As compared to mothers, fathers are sometimes thought of as a secondary, almost superfluous, parent. But my guest says that fathers actually saved the human race, and continue to do so today. Anna Machin is an evolutionary anthropologist, a pioneer of fatherhood science, and the author of Life Of Dad . Today on the show, we talk about the role of fathers in human history and how their main role continues to be teaching kids the skills they need to take risks, become independent, and navigate the...
Jun 12, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone has heard about the incredible benefits that come to mind, body, and spirit from having strong relationships. The quality of our social ties has a huge impact on our physical and mental health and our overall feeling of flourishing. Yet many people still struggle to create these strong relationships in their lives, and often figure that things like weakening communities and digital technology are to blame. But my guest says that the barriers to establishing bonds with others may actuall...
Jun 10, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast On D-Day, June 6, 1944, 160,000 troops participated in the invasion of Normandy. Today just a few thousand of these veterans are still alive, with the youngest in their late nineties. As their voices, and those of the million combatants and leaders who swept into motion across Europe 80 years ago, fall silent and pass from living history, Garrett Graff has captured and compiled them in a new book: When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day . Drawing on his project of sifting through and s...
Jun 05, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over a decade ago, I remember reading a story that stuck with me. I think it was connected to the famous Harvard Study on Adult Development that studied a group of men across their lifetimes, but I can no longer find the reference. A much-beloved doctor, upon his retirement, was given a notebook filled with letters of praise and appreciation from his patients. After he received it, he put it up in his attic, and never opened it or read the letters. I've often thought of this story since I first ...
Jun 03, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. It's a peculiar book, especially for a bestseller. Not a lot of it is actually about zen or motorcycle maintenance, it combines a travelogue, a father/son story, and philosophical musings, and the structure of its narration makes it hard to follow. Thus, it's the kind of book people often buy, start, and then put down without finishing. That's initially what happened to...
May 29, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Note: This is a rebroadcast. Matthew Dicks wears a lot of hats. Among other things, hes a storyteller, communications consultant, writer, and schoolteacher. In order to excel in his professional life, as well as do what he loves in his personal life, hes developed a set of strategies that help him be more creative and productive, and can be used by anyone who wants to start making the most of life. Matt writes about these tactics and mindset shifts in his latest book Someday Is Today: 22 Simple,...
May 27, 2024•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast There are a lot of unspoken challenges and hidden battles that men face in modern society. They often manifest themselves in a uniquely male malaise where a man feels apathetic, frustrated, cynical, and lost. Jon Tyson has thought a lot about the problems men face and has been on the ground trying to help them as a pastor in New York City. In today's episode, I talk to Jon about the sources of this male angst that he explores as the co-author of a new book, Fighting Shadows: Overcoming 7 Lies Th...
May 22, 2024•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast General George S. Patton is known for his aggressive, action-oriented tactical brilliance. His character was also marked by a lesser-known but equally fundamental mystic piety. Those two qualities would come together in the lead up to and execution of Patton's greatest achievement during WWII: the relief of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Alex Kershaw tells this story in his new book Patton's Prayer: A True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory in World War II . Today on the show, Alex s...
May 20, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast We often think happiness will be found in the completion of a goal. We often think happiness will be found in ease and comfort. My guest says real joy is found in the journey rather than the destination, and that if difficulty and discomfort are part of that journey, that's all the better. Dr. Adam Fraser is a peak performance researcher and the author of Strive: Embracing the Gift of Struggle . Today on the show, we talk about what Adam calls the "strive state," where we have to grow and be cou...
May 15, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you didnt grow up doing your own laundry, once you headed out on your own, you probably just figured things out on the fly, hoped for the best, and have been doing things the same way ever since. But, while you may be getting the job done okay, you also might be making some mistakes that are costing you time, money, and cleaner clothes. In this episode from the Art of Manliness department of essential life skills, well cover all the things you should have learned as a young man but never did,...
May 13, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Life revolves around learningin school, at our jobs, even in the things we do for fun. But we often dont progress in any of these areas at the rate wed like. Consequently, and unfortunately, we often give up our pursuits prematurely or resign ourselves to always being mediocre in our classes, career, and hobbies. Scott Young has some tips on how you can avoid this fate, level up in whatever you do, and enjoy the satisfaction of skill improvement. Scott is a writer, programmer, and entrepreneur, ...
May 08, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast When youre lifting weights, you might be thinking about setting a new PR or doing your curls for the girls. But throughout history, philosophers have thought about physical fitness on a deeper level and considered how exercise shapes not only the body, but also the mind and the soul. My guest today, Joe Lombardo, is a strength enthusiast who follows in this tradition and has explored the philosophy of bodily exercise in his writing. Today on the show, Joe and I discuss several different ways the...
May 06, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jim VandeHei didnt have an auspicious start in life. His high school guidance counselor told him he wasnt cut out for college, and he went on to confirm her assessment, getting a 1.4 GPA at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and spending more time drinking beer than planning his career. Eventually, though, Jim turned things around for himself, going on to co-found two of the biggest modern media outlets, Politico and Axios. Jim shares how he started moving up the rungs of success and building a...
May 01, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast There are different philosophies one can have when it comes to money. Jared Dillians is built around eliminating as much anxiety around it as possible, so you hardly think about money at all. Jared is a former trader for Lehman Brothers, the editor of The Daily Dirtnap, a market newsletter for investment professionals, and the author of No Worries: How to Live a Stress-Free Financial Life . Today on the show, Jared talks about the two biggest sources of financial stress debt and risk and how you...
Apr 29, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever noticed the guy in a fighting stance on the Art of Manliness logo? Thats not just some random symbol; its an actual dude: John L. Sullivan, the greatest bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century. While most people think bare-knuckle boxing came to an end during Sullivans era, in fact, it never entirely went away. In his new book, Bare Knuckle: Bobby Gunn, 730 Undefeated. A Dad. A Dream. A Fight Like Youve Never Seen , Stayton Bonner charts bare-knuckle boxings rise, fall, and resurgen...
Apr 24, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do you sometimes walk to another room in your house to get something, but then cant remember what it was you wanted? Do you sometimes forget about an appointment or struggle to remember someones name? You may have chalked these lapses in memory up to getting older. And age can indeed play a role in the diminishing power of memory. But as my guest will tell us, there are other factors at play as well. Charan Ranganath is a neuroscientist, a psychologist, and the author of Why We Remember: Unlocki...
Apr 22, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you read most first aid guides, the last step in treating someone whos gotten injured or sick is always: get the victim to professional medical help. But what if you found yourself in a situation where hospitals were overcrowded, inaccessible, or non-functional? What if you found yourself in a grid-down, long-term disaster, and you were the highest medical resource available? Dr. Joe Alton is an expert in what would come after the step where most first aid guides leave off. Hes a retired surg...
Apr 17, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the last decade, there's been an increase in the number of people, particularly young adults, who struggle with low moods, distractibility, and anxiety and consequent difficulties with getting their life on track and making progress in work, friendship, and romance. In addressing these difficulties, people are often given or adopt a mental health diagnosis, and look for a solution in therapy and/or medication. My guest isn't opposed to these remedies. She is herself a clinical psychologist ...
Apr 15, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast When we think of rituals, we tend to think of big, inherited, more occasional religious or cultural ceremonies like church services, holidays, weddings, and funerals. But as my guest observes, we also engage in small, self-made, everyday rituals that help us turn life's more mundane moments into more meaningful ones. In the The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions , psychologist and Harvard Business School professor Michael Norton explores the way...
Apr 10, 2024•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Millions of young adults know what it's like to graduate from college with student debt. For some, it's a frustrating annoyance. For others, it's a worry-inducing burden. For Ken Ilgunas, it was a dragon in need of slaying and a pathway to adventure. Ken is the author of Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom , and today on the show, he shares the story of how his quest to erase his debt led him to the Arctic Circle and through the peaks and valleys of living a totally unshackle...
Apr 08, 2024•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jake Knapp loves tech. He grew up using Apple II and then Mac computers, browsing bulletin boards, and making his own games. As an adult, he worked at Microsoft on the Encarta CD-ROM, before being hired by Google, where he worked on Gmail, co-founded Google Meet, and created Google Ventures' Design Sprint process. Today, he's a venture capitalist and consultant for start-ups, as well as a writer. But, if Jake was an early adopter and booster of the upsides of technology, he was also early in sen...
Apr 03, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happiness and depression can feel like slippery and befuddling things. We can do the things we've been told will make us happy, while still not feeling satisfied. Or, on paper, our lives can look great, yet we feel depressed. And the advice that's out there about these states doesn't always seem to correspond to our lived experience. Ryan Bush has created a new map he thinks can help us make better sense of life. Ryan is a systems designer with a long-standing interest in psychology and philosop...
Apr 01, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast In resolving hundreds of kidnap-for-ransom cases involving gang leaders, pirates, and extortionists, Scott Walker, a former Scotland Yard detective, has learned a thing or two about how to negotiate and communicate in a crisis. He shares how to apply those lessons to the difficult conversations we all have in our everyday lives in his book Order Out of Chaos: Win Every Negotiation, Thrive in Adversity, and Become a World-Class Communicator , and we talk about his tips on today's show. Scott and ...
Mar 27, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the 19th century, Cerro Gordo, which sits above Death Valley, was the largest silver mine in America, a place where dreamers came to strike it rich. In the 21st century, Brent Underwood used his life savings to buy what had become an abandoned ghost town, and ended up finding a very different kind of wealth there. Brent has spent four years living in Cerro Gordo and has documented the details of the mines hes explored, the artifacts hes found, and how hes restoring the town on his popular You...
Mar 25, 2024•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast From work to chores to entertaining distractions, there are many options for what you can be doing at any moment in the modern world. We often endlessly toggle between these options and, as a result, feel frazzled and frustratingly unproductive. We feel ever haunted by the question, "What should I be doing right now?" (Or "What am I even doing right now?") My guest will share a simple but effective productivity method that will quash this feeling of overwhelm, answer that question, and help you ...
Mar 20, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast When you think about someone having a midlife crisis, you probably think of a man getting divorced, stepping out with a younger woman, and buying a sports car. But my guest today says the often jokey, mockable trope of the midlife crisis we have in our popular culture discounts the fact that the sense of dissatisfaction people can feel in their middle years is quite real, and that the questions it raises are profond, philosophical, and worth earnestly grappling with. His name is Kieran Setiya, a...
Mar 18, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Even if you're not very into jazz, you probably know Kind of Blue , the jazz album that's sold more copies than any other and is widely considered one of the greatest albums ever, in any genre. Among the sextet of musicians who played on the album, three stand out as true jazz geniuses: Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and John Coltrane. Today on the show, James Kaplan, author of 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool , unpacks the stories behind these towe...
Mar 13, 2024•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's a tough job to manage a household. Things need to be regularly fixed, maintained, and cleaned. How do you stay on top of these tasks in order to keep your home in tip-top shape? My guest knows his way all around this issue and has some field-tested, insider advice to offer. Charles MacPherson spent two decades as the major-domo or chief butler of a grand household. He's also the founder of North America's only registered school for butlers and household managers and the author of several bo...
Mar 11, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast The last several years have seen the rise of a sort of anti-productivity movement. Knowledge workers who feel burned out and that work is pointless, meaningless, and grinding, have been talking more about opting out, quiet quitting, and doing nothing. My guest would argue that, in fact, productivity itself isnt the problem and that most people actually want to do good work. Instead, he says, its our whole approach to productivity thats broken and needs to be transformed. Cal Newport is a profess...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Whether youre a teacher, parent, or entrepreneur, you want to be able to persuade your students, children, and customers with your messages. Thats a tall task in the modern age, when people are bombarded with 13 hours of media a day. How do you cut through all that noise to make sure youre heard? My guest would say its all about keeping things simple. Ben Guttmann is a marketing educator and consultant whos helped promote everything from the NFL to New York Times-bestselling authors. He is himse...
Mar 04, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
