S2 E20 The Science of Addiction | Pondoff's Anonymous x No Lions Here Crossover Episode

Crossover Chaos: The Science of Addiction Who this episode is for:

• Anyone who’s ever stared down their own addictions
• Families who don’t get why their loved one can’t “just stop”
• The “I’m not an addict, but I totally have addictive behaviors” crowd
• People obsessed with the science behind why their brains keep screwing them over
• Therapy nerds, recovery warriors, and dudes who need to get over being "too tough" to talk about emotions
• And of course — anyone who’s ever made a complete dumpster fire of their life

🎧 Crossover Chaos: The Science of Addiction — Jakob Miller x Big Panda

This one’s a little different. Jakob Miller from Pondoff’s Anonymous links up with Alex “Big Panda” Kaiser for a crossover between Pondoff’s Anonymous and No Lions Here. It’s raw, unfiltered, and exactly what you’d expect when two recovering addicts sit down and try to explain the brain science behind addiction without sounding like nerdy scientists.

Jakob breaks down his "Science of Addiction" class that he runs at Illinois Recovery Center — and finally records it for the masses. If you’ve ever sat in a treatment center, argued whether addiction is a disease, or wondered why you keep sabotaging your own life, this one’s for you.

They cover it all: trauma, dopamine, irrational thinking, relapse symptoms, why triggers are a scam, and how to hack your own brain before it tricks you back into using.

No sugarcoating. No bullshit. Just the real, uncomfortable truth about how addiction rewires your survival system and why emotional honesty might be the one thing that saves your life.

🧪 Resources Mentioned:

• Illinois Recovery Center — https://illinoisrecoverycenter.com
• No Lions Here Podcast — https://open.spotify.com/show/57389wCMh6z9aZgNqjgUSd?si=ffed6a42d19043c5

⏱ Full Episode Breakdown:

• 0:00 — Intro & Crossover Explained
• 1:25 — Jakob's Science of Addiction class: origins & goals
• 5:00 — Breaking down the “disease” model: treatable, not curable
• 8:15 — Trauma vs. addiction: Jakob's personal story
• 14:00 — The switch theory: when addiction gets "turned on"
• 19:00 — The 4 key symptoms that predict relapse
• 25:00 — Obsession, self-centeredness, irrational thinking, compulsion: deep dive
• 32:00 — Dopamine 101: how the brain wires addiction as survival
• 38:30 — Functional MRI studies: your cravings vs starvation
• 44:00 — Cravings, urges, triggers: why most coping advice is useless
• 48:00 — Hacking the brain with Navy SEAL tricks & cognitive exercises
• 54:00 — Practicing coping skills: the only way they actually start to work
• 59:00 — 90-in-90 meetings: how to taper off the right way
• 1:03:00 — Emotional intelligence: why men must feel their shit
• 1:09:00 — Jakob’s personal triggers and early relapse warning signs
• 1:15:00 — Drug choice is irrelevant: a dopamine problem is a dopamine problem
• 1:21:00 — How irrational thinking nearly killed Jakob
• 1:26:00 — Emotional honesty and real recovery work for men
• 1:32:00 — Wrapping it up: facing emotions head-on to stay alive

Sponsored by

• Illinois Recovery Center
• Bertarelli Cutlery