whole way through.

🔥 Don't Miss:

- Why Rafe says *The Artist’s Way* helped him more than some AA groups: https://juliacameronlive.com/the-artists-way/

- His insane camcorder prank that hijacked a family Christmas

- The trauma of watching your childhood home literally rot

- His message to anyone who slid into his DMs and didn’t hear back: "Send another one. I'm trying, motherfucker.”

- PreventEd shoutout: the org that helps real people find real treatment: https://prevented.org/

- Rafe’s upcoming stand-up benefit show on September 6 at COCA in St. Louis: https://www.cocastl.org/

- Why forgiveness without an apology might be your only way out

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⏱️ Episode Timestamp Breakdown

00:00 Introduction and Sponsorships

05:59 Personal Stories of Addiction and Sobriety

11:51 Growing Up in Southern Illinois

17:59 Navigating Life After Addiction

30:19 Reflections on Self-Identity and Sobriety

36:02 The Power of Disgust as a Motivator

42:02 Facing the Past and Forgiveness

48:00 The Role of Humor and Creativity in Healing

01:03:43 The Weight of Potential: A Friend's Wake-Up Call

01:09:12 Friendship and Hard Truths: The Cost of Caring

01:17:30 Navigating Recovery: The Journey of Self-Discovery

01:23:02 Rebuilding Reputation: The Path to Redemption

01:32:31 The Power of Listening and Direction

01:37:49 Navigating Relationships and Misunderstandings

01:43:16 The Complexity of Character and Identity

01:50:25 The Comedy Industry: Navigating Success and Pressure

01:58:51 Navigating the Waters of Recovery

02:04:10 The Pressure of Accountability in Recovery

02:12:12 The Importance of Routine and Structure

02:18:15 Learning from the Craft of Comedy

02:25:51 Influences and Inspirations in Comedy

02:32:01 The Evolution of Comedy Careers

02:39:36 Closing Thoughts and Future Endeavors

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Sponsored by:

🛡️ McKelvey Insurance – https://mckelveyins.com

🧠 LightSource Psychotherapy – https://findyourlightsource.com

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of trauma, antisemitism, abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual), drug use, suicidal ideation, and a suicide attempt. Listener discretion is advised.

Who this episode is for:

Anyone who’s ever tried to fill the void with drugs, booze, bad relationships—or all of the above

Trauma survivors who are still standing (barely or proudly)

Ravers who thought hiding drugs in the desert was a genius idea

Parents wondering if their “tough love” is really just emotional neglect

The curious and the nosy who’ve ever wondered what transcranial magnetic stimulation is

Anyone who’s ever made a glorious mess of their 20s

Episode 26 is a ride—raw, relentless, and painfully real. Chris, Jeff, and Jakob sit down with Kat, who walked through fire (sometimes literally at raves) and lived to tell the tale with her husband Thomas in her corner. From growing up Jewish in a Midwest Bible Belt town laced with antisemitism, to navigating parentification, panic attacks, and isolation, Kat’s story smashes the silence around trauma, mental health, and addiction.

We go deep: acid trips in fields, insane raves (including Electric Daisy Carnival, complete with cartel encounters and meth bombs), and opioids masquerading as “waves of happiness.” Kat calls this period her "Dark Ages"—eight years of high-end drugs, toxic relationships, and self-destruction dressed up as glamour.

But it’s not all doom. Kat talks recovery after a suicide attempt, how Jewish cultural stigma around mental health nearly killed her, and how she found real help—like TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) therapy, rave scenes that doubled as misfit family, and ultimately, love. This one’s got everything: hallucinogens, birthright trips to Israel, a landlord “member of the tribe,” kidney stones, rave drugs imported from China, and dancing until your serotonin collapses.

00:00 Introduction and Sponsorships

02:19 Personal Retreat and Reflections

04:48 Welcoming Kat: A Courageous Story

06:15 Trauma and Social Justice Advocacy

09:03 Cultural Perspectives on Mental Health

12:59 The Impact of Community on Mental Health

14:20 Experiences of Antisemitism and Isolation

21:50 Parentification and Family Dynamics

28:31 Struggles with Mental Health and Coping Mechanisms

33:54 The Impact of Neglect vs. Physical Abuse

34:55 Coping Mechanisms: Alcohol and Substance Use

36:46 Body Image and Eating Disorders in Dance

41:04 The Struggles of College Life and Substance Abuse

47:42 Exploring Alternative Therapies: TMS and Psychedelics

56:17 The Pain of Kidney Stones

59:15 Dating and Self-Worth

01:01:52 The Dark Ages of Abuse

01:03:44 Rave Culture and Escapism

01:11:10 The Descent into Addiction

01:18:49 A Crisis Point: Suicide Attempt

01:21:46 Surviving the Unthinkable: A Personal Journey

01:24:25 Understanding PMDD and Its Impact on Mental Health

01:25:44 Experiencing the Psych Ward: A Turning Point

01:32:04 Life in Residential Treatment: A Mixed Experience

01:40:08 Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Finding Balance in Chaos

01:44:07 Empathy in Recovery

01:47:06 Spirituality and Personal Growth

01:50:01 Finding Purpose Through Adventure

01:52:12 Activism and Social Justice

01:58:21 Navigating Personal Challenges

02:01:06 Education and Global Awareness

02:05:29 Building Meaningful Relationships