Evolutionary Men

In this episode I'm joined by Gethin Aldous, co-director of The Work , the award-winning documentary shot inside Folsom Prison. We get into what happens when the hardest men in the system sit in circle and let themselves break, why prison cuts straight through the judgment that men's work is soft or goofy, and what it awakens in the men who witness it. If men most people have written off c...

In this episode I talk about the real cost of staying numb and what's actually happening when a man feels flat. I get into the one-pipe reality, why clamping down grief and anger also chokes off joy, desire, and aliveness, the difference between a state and a stage, and why you can't think or read your way back to being fully alive and how important it is to plunge into spaces of depth to...

In this episode I lay out a map I've been building for nearly two decades: nine specific capacities that separate the man who walks into a room and changes it from the man nobody quite remembers was there. I take them one at a time: vitality, devotion, curiosity, rigor, initiative, presence, empathy, depth, and discernment, go through what each one looks like when it's online and what it c...

In this episode I'm joined by Dr. Luke Adler to talk about the shadow of shadow work, what it demands from us beyond catharsis, and why release is only the first step that must extend into accountability. We break down the three-phase arc of release, responsibility, and repair, sit with the cultural pressure on men's groups right now to do more than hold space for pain, and get into what r...

In this episode I sit down with my wife Violet Lange to talk about the gap no amount of solo work can close. You've done your reading, you've done your shadow work, you feel solid, and then a woman walks into the room and you freeze, shrink, or bury your desire. You can practice alone forever, but you only get good at the feminine in front of the feminine. We get into why so many men get s...

In this episode I take Scott Galloway's framework for young men, the provider, protector, procreator model, and make the case that it's necessary but not sufficient. I use Ken Wilber's four-quadrant map to show that the two quadrants Galloway skips, interior life and real male connection, are exactly where the crisis lives. Then I name the two missing pieces that round out his framewor...

In this episode I sit down with Keith Martin-Smith, an award-winning author, Zen priest, martial artist, and one of my oldest, dearest friends. We've been sitting in circle together for almost 20 years. Keith grew up in a working-class Irish Catholic family on the East Coast, where his father never shed a tear his entire life and shutting down was just what men did. We get into how he came out...

In this episode I talk about freeze, the response in men that hides in plain sight. Fight gets respect. Flight at least looks like movement. Freeze just looks like you vanished, and most of the time nobody even clocks it, including you. Plus on top of that a lot of men get praised for being steady when what's actually happening inside them is immobilization. I've lived inside this one for...

In this episode I bring on Benjamin Roth and Jeff Raab to explore how improv and theater work can help men get out of their heads and into their bodies. We talk about the courage it takes to make bold choices without overthinking, how to stay present when you cant control the outcome, and why developing comfort with failure might be one of the most important masculine capacities for navigating lif...

After more than 3 years and 7 cohorts of The Heart of Shadow program and retreat for men, Luke and I are thrilled to be teaming up with my wife Violet to bring the experience to women. Many of the men that work with us ask how they can support their partners and the women in their life, and we're thrilled to say we think The Heart of Shadow for Women is one of those ways! The three of us talk...

In this episode I bring on my friend and practicing couples therapist Ryan Ginn to break down what separates great couples therapy from a waste of your time and money. If you've ever felt like you and your partner were just venting to a silent witness every session, or you're trying to figure out where to even start looking for the right fit, this one's for you. Ryan and I get into the...

In this episode I'm joined by Dr. Luke Adler, my co-facilitator in the Heart of Shadow program, to dive into shadow work for one of the most common struggles I see in men: knowing what you feel but not being able to say it. That chasm between awareness and expression, between what's happening inside and actually moving sound through your body and into a conversation. We break down why so m...

In this episode I'm joined by Dr. Luke Adler to explore how shadow work can transform your sex life. We dig into why so many men use ejaculation as their primary emotional release tool and what happens when sex becomes responsible for making us feel better. We unpack the connection between safety, relaxation, and arousal, and why performance anxiety often stems from deeper places we don't...

In this episode my wife Violet and I break down why your relationship can’t always be sunny and perfect—and why that’s actually a good thing. We walk through the four seasons of relationships and the reality of how different parts of your partnership can be in completely different seasons at the same time. Your sex life might be in spring while your emotional connection is in winter, and not knowi...

In this episode Luke and I dive into the shadow of worry and rumination that keeps so many men trapped in their heads. We break down why living from the shoulders up isn't strength, it's avoidance. You'll hear about the subtle ways fear masquerades as logic, how productivity can become procrastination, and why jacking off might be your nervous system's go-to discharge pattern. We g...

In this episode my wife Violet and I share the five scariest moments in our relationship. These weren't just hard conversations or minor disagreements, but the moments where both of us genuinely questioned whether we'd make it, whether we'd chosen the right partner, or whether we were trapped in patterns we couldn't escape. We get specific about what actually happened, the deep fea...

In this episode I explore why so many good men still feel a quiet emptiness even when life looks full. We get into what’s really underneath the loneliness men carry today, and how brotherhood, real connection with men who both see you and call you higher, brings life back into your system. This isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about remembering what makes you come alive again. Join a men's gr...

In this episode I sit down with Karen McMahon, a high-conflict divorce strategist who's been guiding men and women through one of the most painful transitions of their lives since 2010. Karen specializes in working with nice guys who are stuck in volatile marriages, paralyzed by guilt about leaving their kids or fear that their partner will harm themselves if they go. We dig into why staying i...

In this episode I break down one of the most powerful investments you can make in yourself as a man: your social capital. Most men grind through life alone, trying to figure everything out by themselves, and it's killing us. The antidote is simple but countercultural: a men's group, a circle of guys you meet with regularly who actually give a shit about you and your life. I introduce the m...

In this episode, Luke and I dive into what's really behind male depression. We explore why the things men typically do to feel better often make the stuckness worse, and then reveal the powerful connection between depression and unexpressed anger. Luke goes deeper and breaks down the physiology of depression from a Chinese medicine perspective setting the stage for how shadow work in men's...

In this episode I dive into the hidden roots of nice guy syndrome along with my Heart of Shadow co-facilitator Dr. Luke Adler. We explore how being a "nice guy" is actually one of six primitive nervous system survival responses rooted in fear of losing connection. Luke and I share vulnerable stories about how this shows up and why shadow work is the real pathway out. We break down why cogn...

In this episode I break down the three types of disconnection that are crushing men right now and leading to depression, stuckness, and a sense that something's just off in life. I walk through what each of these disconnections looks like, why they're so common, and most importantly, what men can actually do to reconnect and start feeling alive again. If you're feeling stuck, depressed...

In this episode I chat with naturalist and poet Roy Arthur Blodgett to face what men inherit: numbness, isolation, and a grim overculture of masculinity. We get into men and land, how the wild helped Roy feel most himself, and what shifts when we stop spectating and start participating. We talk land literacy, seeing patterns of succession, the fear of causing harm that keeps men frozen, and the po...

In this episode, I get personal and share about my top 16 moments that I've gotten to experience that's to men's work, all stemming from men's groups, retreats, and community (and in no particular order). These are all experiences that have enriched my life beyond measure, and were all possible because of the depth of connection I've cultivated with incredible men in my life. S...

In this episode, Luke and I explore the complex narratives surrounding masculinity, particularly the idea of victimhood among men. We dig into the cultural reflections of masculinity, the evolution of men's roles, and the importance of shadow work in reclaiming agency and responsibility from the oh so alluring victim masculinity being sold these days. Join the Heart of Shadow Men's Group &...