Detoxicity: By Men, About Men, For Everyone

Some of you might now that Detoxicity is not the only podcast I host and produce. Along with my music loving friends Jeff Giles and Jason Hare , I host a podcast called FM to MTV , which focuses on the pop music that the three of us grew up with, albeit in very different environments. In addition to being music nerds and great comic foils, I have been friends with Jeff and Jason now for over a dec...

Mike Rublin is a "recovering" musician, a social worker and a mental health advocate. He is also a proud Jersey native. Our interview covers a lot of ground; with special attention given to various forms of self-care and mental health. We talk about the pressure of having your actions live up to your words, why he finds fulfillment working with other men, what it's like to be bullied in school and...

My love of music tends to direct me towards quite a few potential podcast guests, and the seeds for this week's episode were sown earlier this year when I joined a bracket style music tournament held by my buddy Crispin Kott, who you might remember from episode 36.   That group introduced me to Bryan Mack , this episode's subject. Bryan is a music geek through and through. You'll find out just how...

Since I started doing this show, I've developed a bit of a thing about people who call themselves life coaches. There's a level of, dare I say, bullshit that I've detected with some of the people I've interviewed thus far that have felt the calling to coach others through life. So I approached my interview with Ethan Freckleton cautiously.   Thankfully, Ethan allayed my fears by being vulnerable,...

Earlier this year, Detoxicity's host, Mike Joseph, was located on the genealogy site 23 and Me by someone named Evan Thomas, who was indicated to be Mike's brother. After several months of communication, the two met in person and recorded this special episode of the podcast. Evan and Mike discuss the circumstances that led them to one another and how their lives and personalities came close to int...

Jeff Giles is a writer, first and foremost. He founded the pop culture website Popdose almost a decade and a half ago, and has also written for sites including Rotten Tomatoes, Paste, and Ultimate Classic Rock. Jeff has also written two books, including one called Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live. He is not to be confused with the OTHER pop culture writer named Jeff G...

Mike Bankhead is a musician based in Dayton, Ohio. During our interview, Mike talks about his close knit local community and why the Midwest appeals to him. We discuss the cultural stigma that still exists around mental health in the Black community, and Mike shares a couple of interesting stories about his experiences with law enforcement. Our discussion also covers faith and theology, perfection...

Brian Rosenworcel , also known as the Thundergod, is the drummer for rock band Guster . Over the course of Guster's thirty years as an active unit, Brian has gained notoriety for not only his musicianship but his humorous and often quirky online presence as expressed on the band's road and studio journals.    This was actually our second stab at recording. Our first attempt got thwarted by noise,...

This episode features Reid Martin. Reid is the owner of Midcitizen Entertainment , a company that represents  Low Cut Connie, whose Adam Weiner you heard from a few weeks back , as well as the amazing Big Freedia, Grammy nominated Tank and the Bangas, and more. Reid is based in New Orleans and during our conversation, you'll hear why he wants New Orleans to be his base of operations as opposed to...

Chris Gethard is a comedian, an actor, the writer of several books, and the host of the podcast Beautiful/Anonymous, in which he takes a random phone call from a complete stranger and converses with them for an hour. Chris is probably best known for Career Suicide, a one man show that later became an acclaimed HBO Special, in which he went deep on his struggles with depression.   My conversation w...

Akie Bermiss is a Brooklyn-born singer, songwriter and member of the folk/country/pop act Lake Street Dive. A self-professed and proud nerd, Akie discusses how his decision to pursue music came after he thought he'd already mapped out a career path for himself. He speaks about self-confidence and coming from a family steeped in "Blackademia". There's also discussion about code-switching and being...

Kevin Devine is a prolific independent singer/songwriter with something like two dozen combined studio albums, live albums and EPs. He records solo, with his band (called the Goddamn Band) and as a member of Bad Books with Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull. Kevin came up through the punk and hardcore scene in New York City, where he was born and currently makes his home.    During this episode, Kev...

Jesse Stanford, like many of the guests on Detoxicity, does many things. By day, he's a junior high school teacher. By night, he's a creative, making music under the name Lesser Sparrow . He's also a brand new dad. You'll find out how he juggles those things during our conversation. You'll also find out how he has moved past his suburban upbringing to learn more about the world, how he's moving pa...

When this episode's guest was introduced to me a decade or so ago as "Juggalo Bob", I had reservations. Those reservations said more about my own preconceived notions than it did about anything in regards to Bob Lugowe. We all contain multitudes, and Bob is not only a proud member of the Insane Clown Posse fan club, but he's a music industry executive, a label owner and marketer, he's a brain trau...

Tanner Hinds is a comic and musician based in Cincinnati, OH. He hosts and produces the Heavy Head podcast , an episodic adventure through mental illness. This conversation covers topics including how Tanner realized and got help for his own depression-related issues, attempting to find a self-care regimen, finding strength in solitude, how art turns him into a better (or at least more outgoing) v...

 I have had a lot of musicians as guests on this show. I've had a lot of mental health professionals on this show. But here's a first--a professional musician who is also a licensed therapist! I got to know William Fitzsimmons through Staying in Tune, a web series i host with the mental health charity Sound Mind Live. We got along so well, and William's story was so interesting, that I had to exte...

This episode of Detoxicity brings back three former guests; relationship/sexuality experts Dylan Thomas , Kevin Patterson and Ryan Bentham . All three men are versed in traditional and non-traditional relationships; romantic, platonic, monogamous, polyamorous, etc. This discussion further explores their individual and ongoing journeys through love, partnership, sex and exploration.   Topics covere...

Adam Weiner is the face and the main voice behind Low Cut Connie , a rock and roll band that's gained fans as diverse as Barack Obama and Elton John. In the last year and change, Adam's fame has grown thanks to his web series Tough Cookies. Created during the pandemic, it has gained a new legion of fans and has hosted guests including members of Sly & The Family Stone, Darlene Love and Joan Osborn...

A few episodes ago, in the name of changing things up a bit, I went from being the interviewer to being the interviewee , and the show got some of the best feedback we've gotten so far. So, because I have no shame in flogging a dead horse, I'm subjecting myself to the interview process once again. This time, my interviewer is Dr. Michael Friedman, who was the guest on the very first episode of Det...

Manny Humlie is 1/3 of the band  We Three , whose big claim to fame was a stint on America's Got Talent a few years ago. In the years since AGT, We Three have become a major recording and touring act (pre-COVID, obviously), and Manny and I discuss his sheltered upbringing, which involved him being home schooled for most of his life. We also talk about the role religion and music played in his upbr...

Logan Nielsen is the co-host and producer of the Josh Johnson Show , a podcast that you can hear just about anywhere. He is also the host of The Nielsen Brothers Podcast along with (duh) his two brothers. He is also a stand up comedian and a writer and a substitute teacher. Like many of our guests, Logan wears many hats and he talks about all of them over the course of our episode.   Logan gave me...

Comedian, writer and actor Kevin McCaffrey got his big break on The Late Show with David Letterman. Kevin currently hosts the podcasts Sex & the Cidiots and Away Games (a Chicago Cubs podcast) along with a comedy show on Sirius XM every Wednesday. During this episode, he touches on what led him to pursue comedy (as well as the life of a creative that happens to be married to another creative). Oth...

Over the past few months, I've been asking friends for constructive criticism regarding Detoxicity. Several people mentioned that although they enjoy the podcast, I don't do enough talking. Of course, these people are my friends and are maybe tuning in because they want to hear me talk. If you're not my friend and want to give me your honest opinion, find me on IG and shoot me a message!   With th...

To say that racism is a pox on the United States of America is to understate the case greatly. While some people have only gotten hip to the injustices faced by all people of color, but especially Black people, as social media has gained traction in the last decade, every racial minority knows what it's like to encounter racism. For people like me (a Black man), the indignities of being othered ar...

Zack Borer is a licensed marriage and family therapist, based in los Angeles. Zack is also the co-founder of backline. care , a non profit organization that provides mental health resources for musicians and employees of the music industry. During our conversation, Zack and I discuss his beginnings as a musician and what led him to explore psychiatry as a profession. We also cover some best practi...