230: Inner Go Switch

230: Inner Go Switch

Since Right Now

Jeff and Matt are all alone for this cast! We tal…

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56:435 Oct 2022

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Inner Go Switch: DUI Classes, High Bottoms and the Awkward Truth About Sobriety

Episode Overview

  • Newcomers can appear to have “high bottoms,” but minimising harm and clinging to being “not like us” may signal deeper denial.
  • Publicly committing to change can create useful accountability rather than guaranteeing failure.
  • DUI education highlights how many common beliefs about drunk driving risk and legal limits are simply wrong.
  • Legal trouble and victim impact stories can be a wake-up call, but lasting change still depends on honest self-assessment.
  • Sincere sharing about fear and feelings—rather than hiding behind irony—can deepen both recovery and creative work.
The truth is if you stay sober, all that shit takes care of itself.

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation between Jeff and Matt from *Since Right Now* mixes comedy, self-awareness, and some pretty raw honesty about recovery culture today. With Chris away on a work trip, Jeff and Matt kick things off by talking about their home-group recovery meeting. A newcomer’s polished story sparks a big question: are people getting sober earlier with fewer obvious “bottoms,” or are some of us just really good at minimising the problem?

Matt admits, “The reason I’m so quick to call bullshit on that guy is I recognise myself in what he’s saying,” and the pair touch on denial, early recovery bravado, and why vulnerability matters more than tidy narratives. Matt then walks through his long-delayed Missouri offender education programme after a 2021 DUI. He shares highlights from the class quiz—like how you can be convicted under 0.08 if you’re impaired—and reflects on procrastination, shame, and the relief of finally facing consequences.

It isn’t framed as a magic path to sobriety, more a nudge that “you get out of it what you put into it.” From there, things get funnier and nerdier. They read a McSweeney’s satire about non-alcoholic drink menus, poking fun at watery coffee, awkward mocktails, and Heineken 0.0 (“Honestly, not too bad”), while pointing out how far alcohol-free options have come.

There’s a sense that n/a drinks aren’t just for “recovering alcoholics and pregnant women” anymore, but part of a wider cultural shift. Finally, Jeff brings in writer Michael Schur’s comments on *Infinite Jest* and David Foster Wallace, sparking a thoughtful chat about sincerity versus irony in both writing and recovery. Can you really say, “I feel this way and I’m scared,” without hiding behind jokes? And what might change for you if you did?

If you’re sober, sober-curious, or just like smart, sweary banter about addiction, culture, and books, this one might be worth your time. Where do you still hide behind irony instead of saying how you actually feel?

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