Shoutout From The Pit

The Old Rucker sits down with longtime recovery advocate Libby D. for an honest conversation about resilience, recovery, service, and purpose. From breaking barriers as one of the first women in corporate sales and pharmaceutical representation, to life as a farmer, community leader, mentor, and recovering alcoholic, Libby shares a remarkable journey of overcoming abuse, addiction, loneliness, and...

This special Independence Day episode of Shoutout from the Pit steps away from the usual recovery and overcomer discussions to celebrate America’s 250th birthday and reflect on the meaning of freedom. Bob explores the history and symbolism of the American flag, honors veterans, first responders, military families, and community leaders, and discusses how the freedoms Americans enjoy connect...

Bob “The Old Rucker” reconnects with longtime friend and original guest Josh “The Bear Slayer” to reflect on two years of recovery, friendship, outdoor adventures, and personal growth. The conversation ranges from humorous memories of backpacking trips and the early days of the podcast to a gripping account of Josh’s recent encounter with a massive black bear while hu...

The Old Rucker sits down with returning guest Cody along with Chris, a man whose life journey took him from a childhood marked by abuse, years of methamphetamine addiction, and incarceration to a life grounded in faith, accountability, and recovery. Chris openly shares how he spent decades as a high functioning addict, the events that ultimately led to his imprisonment, and the pivotal spiritual a...

The Old Rucker sits down with this week’s guest Paul Louis, a retired therapist with over 30 years helping vets at the Veterans Administration. Louis shares the remarkable story of his life, recovery, and decades of service helping veterans overcome addiction, trauma, and PTSD. Growing up in a large but chaotic South Louisiana family marked by alcoholism, dysfunction, and shame, Louis reflec...

The Old Rucker talks on the theme of grace and mercy framed through personal recovery experience, mentorship, and reflection on human behavior under stress. Bob recounts formative encounters with a sponsor in a treatment setting, including a hospital visit preceding the sponsor’s death and a later interaction with a priest that reframed judgment toward a panhandler through the lens of unconditiona...

The Old Rucker sits down with Clark of Oak Crest Wealth Management for a practical conversation about money, retirement, and long-term financial responsibility. Moving beyond stock tips and investment hype, the discussion explores the difference between investing and gambling, the importance of starting early, the power of compound growth, and why financial planning matters regardless of where som...

The Old Rucker sits down with digital creator, speaker, and author Michaela Mulroe to discuss resilience, identity, and living authentically with Treacher Collins syndrome. Michaela shares how she transformed years of feeling different, mental health struggles, and public scrutiny into a platform built around confidence, advocacy, and purpose through her upcoming book Unconditionally Confident and...

The Old Rucker reflects on the emotional collision between what he calls the “culture of darkness” and the “culture of light,” exploring how stress, grief, road rage, media negativity, politics, and everyday frustrations can slowly pull people into chaos and despair. Drawing from personal experiences, including the pain of losing longtime pets and navigating seasons of “death by a thousand cuts,”...

In this episode “The Old Rucker” reconnects with returning guest Cody for a candid conversation about recovery, grief, incarceration, faith, and rebuilding a life after loss. Cody reflects on the years since his wife’s sudden passing, the spiral into addiction that followed, and the hard road through incarceration into sobriety and accountability. Now nearly five years sober, he shares how faith,...

In this episode, Greg sits down with The Old Rucker to share his journey from early addiction and chaos to stability, purpose, and faith driven recovery. From drinking as a child and battling substance abuse for decades to reaching a breaking point that forced change, Greg walks through the hard truths of addiction and the discipline required to rebuild a life. Now five years sober, he reflects on...

In this episode the Old Rucker and returning guest Charlie sit down for an unfiltered conversation on depression, anxiety, and the internal battles that don’t always show on the surface, challenging the idea that recovery alone solves everything. Speaking candidly from lived experience, they move beyond statistics into the reality that no one is immune, unpacking how depression can coexist with so...

In this solo episode the Old Rucker dives into the real meaning of being a promise keeper both in recovery and in everyday life. From personal stories of broken trust to the transformative promises found in recovery principles, he unpacks how integrity, accountability, and consistent action shape who we become. Highlighting the importance of honesty, boundaries, and spiritual grounding, this episo...

Bob sits down with Blake and Robin, a couple whose journey through addiction, trauma, and recovery highlights the raw reality of rebuilding a life from the ground up. From Robin’s story of surviving a childhood injury and rediscovering purpose through forgiveness, to Blake’s path through addiction, military service, and eventual sobriety, the episode explores how service work, accountability, and...

Brett’s journey is shaped by relocation, isolation, and ultimately connection through recovery. Brett shares how moving to Arkansas for work led him from going through the motions of sobriety to truly engaging in it, thanks to a tight knit “tribe” built through service work, events, and shared experiences. Along the way, he reflects on his early years of binge drinking, the cultural normalization...

In this episode of Dwight one of the most seasoned voices in the room shares how a lifetime of discipline, success, and faith still led to a late in life battle with alcoholism after retirement stripped away his sense of purpose. What followed was a rapid descent into daily drinking, followed by an equally powerful turnaround through AA , spiritual reconnection, and the unexpected strength of comm...

In this solo episode the Old Rucker kicks off a Recovery 101 discusses a practical, no-nonsense breakdown of communication, one of the most critical and most commonly botched tools in recovery and everyday life. Drawing from personal experience, leadership lessons, and recovery principles, he introduces the concept of “CUCUMU” (Clear, Complete, Mutual Understanding) and walks through real-world st...

In this episode the Old Rucker sits down with Arkansas writer and farmer Barry Brown for a wide ranging conversation about creativity, therapeutic writing, and finding meaning through storytelling. Barry shares how ideas born during his time in prison eventually turned into books, essays, and children’s stories, and explains how curiosity, research, and life experience fuel his writing process. Th...

In this episode the Old Rucker dives into the emotional realities of recovery exploring anger, hate, violence, gratitude, and the importance of emotional sobriety. Bob talks about why people struggling with “isms” must learn to recognize and manage powerful emotions before they spiral into destructive behavior, and why the show intentionally avoids political controversy in favor of discussions tha...

The Tribe breaks down Andrea H.’s Five Things to Know About Working the Twelve Steps… challenging “brutal honesty,” redefining surrender, and exposing the difference between surface level recovery and true emotional accountability. Through personal stories of relapse, grief, ego, and redemption, the crew makes one thing clear: insight without action is useless, surrender is strength, and rea...

This week Bob sits down with longtime friend “Mustache Bob” for a raw and revealing conversation about childhood adversity, early addiction, Peace Corps chaos in Liberia, and the hard earned lessons of relapse and redemption. After 18 years sober and a devastating slip, Bob found deeper recovery by fully working the steps, confronting long buried anger and ego, and rebuilding his life through humi...

On this episode of Shout Out From The Pit , the Old Rucker reflects on the cycle of struggle, relief, and complacency; how we can go from desperate prayers to comfortable ruts faster than we realize. Through stories of addiction, near tragedy, job rejection, and recovery, he explores why motivation fades, why inspiration comes and goes, and why gratitude must be actively maintained. His message is...

Joel’s story is a blunt reminder that rock bottom doesn’t always involve handcuffs or headlines. In this episode, Joel opens up about childhood trauma, addiction, ego, control, relapse, and the moment his internal voice shifted from self hatred to hope. He shares how detox, honesty, service work, music, and community, especially Bridging the Gap, became the foundation of his recovery. This episode...

In this episode, the women’s round table dives deep into Boundaries and Bedevilments, unpacking what it really means to protect your sobriety while navigating real life. Through candid stories about relationships, trauma responses, money, fear, meditation, and spiritual growth, the panel explores how healthy boundaries are built, why they’re for you, not other people, and how the Big Book’s...

When Shari received a breast cancer diagnosis, surrender wasn’t an option. In this episode, Shari and her husband Les share the full arc of their cancer journey from early detection through routine mammograms, to an aggressive treatment plan involving chemotherapy and immunotherapy, to the emotional, financial, and relational realities few people talk about out loud. With honesty, dark humor, and...