The first time J. Matthew Nespoli ever took an opioid, he took it from a drug balloon that his girlfriend had smuggled across the border. In her body. Years later, he kicked his opioid habit by taking an obscure hallucinogenic he heard about on a podcast. All of J. Matthew Nespoli&apos;s stories are like this. Somewhere along the line he has managed to build and sell a successful physical therapy business, write two books (including &quot;Daddy vs. the Suck Monster&quot; available on Kindle Unlimited), and create an online persona called &quot;The Dad&quot;(www.facebook.com/thedadissuperbad) , dedicated to &quot;parents who drink, cuss, and love their kids.&quot; If you enjoy this and other episodes of The Lighter Side Podcast, please consider subscribing to our Patreon at patreon.com/lightersidepodcast <a rel="payment" href="http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast">Support the show</a> (http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast)

Basta Pasta

It started as a weight loss podcast, which quickly became a mental health podcast, which somehow became a pandemic podcast.  Jay, your host  (anxiety/depression/OCD/childhood trauma/family addiction)  lost 185 lbs after having bariatric surgery.  Guests have ranged from actor Ken Marino to a woman you have never heard of who lost 250 lbs, to a recovering addict, to essential workers during COVID-19. In 2020, the show became daily and ran for 100 episodes in 100 days. The culmination of everything The Lighter Side strove to be, Jay created an oral history of the pandemic, as told through the voices of the people who lived through it. There's something for everyone on the Lighter Side.