An Evolving Man Podcast

What can poetry reveal about the psychological impact of being sent away to boarding school? In Episode 175 of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross is joined by Paul Fray, Nicola Freeman and Guy to explore SENT AWAY: The BSConcern Anthology of Boarding School Poems . Through powerful poems and personal reflections, they explore: The first separation from home and parents Homesickness, abandonment...

What is it like to attend a conference where people genuinely understand the experience of being sent away to boarding school? In this short episode, Piers Cross shares details of the Boarding School Concern Conference 2026 , taking place in London on Saturday 7 November. Piers has attended the conference several times and reflects on why it can be particularly valuable for former boarders who are...

What happens when trauma becomes so deeply embedded that we lose connection with our own bodies? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross speaks with embodiment coach, somatic movement educator and holistic trauma therapist Sara Carter about complex PTSD, dissociation and the long journey back towards safety and embodied trust. Sara describes a period of chronic pain, severe fatigu...

What happens after the retreat ends? In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross explores the often-overlooked process of post-retreat integration following his recent Dr Joe Dispenza retreats in Basel and Copenhagen. After an intense peak experience, it can be surprising to return home and begin feeling flat, uninspired or triggered by familiar relationships, responsibilities a...

What changes when we stop asking “What’s wrong with you?” and begin asking “What happened to you?” In Episode 173 of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross speaks with Ton Mazzone , filmmaker behind Traumality — an independently produced documentary exploring childhood adversity, attachment, trauma, the nervous system and mental health. Ton spent years struggling with social anxiety and depression....

What happens when you step out of everyday life and spend a week immersed in meditation, teaching and personal development? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross reflects on attending Dr Joe Dispenza’s week-long retreat in Copenhagen, following a Progressive Retreat in Basel. Piers had booked the retreats during a difficult period following the death of his wife Michelle. Althou...

What if resilience isn’t about becoming tougher? In Episode 172 of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross speaks with Russell Harvey , The Resilience Coach, about what genuine resilience looks like for leaders, teams and organisations. Russell defines resilience as “springing forward with learning” rather than endlessly pushing through adversity. He describes the difference between surviving, copin...

 Can healing and self-development become so serious that we forget to actually enjoy our lives?  After returning from retreats in Copenhagen and Basel, Piers Cross reflects on something he realised while away: he had forgotten some of the joy.  In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers explores how busyness, striving and constant self-improvement can pull us away from gratitude, conn...

What is the first step in healing boarding school syndrome? In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross explores the importance of understanding and education at the beginning of a healing journey. Drawing on Pete Walker’s work on complex PTSD, Piers reflects on how learning about trauma and boarding school syndrome can give language and context to experiences that may previousl...

Why do so many former boarders struggle with perfectionism, overworking and the feeling that they are never quite good enough? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross explores the link between boarding school syndrome, perfectionism, the inner critic and burnout . At boarding school, mistakes can carry a social cost. Vulnerability may be hidden, everyone else can appear to have it...

What can the first day at boarding school feel like for a child? Following Prince George’s arrival at Eton College, Piers Cross reflects on his own first days at boarding school and the psychology of leaving home for a large residential institution. Drawing on the work of Nick Duffell and Joy Schaverien , Piers explores the “threshold moment” when a child begins to understand emotionally—not merel...

What happens when reaching the top still isn’t enough? In Episode 171 of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross speaks with Julian Reeve , international keynote speaker, author and creator of the Perfect Equilibrium methodology. Julian worked across the West End and Broadway before joining the team behind Hamilton . In 2017, while Music Director of the show’s first US national tour, he suffered a s...

Why are so many former boarders relentlessly hard on themselves? In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross explores the brutal inner critic that can develop through boarding school and childhood trauma. Piers reflects on how being humiliated for showing emotion led him to begin attacking himself internally before other people could do it. What originally helped create protecti...

What if difficult behaviour is not something to control—but something to understand? In Episode 170 of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross speaks with Geoff Owen , founder of Biologically Aligned Parenting and author of The Parenting Assumption . Geoff argues that children are born with innate needs for safety, certainty, connection and regulation. When those needs are not sufficiently met, beha...

Why can the end of summer bring unexpected anxiety, sadness or unease for former boarders? In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross explores how late August and early September can unconsciously reconnect ex-boarders with the repeated childhood experience of leaving home and returning to boarding school. After weeks at home, children often had to prepare themselves to separat...

What is the story beneath addictive behaviour? In Episode 169 of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross speaks with commercial fisherwoman, health coach, speaker and alcohol-free living advocate Colleen Clifford . Colleen spent more than three decades working in Alaska’s commercial fishing industry. Months at sea without alcohol made it easier for her to believe that her binge drinking was under co...

Why would someone who had an unhappy or frightening experience at boarding school go on to send their own children there? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross explores the psychology of intergenerational repetition and boarding school. Drawing on his own experience and material from Trauma, Abandonment & Privilege , James Blunt, Bear Grylls and Tina Brown, Piers examines th...

Can attention be trained like a muscle—and can technology help us recover the focus that technology itself is eroding? In Episode 168 of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross speaks with George Molakal , CEO and co-founder of MindSpring Innovation, and Brian Throckmorton , co-founder and board member. Their work began with personal experience. Both had watched their children struggle with focus, s...

Why can transitions feel disproportionately difficult for former boarders? In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , Piers Cross reflects on his own nervousness before leaving for a workshop and retreat—and explores how apparently ordinary transitions can activate much older emotional patterns. Drawing on the work of Nick Duffell and Thurstine Basset in Trauma, Abandonment & Privilege...

In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , I speak with Nima Rahmany , nervous system and attachment specialist, transformational coach and founder of the Trigger Proof methodology. Nima works with high-achieving individuals, couples, parents and leaders to understand the deeper patterns behind reactivity, people-pleasing, trauma bonds, emotional shutdown and codependency. This is a powerful con...

Why do so many successful leaders struggle to switch off? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , I explore why high-achieving leaders often find it difficult to rest, sleep, stop working, put the phone down or be fully present with family. This is not simply a time management issue. For many leaders, the nervous system has learned to stay permanently “on”. Drawing on Jim Collins, Brad Stulbe...

In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , I speak with Dr. Judith Wright , relationship expert, author and co-founder of the Wright Foundation for the Realization of Human Potential. Judith has spent more than 40 years helping individuals and couples transform conflict into connection, deepen emotional intelligence and create more meaningful lives. We explore why conflict is not necessarily a s...

What if you are already a leader, even if you do not have the title? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , I explore the belief many people hold: “I’m not a leader.” This often comes up in conversations about the Compassionate Leader Pathway . People say they are not in a senior position, not a CEO, not a manager, or not the kind of person they imagine a leader to be. But leadership is not...

What were birthdays like in boarding school? Were they celebrated or ignored? Or did you get hazed or bullied on your birthday. Take care, Piers --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.  He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called...

Why do the same people keep triggering us? Why do certain relationships, colleagues, family members or situations seem to provoke the same reaction again and again? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast , I explore emotional triggers from the perspective of leadership, Jungian psychology, boarding school trauma, nervous system regulation and personal sovereignty. This is an important subject...