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 “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms
Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck
Music and production by Max Foreman
Mastering by Little Castle Sound
Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A
Logo art by Graffiti Fucks (@graffitifucks on Instagram)
This month we talk about Israel and the language surrounding Zionism, holding fast to our belief in equal dignity and rights for all people. Audrey visits a Seattle town hall featuring Pramila Jayapal about January 6th and the creeping threat of white nationalism. Hasan Piker’s bid to elect Socialists and progressives to Senate and Congressional seats, challenging the Democratic establishment, kicks the big donor hornet’s nest. In Audrey’s clinical work, clients lose medicaid, housing, food and transportation, which sometimes leads to suicides. DSA’s recent electoral advances kindle our hope that democracy might one day deliver the material support and challenge to imperial violence people around the world are desperately seeking.
Opening quote by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI)
Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms
Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck
Music and production by Max Foreman
Mastering by Little Castle Sound
Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A
Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)
21 Aug 2026
¡Viva la Raza!
This month we sit down with mother, wife, addiction counselor, and former dockworker Lorie E. Garcia, who decades in recovery still speaks at meetings, sponsors women and fosters animals to square herself with a God of her understanding. We talk about the Steps, immigrant advocacy, and healing from racism and misogynous traumas through not only the rooms of AA but therapy and “outside help.”
Opening quote by U.S. Senate nominee Angie Nixon
Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms
Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck
Music and production by Max Foreman
Mastering by Little Castle Sound
Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A
Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)
31 Jul 2026
Feel to Heal
Audrey welcomes friend and colleague Katherine “Wren” Hamilton, a Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT)-focused social worker. Wren began her journey towards helping others first from her own struggles with anxiety and suicidal ideations. Recovery from a host of addictions and traumas can often be traced to some form of “radical acceptance.” What Wren shares with clients and accesses herself through DBT can also help Audrey to manage her mental health struggles and Patrick to manage his breakup. If we press our emotions down, they’re bound to re-emerge at inopportune times. Feel to heal, and don’t judge your judging!
Opening quote by Maria Bamford
Rest in peace Kavinsky and Glen Hansard.
Rest in piss Lindsay Graham.
Mitch McConnell, thoughts and prayers.
Main show theme is “Strangers” by Midnight Prisms
Music and lyrics by Alicia Beck
Music and production by Max Foreman
Mastering by Little Castle Sound
Please follow and listen to Midnight Prisms on Spotify!
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o5jiLSZMoSXNWL98UBxYI?si=sK-K7IoUSp-QfFKgUwVY7A
Main logo art by Patrick Mitchell and Angelina Harvey (@graffitifucks on Instagram)
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