The Art of Manliness Podcast aims to deepen and improve every area of a man's life, from fitness and philosophy, to relationships and productivity. Engaging and edifying interviews with some of the world's most interesting doers and thinkers drop the fluff and filler to glean guests' very best, potentially life-changing, insights.
A lot of self-improvement advice and content feels empty. And there’s a reason for that. It often offers routines and habits to practice, but doesn’t offer a strong, overarching reason to practice them. That’s why the self-improvement advice of the Founding Fathers is particularly compelling. Though they were imperfect men, they had a clear why for trying to become better than they were. For the Founders, life was about the pursuit of happiness, and they equated happiness with excellence and vir...
When you’re feeling stressed, burnt out, and anxious — when you’re striving and achieving but still finding yourself persistently dissatisfied with life — you might start looking for answers beyond what’s offered by contemporary self-help. One ancient philosophy that can cast light on the sources of and solutions to our seemingly modern dilemmas is Buddhism. If you’ve ever been intrigued by Buddhism but admittedly only have a vague sense of what it’s all about, Brendan Barca — co-author of The D...
What if the traits you’ve been taught to suppress your entire career are actually the very qualities that separate those who get what they want from those who stay stuck waiting for recognition that never comes? Today on the show, Jenny Wood argues that most of us are living in what she calls “an invisible cage” created by an overabundance of caution, and that the biggest lie you’ve been told in your career is to keep your head down and let your work speak for itself. Jenny is a former Google ex...
Rick Burgess shares timeless lessons for men from his father and football coach, Bill Burgess, author of "Men Don't Run in the Rain." They discuss crucial life principles like staying steady in challenges, constantly striving for improvement, avoiding foolish decisions, taking action instead of spectating, accepting radical responsibility, and understanding true confidence, drawing examples from football, family life, and personal tragedy.
That Dwight D. Eisenhower became Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, orchestrating the largest amphibious invasion in history on June 6, 1944, was far from inevitable. He came from the middle of nowhere — Abilene, Kansas — had never led men in battle, spent most of his career as a staff officer, and didn’t make general until he was in his fifties. How, then, did he become the leader on whom the fate of the world would rest? Today, we trace the making of Ike with Michel Paradis, aut...
Learn essential modern etiquette from British expert William Hanson. Discover the difference between manners and etiquette, how to make introductions, the rules of small talk and table manners, and how to navigate social situations like parties and elevators with confidence. This episode provides practical insights for presenting yourself well.
Uncertainty is a constant of human existence. How will market conditions affect your new business venture? What will be the results of the medical test you just took? Will a new relationship work out? For most of us, situations of uncertainty trigger anxiety, even fear. But the stress of uncertainty doesn't have to overwhelm you. You can learn to navigate it with secure, adaptable confidence so you can keep thriving and progress towards your ultimate goals. Today on the show, Rich Diviney, a ret...
Frank Schwartz discusses building and sustaining communities of men, drawing from his experience with F3, a men's leadership organization. He addresses the barriers men face in joining groups, the importance of decentralized leadership, and cultivating patience. The episode also covers defining success in community building and overcoming the idealized vision of community.
Gretchen Rubin joins the show to discuss her book "Secrets of Adulthood," a collection of guiding aphorisms for navigating adulthood. She explains her lifelong passion for aphorisms and how she developed her own concise wisdoms. Discussions cover the true nature of happiness beyond just feeling good, the challenges of changing ourselves and our relationships, lessons on parenting, the importance of distinguishing taste from objective truth, and useful heuristics for making life decisions.
Feelings of burnout and boredom have become prevalent in modern life. To understand the roots of and solutions to these issues, we can turn to both ancient philosophers and contemporary thinkers. Among the latter is Korean-German philosopher Byung-Chul Han, whose thought-provoking analyses are gaining increasing recognition. If you’re not yet familiar with Han’s philosophy, Steven Knepper, a professor at the Virginia Military Institute and the co-author of a new critical introduction to this mod...
Dr. James Levine discusses the power of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) and how increasing daily movement can significantly impact weight loss and overall health. He explains the science behind NEAT, shares practical tips for incorporating it into daily life, and highlights its benefits for metabolic and mental well-being. The conversation emphasizes that small changes in activity levels can lead to significant improvements in health and energy.
Ethan Mollick discusses the rise of AI, particularly large language models, and how they're transforming various aspects of life. He explores the capabilities and limitations of AI, including its performance on tests, creative potential, and risks. The conversation covers practical applications in work and education, offering guidelines for effective and ethical use, while also addressing concerns and the future implications of increasingly intelligent AI systems.
Explore the historical transformation of identity from externally defined roles to inner feelings and desires. This episode unpacks this profound shift through the insights of Charles Taylor, Philip Rieff, and Alasdair MacIntyre, discussing its impact on politics, education, religion, and our understanding of authenticity and morality. It questions what might have been lost in this move towards an individualized self.
Resilience is often touted as the end all, be all of coping with life's challenges and setbacks. But my guest knows from her studies, executive coaching, and her own life that sometimes resilience just isn't enough. You need an even more durable source of strength. Dr. Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist and researcher and the author of Shatterproof: How to Thrive in a World of Constant Chaos . Today on the show, Tasha explains why the concept of resilience rose to prominence in the 2...
The human urge to explore has taken us to every corner of the planet. From the highest peaks to far-flung islands to even the deepest dimensions of an idea, our species has an innate drive to venture into the unknown. But what exactly drives this need to explore? Is it genetic, cognitive, or something else entirely? Here to unpack this question is Alex Hutchinson, author of The Explorers Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map . Today on the show, Alex share...
When you think about ancient gladiators, you likely have a certain vision that comes to mind: slaves forced to fight to the death for the entertainment of bloodthirsty Romans. But much of what we think we know about gladiators is actually wrong. Today on the show, Alexander Mariotti will separate the just-as-fascinating fact from popular-culture-derived fiction when it comes to gladiatorial combat in ancient Rome. Alexander is a historian and an expert on gladiators who's served as a consultant ...
Face-to-face socializing in America has declined by more than 20% nationwide. Among some groups, like young adults and unmarried men, the drop is closer to 40%. But strangely, this hasn’t led to the loneliness epidemic that you hear so much about. Instead, we’re seeing a new phenomenon: rising aloneness without rising loneliness. Today on the show, Derek Thompson will help us understand this puzzling disconnect and its profound implications. Derek is a staff writer at The Atlantic who recently w...
People commonly think of time as a fixed, linear, objective structure. But our own experiences belie this belief. We’ve all been in situations where time has seemed to drag on or speed up, and there are even whole periods of our lives that seem to have gone by slower or faster. As my guest Steve Taylor will explain, time is a lot more fluid and moldable than we often recognize. Steve is a psychologist and the author of Time Expansion Experiences: The Psychology of Time Perception and the Illusio...
Pornography is more prevalent and accessible than ever before, yet its effects on relationships, mental health, and human development aren't popularly well understood. Discussions on the topic are often engaged in from an emotional or religious point of view; less typical is a discussion of pornography from an empirical frame. My guest today, Dr. Brian Willoughby, a social scientist who has spent the past 15 years studying porn's impacts, will unpack what the research actually says about how it ...
The idea for the Art of Manliness came to me 17 years ago as I was standing in the magazine section of a Borders bookstore. As inspiration struck, I took my Moleskine out of my pocket and jotted down some notes, like potential names — I considered things like “The Manly Arts” before settling on “The Art of Manliness” — categories of content, and initial article ideas. Almost two decades later, the fruits of those notebook jottings are still bearing out. That’s the power of a pocket pad’s possibi...
A lot of people go into marriage with a 50/50 mindset. Everything in the relationship — from tangible things like childcare and chores to intangible things like the effort and energy needed to keep the partnership going — is supposed to be divided equally. The 50/50 approach to relationships is all about fairness. And that seems sensible and rational. But, my guest says, it actually sabotages relational happiness. Nate Klemp is a former philosophy professor and the co-author, along with his wife...
For several decades, people's reported sleep quality has declined. This, despite the fact that specially optimized sheets, mattresses, and sleep trackers have emerged during that time, and despite the fact that the amount of time people are sleeping hasn't decreased for over fifty years. In other words, people aren't sleeping less than they used to, but are less happy about their sleep than ever before. My guest would say that to improve our experience of sleep, we'd be better off looking past t...
There has been a lot of cultural discussion of the way digital technologies and social media contribute to things like political polarization and adolescent depression. But as I'll explore with Nicholas Carr, the author of Superbloom , our digital tools are also changing our ability to connect with others and our sense of self in less appreciated ways. Today on the show, Nicholas unpacks why the optimistic idea that more communication is always better hasn't panned out and how the speed and volu...
When people get stuck in their job or personal life, the common response is to either work harder or shrug and accept that "that's just the way things are." My guest today has a much better solution to getting moving and making progress again. Dan Heath is a bestselling author whose latest book is Reset: How to Change What's Not Working . Today on the show, Dan shares how to escape from ineffective systems and the inertia of continuing to do things the way they've always been done by pressing on...
Think about a time you've had to speak in front of others — maybe during a work presentation, a wedding toast, or even on a first date. Did you struggle with using too many filler words, such as "um" and "like," talk too fast, or awkwardly ramble? Most of us try to fix these saboteurs of speech by giving ourselves mental mantras: "Slow down"; "Think about what you want to say." But my guest would say that becoming a more engaging and effective speaker comes down to realizing that it's a very phy...
I first read Man's Search for Meaning by the neurologist, psychologist, and philosopher Viktor Frankl in high school, and I have re-read it several times since. It's one of the books that's had the biggest impact on my life, so it was a real treat to speak with Alexander Vesely, Frankl's grandson, about his grandfather's ideas and legacy. Today on the show, I talk to Alexander, who is a documentarian, and like his grandfather, a psychotherapist, about Frankl's life, his development of logotherap...
Think about your habits, the things you do automatically without much thought — from brushing your teeth in the morning to scrolling social media before bed. There’s a lot going on with these behaviors. On one level, they’re just routines and actions wired into our brains through repetition. But there’s also more to it than that. Our habits shape who we are, influence our health and happiness, and determine much of our success in life. There’s a reason changing habits is one of the most powerful...
Note: This is a rebroadcast. Most everyone wants to live a good, meaningful life, though we don’t always know what that means and how to do it. Plenty of modern self-improvement programs claim to point people in the right direction, but many of the best answers were already offered more than two thousand years ago. My guests have gleaned the cream of this orienting, ancient-yet-evergreen advice from history’s philosophers and shared it in their new book, The Good Life Method: Reasoning Through t...
Think of all the texts, emails, and social media posts you're inundated with each day. Sometimes you read them, and sometimes you swipe them away, telling yourself, perhaps not so honestly, that you'll revisit them later. If you're the sender of such missives and memos or the creator of content, you hope the recipient has the first response, that, instead of deep-sixing your message, they take the time to engage and take action on it. How do you increase the odds of that happening? Rather than j...
What if there was one piece of fitness equipment that was affordable, didn’t take up much space, could get you both strong and flexible, and was fun to use? While that might sound too good to be true, my guest, Pat Flynn, would say you can find all those benefits in the old-school kettlebell. Pat, who’s the author of Strong ON!: 101 Minimalist Kettlebell Workouts to Blast Fat, Build Muscle, and Boost Flexibility―in 20 Minutes or Less , calls kettlebells the Swiss Army knife of workout tools and ...
