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Outside Issues

Outside Issues

Written by: Patrick Newman
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About this listen

A Seattle-based social worker and an LA-based creative navigate their personal recoveries from drugs and alcohol, domestic violence and mental disorders amidst encroaching political turmoil and social decay. Hosts Audrey Comber and Patrick Newman attempt to bridge the divide between recovery and world events, recognizing that we live in a society and these dynamics feed each other. Guests from the world of politics and organizing, psychology and 12-step recovery, disability activism and more will supplement an ongoing conversation between two friends seeking to heal the world as they heal themselves. In a time when the environment, democracy and vulnerable populations are under siege, Outside Issues offers education and solidarity across class and identity lines, advocating for the dignity and value of every person. Main show theme is “Stranger” by Midnight Prisms Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck Music and production by Max Foreman Mastering by Little Castle Sound Logo art by Graffiti Fucks (@graffitifucks on Instagram)© 2025
Episodes
  • Trump’s “FFF”: Austerity and Trauma
    Jul 12 2025

    Patrick and Audrey break down the “Big Beautiful Bill” (hereby called the Fuckity Fuck Fuck) that was recently made the law of the land by a heartless Republican Party, which seems intent on culling the herd to enrich the very few. In our subsequent exploration of trauma and recovery, Audrey details the long path she’s taken out of her own past of addiction, and the traumatic relationship that kept her in a vise grip of abuse until she finally reached out for help.

    In brighter news, we touch on socialist Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the NYC mayoral primary, offering a potential progressive, pro-human future we look to for fuel to keep us pushing towards better.

    If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence, text BEGIN to 88788 or call 800-799-7233, or visit thehotline.com

    Opening quote by Michael Brooks, formerly of The Majority Report with Sam Seder and The Michael Brooks Show. Left is best <3

    Read more from David Dayen at the American Prospect.

    https://prospect.org/topics/david-dayen

    Here’s what’s in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”:

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whats-in-trump-big-beautiful-bill-senate-version

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    43 mins
  • Tenuous Sobriety, Sanity, and ICE Crackdown
    Jul 12 2025

    Audrey and Patrick talk social justice, Quaker ancestral truths, and formative romantic relationships before pivoting to the event that sparked this show: the ongoing siege and terrorizing of immigrant communities in Los Angeles and other cities in America by fascist ICE commandos animated by a white nationalist Trump administration.

    Introductory Quote by: H. Marissa Montes, esq.

    Marissa is an immigration attorney and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles as well as the founder of Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic, also located in Los Angeles.

    25 Places to Volunteer Your Skills for Immigrants and Angelenos in Need Right Now.

    https://lataco.com/los-angeles-volunteeer-immigration

    Main show theme is “Stranger” by Midnight Prisms

    Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck

    Music and production by Max Foreman

    Mastering by Little Castle Sound

    Logo art by Graffiti Fucks (@graffitifucks on Instagram)

    Chapters
    • (00:00:02) - The Importance of Dating While Recovering
    • (00:04:18) - What Was It Like To Date In The Room?
    • (00:07:10) - How I got diagnosed with schizophrenia in my early 20s
    • (00:12:38) - The day I was fired from my job
    • (00:16:47) - Adam Levine on His Drug Use
    • (00:21:43) - Mariah Carey on Her Political Issues
    • (00:26:30) - Teens Talk Political Issues
    • (00:31:21) - "I Should've Seen Trump Win"
    • (00:35:40) - Andrew Breitbart Dead Near His Former Apartment
    • (00:39:35) - Michael Buble Passes
    • (00:42:04) - Antifa Are Extremely Leftist
    • (00:47:40) - "We Want to Kill LGBTQ People By Suicide"
    • (00:56:31) - In the Elevator With a Mental Illness Patient
    • (00:59:01) - Tom and His 8-Year Sobriety
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    1 hr and 1 min

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