I find a lot of joy in doing Q&As. It’s a pretty direct connection to someone, it helps me know what folks are curious about, and can help more than just the one person who asked. The last time I asked my followers to send in their questions, I got several hundred questions, so this week we’ll look at how to properly deal with a breakup, my take on pickup artists and that culture, and understanding the art of allowing. Are you looking to find purpose, navigate transition, or fix your relatio...
Dec 17, 2020•17 min
This was an incredible conversation. Adam and I spoke over Zoom, and covered a ton of ground, but focused mainly on three major topics: why psychedelics are making such big waves right now, the impact of things like psilocybin and ayahuasca on men and their sense of masculinity, and our growing societal need for new therapies and new modes of thinking. Born in the urban jungles of Mexico City, raised mostly in Israel, and having lived in 7 different countries, Adam naturally embodies intercultur...
Dec 14, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 313
This week, a question I know a lot of men have asked themselves. But depending on where you’re at, what you’re facing in life, and where the urge is coming from, the right answer can be elusive. Listen in, and let me know your take. Are you looking to find purpose, navigate transition, or fix your relationships, all with a powerful group of men from around the world? Check out The Alliance and join me today. Check out our Facebook Page or the Men's community . Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Googl...
Dec 10, 2020•8 min
This week, I had the honor of sitting down with Rich Loesing, the corporate development manager for Movember. We cover the inner resistance men face when taking care of their physical and mental health, Rich’s personal journey, some of my own hurdles, and how Movember is challenging the norms. Rich Loesing is a Corporate Development Manager at Movember, working with a variety of professional organizations that are dedicated to helping change the face of men’s health. Whether it’s Amazon, Google,...
Dec 07, 2020•44 min•Season 1Ep. 312
I’m a big believer in balance, and I think the dance between yin and yang (or masculine/feminine, or whatever polarity names you like) provides a ton of insight. So, this week’s mini ep is all about giving your masculine energy purpose and direction. Masculine energy can help you structure your life, mind, and career, but—hard truth here—it’ll only get you so far by itself. Without external purpose, left to only serve itself, the masculine can slowly and unconsciously rationalize self-harm. Let ...
Dec 03, 2020•23 min
This is a heavy and fascinating ep, my friends. Our workplace can be one of the single greatest factors in our mental health, so I wanted to sit down with one of America's leaders in business ethics and masculine psychology, Dave M Mayer. We dive deep into the research to discuss the ways "one-dimensional" masculinity impacts the work we do, the language we use, and the backlash men might get when they stray from it (for example, losing a promotion if they take paternity leave). How do we do bet...
Nov 30, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 311
This was inspired by a conversation I had with a client of mine. When you're living in a time of crisis, how in the world do you maintain gratitude? When the faith in our abilities as individuals, communities, even as a species is shaken, it's easy to gorge on the soup of fear and leave any idea of thankfulness behind. The way out? We need to (myself included!) build a relationship with the fear within ourselves, because that will lead us to what we truly, deeply value. I hope you listen in. Are...
Nov 26, 2020•12 min
What if you could change your patterns—permanently? What if there’s more to you than just a body or just a mind? These are just two of the questions that ignited Dr. Nicole LePera’s (aka the hugely popular @the.holistic.psychologist) pursuit of a more holistic style of healing. It was an honor to sit down with her and share journeys of healing, how important it is to face your unhealthy patterns outside of the therapist’s office , how to bring healing and awareness into your online interactions,...
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 310
The internet is an ocean. Just like our actual oceans, there’s incredible diversity and beauty. There’s also a solid and growing amount of garbage. Why is it like this, and why does online discourse often leave us exhausted and angry? This week, I propose this: What if the internet is an expression of humanity’s collective unconscious? Listen in for my perspective, and let me know what you think! Leave a rating or review. Are you looking to find your purpose, navigate transition, or fix your rel...
Nov 19, 2020•24 min
I’m excited for this one! On November 4th, JAMA Psychiatry published a study with an impressive claim: psilocybin was (get this) at least 4 times more effective on major depression than the usual antidepressants. Plant medicine is a big fascination for me, so it was so rewarding to speak with one of the authors that study, Dr. Alan K Davis. Alan is on the bleeding edge of both the research and the practical treatment at Johns Hopkins, and we talk about how the study was set up, the barriers invo...
Nov 16, 2020•54 min•Season 1Ep. 309
I get a large number of requests from men, women, and clients to discuss this topic. Surprisingly, a number of people have also asked, “Can a woman actually be a narcissist too?” So I dug into the research, consulted some therapist and coach friends of mine, and decided to tackle the topic gently but directly. The word “narcissist” gets used as a label way, way too often, and waters down the issues faced by people who have actually dealt with clinical narcissism. Let's unpack and get some insigh...
Nov 12, 2020•31 min
I recorded this ep last spring--part of a miniseries on Jungian archetypes and the fantastic book, King, Warrior, Magician, Lover . Considering the need for healing and wisdom in the face of so much uncertainty and change, it felt like a good time to pull it out of the archives. This is a deep dive into the archetype known as The Magician. An integrated, healthy one heals, transforms, enlightens, and creates. But his shadow…well, listen in and see. If this resonates with you, let me know on Inst...
Nov 09, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 308
I recorded this yesterday, after election day, and wanted to both weigh in on things and also zoom out a bit and take a look at one of the more pervasive aspects of 2020: ambiguity. At the end, I give some helpful tips and some hard-hitting prompts to help you navigate. When there are so many possibilities and so many variables, the mist of ambiguity is obviously the result. When we combine that with (as the science has shown) our inherent negativity bias, our rational mind can feel completely u...
Nov 05, 2020•20 min
We dug into several things in this session, but at the core were the aftereffects of a family member’s struggle with alcoholism. This and other addictions like it impact countless families, and the effects ripple outward into our own lives in many different ways. For those of you listening, if anything resonates and you want some help or insight, please don’t hesitate to DM me and check out a doctor who specializes in addiction. There are people out there who want to help. In the USA: Search the...
Nov 02, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 307
This week’s mini-ep is just me thinking out loud on what desire really means. It seems like our culture has built a massive framework around desire, or more accurately, built it to imply your lack of something, and therefore need to “get it”. But the big secret is the final source of contentment--the satisfaction we’ve been outsourcing for years--is only found within. To be clear, I’m not denying external hardships--particularly for people who have been oppressed by that same framework that alwa...
Oct 29, 2020•13 min
How do we understand each other, especially when we disagree? This week, I sat down with one of the leaders in nonviolent communication, or NVC, Oren Jay Sofer. If you're unsure of what nonviolent communication actually is, you'll have a solid grasp after this! For Oren, language runs deep. It’s intimately connected to universal, fundamental human drives, social structures, and even our physicality. We chat about the basic framework of mindful and nonviolent communication, our current “attack ba...
Oct 26, 2020•54 min•Season 1Ep. 306
This week’s mini-episode is a personal one, and about one of the most ancient and powerful rituals we as humans can practice: memento mori--being mindful of the inevitability of death. I dive into how memento mori works as a contemplative practice, its history, and why it’s more than just some personal development tool. Modern culture works hard to avoid even the idea of death, to the point where we water down some our most compelling stories and ideas. Tons of time is spent on practically forci...
Oct 22, 2020•21 min
This was a powerful interview, and I’m grateful to have had the chance to listen to Reggie’s peace-oriented mindset and his perspective on a highly divisive period in American history. We dove into understanding the origins of modern activism and activist groups, Black Lives Matter, why discussions fall apart, and how we might repair them. Listen in for an honest, real conversation, and if it resonates, please share! Help us reach more people like you. Reggie Hubbard has held many senior strateg...
Oct 19, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 305
Part 2 of You Ask, I Answer is here! Some great questions came in and as always, it’s a pleasure to answer them. This week’s mini-ep covers setting and understanding boundaries with a partner, the “code of conflict”, how to know if it’s “the One”, and enhancing/perfecting long-distance relationships. If this episode resonates with you, let me know! Leave a rating or review, or send me your questions on Instagram @mantalks. Are you looking to find your purpose, navigate transition, or fix your re...
Oct 15, 2020•20 min
I often tell clients, “say yes to the man you want to be”, and Lee Chambers is someone who decided to shout it! From running a seven-figure business to losing his ability to walk, he’s seen a lot. I was amazed by his struggles, but moreso by his deliberate, intentional reframing of them. Lee’s story is an incredibly powerful example of how mindset and action work together to define who you are and who you want to be. We cover a lot. Lee’s origin story, the big-picture ideas of environmental psyc...
Oct 12, 2020•58 min•Season 1Ep. 304
I genuinely enjoy getting questions from listeners, so this Q&A will be a two-parter! This week, I touch on three big questions: why some people crave the extreme, how to move on from a relationship full of love but doesn’t meet your needs, and when to walk away from a partner who is ambivalent about the relationship. If you know someone who can relate to these questions, share this with them! We’re all in this together. If you have any questions of your own, hit me up on Instagram (@mantalk...
Oct 08, 2020•12 min
I like to occasionally feature a shadow-work session with someone I’ve never worked with before, and this one got powerful fast. My guest came to me wanting to work on the intersection of his sexuality and his religion; he feels fulfilled by being a leader in his community, but he also feels a clash between the pressure to “be religious” and be a sexual being at the same time. This expanded into a deep dive on the feeling of isolation and not belonging. This is a unique opportunity for you to li...
Oct 05, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 303
By the time you listen to this, my incredible wife Vienna and I will be on the road, heading into a new chapter of our lives. It seemed like the perfect time to talk about “moving” through crisis (see what I did there?). Because, like so many of our friends, clients, and listeners, the last several months threw a lot of plans into disarray. So we sat down together to discuss clinging to expectations, navigating “forced change”, and the lessons we’ve learned from transition points in our own live...
Oct 01, 2020•33 min
You’re going to want a comfy chair for this one. This week, my guest is Daoist Monk Yun Rou. Yun Rou is a brilliant interpreter of ancient ideas for a modern ear--if you’ve read his book The Mad Monk Manifesto you’ll know what I’m talking about. We got heavy into social media and how it affects us, why you might know more about Daoism than you think, and how Daoist philosophy can offer us a different, more holistic view of everything; from our own minds to the workings of the universe. If you co...
Sep 28, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 302
This is a really important topic for me; it’s one of the reasons I started ManTalks. In this episode, I check out why men seem to only turn things around after everything’s on fire. I dive a bit into the shadow aspects of modern masculine culture, and how they amplify the problem (hint: shame is a big player). Every man’s journey is different, but there’s one thing we all need--and I mean need--to do: challenge the narrative that suppression equals strength. Listen in to hear why, and as always,...
Sep 24, 2020•15 min
What does resiliency mean? How do you build the ability to bounce back after an event that shakes you to your core? How does it change you? To help answer these I spoke with adventurer, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and keynote speaker John Beede, and we dove straight into the hard stuff. It was a real pleasure to chat with John about what drew him to mountains, his struggles and victories, his new book, and the pressure men are often under to either tough it out, nice it out, or numb it o...
Sep 21, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 301
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve no doubt seen a spike in mental health issues over the last year. Most reasons are pretty obvious, of course, but there are other aspects you might not have considered. So I wanted to think out loud about what these are, how they work, and what we can do to mitigate the symptoms. In some ways, a mental health crisis is already here, and if we don’t talk about it--if we don’t unplug from our echo chambers and truly connect with other people--the situation i...
Sep 17, 2020•19 min
For our 300th episode, I wanted to cover something so common we take it for granted, and so critical we can’t live without it: breathing. Most of the time, it’s something we do unconsciously, but how we breathe and what we’re taking in are critical. We don’t really give it a lot of thought, but James Nestor is dedicated to changing that. When he and I sat down to talk about the nature of breath, the amount of info and insight he had blew. me. away. We cover the bleeding edge of science on breath...
Sep 14, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 300
This week I wanted to cover something a ton of people are experiencing right now: transition fatigue. Each of us has a natural limit on how much change we can take at once. When we hit that limit, issues can start cropping up that’ll impact you and your relationships in a pretty big way. In my opinion, transition fatigue isn’t talked about enough, so I wanted to cover it here and in my weekly newsletter. Listen in for exactly what transition fatigue is, how it might be affecting you, and steps y...
Sep 10, 2020•10 min
Sex is (obviously) a big deal for a lot of us, and it has a huge impact on a relationship. So as someone who works hard at providing people tools and perspectives on lasting, genuine wellbeing, it’s SO important to me that we get the best ideas, the real science, and the most beneficial tactics to use in regards to sex. To that end, I brought on Michaela Boehm in June, Dr. Lori Brotto two weeks before, and this week, Dr. Kristen Mark. We had a deep dive into what people in relationships can do t...
Sep 07, 2020•57 min•Season 1Ep. 299
