Danny Rodriguez and I went to high school together. Manalapan class of &apos;97. We didn&apos;t really know each other. He was the wrestling and football guy and I was the theater guy. Danny went into law enforcement, suffered multiple injuries, and wound up being prescribed Oxycontin. What followed was an unfortunate spiral into substance use disorder. But, happily, Danny is doing amazingly well these days. He is coaching wrestling and football, and has shed over 100 lbs. He has been clean and sober for 8 years and is the proud parent of 2 little boys who love to workout as much as their Dad does. It was really great to talk to Danny, and I&apos;m honored that my show is one of the first times he has publicly told his story. <a rel="payment" href="http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast">Support the show</a> (http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast)

An American in Spain with Steve Schuth

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.