Day 14,072 - Chimney Season

It's one of Kevin's favorite times of year: crisp October air, the Olean skyline lit up at night, and a trip up on the roof. With a busy stretch of no-heat and carbon monoxide calls and a sick household, he finally gets up there to inspect the chimney before wood-burning season.

He walks through what he looks for: mortar joints that need tuckpointing, the flashing, and running the brush down the flue so the family can enjoy a fire by Christmas.

Be safe out there, don't fall off your roof, and if you can, clean your own chimney.

Creators & Guests

• Dr. Rev. Kevin M. Dougherty - Host

Day 14,068 - The Andy Benarski Story: Corrections

After the last update on Andy Benarski's rental, a flood of messages came in from neighbors, people in the community, and friends and family of the folks living there. Kevin sets the record straight on who actually lives in the house, where the six kids come from, and why the headcount still doesn't add up for a three-bedroom home.

Neighbors are also saying the attic, a space shared between the two apartments that Andy had bolted shut, has been opened up and turned into a whole separate living space. Kevin says that's like claiming the whole backyard as your own.

Got information on this story? Drop it in the comments.

Creators & Guests

• Dr. Rev. Kevin M. Dougherty - Host

Day 14,066 - The Andy Benarski Story Continues

After serving the 24 hour notice, Kevin explains the next step for Andy's estate: getting inside the rental to assess its condition so it can eventually find a new owner. But there's a bigger concern. Neighbors and family say 13 people are now living in the house, seven adults and six children, including a boyfriend who claims he doesn't live there. Kevin walks through how the household grew and why that worries him for both safety and wear and tear.

More updates coming over the next few days. Stay tuned.

Creators & Guests

• Dr. Rev. Kevin M. Dougherty - Host

Day 14,064 - Making History

Kevin hops in the van with Styx's "Tonight's the night we'll make history" stuck in his head and starts critiquing the lyrics. Has anyone's night ever actually made the history books? He runs through the few he can think of, from Marilyn Monroe and JFK to Attila the Hun's wedding night and Braveheart.

Got any historic slays? Let us know.

Day 14,059 - Our Governor Sucks

Kevin's take from the van: the Cornell case is a criminal case, and the governor doesn't belong in it. He says putting Attorney General Letitia James on it means politics, not a fair trial.

He then goes after a New York consent proposal he describes as letting someone rescind consent days later because they had a drink. His argument: if that rule is real, the men accused at Cornell should be able to use it too. He tells Hochul to get rid of it, and says he can't wait for Bruce Blakeman to run against her in November.

Where do you land? Let us know in the comments.

Day 14,054 - Free Speech

When Kevin was a younger man, life seemed so easy: America was free, and you could say what you wanted. Today he makes the case that speech is a protected thing, especially when it offends somebody, and that the fabric of this country is sewn together from the idea of not censoring speech.

His bottom line: we have a duty to defend those rights, because those rights are nothing without duty. Welcome to America.

Can we still say it? Let us know in the comments.

Day 14,053 - In Defense of the Survivor

Today's episode goes out to the survivors: the people Kevin says have survived unaccredited, unwarranted, unsubstantiated accusations of rape. He starts with Matt Araiza, "the punt god" the Buffalo Bills drafted and then dropped over an allegation Kevin says was thrown out of court, and asks Buffalo what they were thinking letting him go.

Kevin is clear he isn't standing up for frat hazing or the way some college guys treat women. But he says a Cornell University student who joined a frat, made poor decisions, and is now getting dragged through the mud over an accusation Kevin calls unsubstantiated is a survivor in the making, and this episode is for them too.

Day 14,052 - Sober October

It's Sober October again, and this one's special. Kevin went into his eighth Sober October a year ago and never came out of it: 12 months sober today, making this officially his ninth time around. He talks about the cigar he didn't get to smoke, what's fair game the rest of the year, and why this month is about hanging in there, seeing if you can do it, and staying the course together.

Plus a challenge for his buddy in Buffalo who bails every year because the Bills are playing: the games are just as fun sober, and watching them lose hurts more. What are you giving up this month? Let us know in the comments.