The Time Kimber Shot Fentanyl in Her Neck and Died and Stephen Saved Her Life| Dopey's Greatest HitsThe Time Kimber Shot Fentanyl in Her Neck and Died and Stephen Saved Her Life| Dopey's Greatest Hits
Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction
Timestamps: 00:23 – Welcome to Dopey’s Greatest Hits 01:05 – Introducing “The Call” 01:45 – DopeyCon lineup and ticket information 03:15 – Josh’s armed crack-dealer story 07:34 – Kratom, 7-OH and Sublocade 08:30 – Patreon and Spotify comments 12:16 – “The Call” begins 14:46 – Kimber calls Never Use Alone 15:30 – “I just left rehab yesterday” 17:32 – Kimber’s tolerance is dangerously low 19:14 – Injecting heroin into her neck 20:20 – Kimber stops responding 20:50 – Jessie prepares to call an ambulance 23:07 – Paramedics enter Kimber’s apartment 24:52 – Ryan Leone and the origins of Never Use Alone 27:10 – Stephen’s addiction and recovery 31:48 – Building three overdose hotlines 34:07 – Meeting Jessie and responding to Kimber’s call 36:34 – Stephen hears his own voice on This American Life 38:41 – Stephen’s early drug use 43:29 – Drinking as a child in Europe 45:54 – Weed, college and depression 48:23 – Stimulant addiction and a friend’s suicide 50:35 – Treatment for stimulants disguised as opioid addiction 55:15 – OxyContin, acid and the downward spiral 57:32 – Arrested while paranoid on stimulants 59:48 – Family intervention and treatment 01:02:12 – Silver Hill and the attraction of recovery 01:06:57 – Finding drugs while cleaning out houses 01:11:40 – Hiding a relapse from his family 01:14:00 – Recovery, autonomy and making space for people 01:18:38 – Why overdose risk has fundamentally changed 01:20:55 – Relapse, survivor’s guilt and respecting autonomy 01:23:16 – Did recovery expectations prevent honesty? 01:25:38 – Jessie’s daughter uses the hotline 01:27:53 – “I don’t care what she does—as long as she doesn’t die” 01:29:04 – Jessie watches her daughter inject at the kitchen table 01:30:24 – Stephen becomes a volunteer firefighter 01:35:12 – His first Narcan reversal 01:37:34 – America’s first government-funded overdose hotline 01:42:08 – Anonymous, judgment-free help throughout North America 01:44:21 – Nine emergencies out of more than 1,300 calls 01:46:55 – Kimber joins the episode 01:49:17 – Life immediately after leaving rehab 01:51:39 – Why she decided to call Never Use Alone 01:53:59 – Shooting cocaine before seeking heroin 01:56:17 – Forty days without opioids and no tolerance 02:03:22 – Jessie attempts to slow Kimber down 02:05:42 – The injection and overdose 02:08:05 – Waking up with Stephen beside her 02:10:28 – Anger, humiliation and wanting to use again 02:15:16 – Returning to the trap house 02:19:50 – Getting back into rehab 02:22:13 – Another relapse—and eventually recovery 02:24:38 – How Kimber and Stephen reconnected 02:29:22 – Kimber begins working for the hotline 02:31:42 – Answering calls without being triggered 02:33:57 – Connection as the opposite of addiction 02:36:22 – How to contact the hotline 02:38:40 – Closing thoughts 02:40:40 – Banjo cover of “Good So Bad” Five ad-break spots 12:16 – Before the main Greatest Hits episode 36:34 – Before Stephen’s personal story 01:02:12 – Before treatment and recovery 01:46:55 – Between Stephen’s interview and Kimber’s interview 02:22:13 – After Kimber returns to treatment
2:43:04•3 Sept 2026
Neck Shots, Overdoses and a Phone Call That Changed Everything
Episode Overview
- Calling an overdose hotline before using can drastically cut the risk of dying, especially when tolerance is low after rehab.
- Never Use Alone and the Massachusetts overdose hotline focus on safety, not preaching abstinence or pushing people into treatment.
- Harm reduction tools such as naloxone, fentanyl test strips and medications like Sublocade can support people who aren’t ready or able to stop using.
- Stigma in healthcare leads to worse treatment for people who use drugs, which Steven highlights from his time as a paramedic.
- Long‑term change is possible even after multiple relapses, as shown by Kimber later working full‑time on an overdose hotline while maintaining her own recovery.
“"If what she wants to do is continue to use, she should be alive and healthy to do so."”
What drives someone to seek a life without overdoses, even if drugs are still in the picture? This Greatest Hits episode of Dopey zooms in on one of the show’s most intense stories, “The Call,” and pairs dark humour with genuinely life-or-death stakes. You’ll hear how Kimber, a long‑time heroin user fresh out of rehab, phones the Never Use Alone hotline before injecting what she calls “probably fentanyl” into her neck.
On the other end is Jessie, a nurse in Georgia with a soft Southern voice and a very practical brief: keep Kimber talking, slow her down, and grab enough details to call an ambulance if things go sideways. When Kimber stops responding, Jessie dials 911, and paramedic Steven reaches Kimber’s flat in time to revive her on the dining‑room floor. The episode doesn’t tidy anything up. Kimber goes back to using for years after that overdose.
Yet the same web of people who helped save her life – Jessie and Steven – later become her colleagues when she gets sober and starts working on the Massachusetts overdose hotline, sitting with others on the phone while they use.
Alongside that main story, host Dave keeps the show’s trademark mix of chaos and recovery: there’s a crack‑dealer car‑jacking tale from Josh in Spokane, warnings about kratom and praise for the opioid blocker Sublocade, plus an open invite for anyone who needs free naloxone or fentanyl test strips. If you’re curious about harm reduction, hotlines like Never Use Alone, or just want a brutally honest look at addiction that still manages to be stupid‑funny, this one packs it in.
It might even nudge you to ask: who could you call before you pick up next time?
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