More In Common

Sometimes the podcast about growth gets tired. Keith and Gerren close out a three-part personal arc — the one where they turn the lens on themselves. This week is the quieter one. Not a framework episode. A real one. Keith gets into the shame loop of teaching emotional awareness and still losing his patience by bedtime, the parenting exhaustion nobody teaches you about, and the moment on the pre-c...

What are you protecting? Picking up right where last week left off, Gerren asks Keith the question that ends up defining this episode — and the answer goes deeper than either of them expected. Keith traces it back to growing up an only child, learning to be everyone's safety net instead of needing one himself, and a moment with a corporate cohort where someone finally invited him to share and he s...

Do we actually practice what we preach? This week Keith and Gerren turn the lens on themselves. Is the person on the show the same person they are in everyday life? Gerren's nephew recently told him "sometimes uncle, you're a real asshole" — and Gerren agreed. Keith talks about a poker buddy who asked about the podcast and how he immediately changed the subject rather than open up. They get into s...

Can we buy back what we gave up? This week Keith and Gerren close out a three-episode arc on the cost of independence with the hardest question of all. Not apps. Not initiatives. Not policy alone. Until the identity of the person shifts — until they see themselves as better with the group than alone — none of the programs work. Keith gets personal about his own lifelong pattern of stepping back fr...

We knocked down the load-bearing walls and called it progress. This week Keith and Gerren dig into what we actually gave up — the third place, intergenerational family, shared child rearing, the male social ecosystem, and the spaces where doctor, lawyer, janitor, and teacher used to just exist together without any of that mattering. Ray Oldenburg coined the term "third place" in 1989. In 1990, onl...

The pitch was freedom. Nobody mentioned what we'd have to give up. This week Keith and Gerren start a three-episode arc on where American hyper-individualism came from, who constructed it, and what it cost us. From Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged to Reagan's government-is-the-problem reframe, to the suburbs, the single-family home, and the structural dismantling of collective institutions every time t...

"I'm sorry you felt that way" is not an apology. This week Keith and Gerren get into the full anatomy of a fake apology versus a real one — what makes one land, what makes the other make things actively worse, and why most of us were taught to do a version that makes us feel less bad and call it the same thing. They work through the five elements of a real apology, the neuroscience of repair, why...

Are you telling the truth for them — or for you? This week Keith and Gerren get into the three gates of honesty — is it true, is it kind, is it necessary — and why the gap between them is where most hard conversations go wrong. They revisit Jen Oliver's framework from earlier this season, get into Keith's hiring story, and work through what it actually looks like when radical honesty stops being h...

We told ourselves these stories were just being careful. Discerning. Realistic. This week Keith and Gerren get into why that's almost never actually true — and what the brain is really doing when it writes narratives about other people before we've said a word to them. Keith tells the story of a missing wallet, a homeless man on Manhattan Beach Pier, and what happened when they chose curiosity ove...

Tightly held values. Loosely held beliefs. This week Keith and Gerren close out a three-episode arc on identity, truth and the cost of being right. The question driving it all: what are you actually protecting when you defend a belief? And what happens when you build your identity around values instead of roles, labels and group memberships? They get into identity-protected beliefs and why evidenc...

What are you willing to sacrifice for the feeling of being right? This week Keith and Gerren get into why needing to win isn't just an ego problem — it's a neurological one. Being wrong activates the same brain regions as physical pain. Your brain generates counter arguments instead of evaluating evidence. And when your identity gets fused to your ideas, any challenge to what you believe feels exi...

It started with a debate about pie. It went somewhere much bigger. This week Keith and Gerren get into trust — where it went, why it's so hard to rebuild, and what we're actually asking of each other when we say we want to repair it. From the neuroscience of why distrust is a physiological response to the very real question of whether political fractures can ever fully heal, this one covers a lot...

Two guys, a microphone, and zero interest in pretending masculinity isn't having a moment. This week Keith and Gerren dig into something they've been circling for a while — what masculinity actually means, what it costs when we get it wrong, and why so many men are still performing a version of themselves that was never really theirs to begin with. From performative bravado to the very real mental...

Summary In this episode, Gerren Taylor and Keith Richardson explore the complex relationship between social media, human psychology, and connection. They discuss groupthink, biases, the neurological impact of social media, and strategies for healthier engagement.  keywords social media, groupthink, human psychology, biases, neurological impact, connection, emotional awareness, AI, mental health, d...

summary Explore generational differences, societal perceptions, and strategies for fostering understanding and connection across age groups. Kelly Brinkman, Keith Richardson, and Gerren Taylor delve into the roots of generational stereotypes, the impact of social media, and practical ways to build empathy and resilience.  keywords generations, social media, empathy, mental health, workplace, youth...

Summary Join us as Kelly Brinkman, a generational dynamics expert, explores the nuances of workplace stereotypes, generational differences, and how leadership can adapt to a rapidly evolving workforce. This episode offers research-backed insights and practical strategies for fostering collaboration across generations. keywords generational differences, workplace stereotypes, leadership, collaborat...

Episode Description  In this episode of More In Common, Keith Richardson and Gerren Taylor sit down with Kelly Brinkman, generational dynamics expert at BridgeWorks, to unpack how formative experiences shape workplace behavior across generations. From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, Kelly explains how brain development, cultural context, technology, and major world events influence how each generation appr...

Episode Description  In this episode of More In Common, Keith Richardson sits down with Jen Oliver for a deeply personal and grounded conversation about truth, recovery, relationships, and self-awareness. Jen opens up about her lived experience navigating honesty in recovery, the subtle ways we distort truth to protect ourselves, and how self-protection can quietly erode intimacy. The conversation...

Episode Description What does it really mean to “speak your truth”? And when does honesty strengthen connection—or quietly damage it? In this episode of the More in Common Podcast, Keith Richardson and Gerren Taylor sit down with Jen Oliver—speaking coach, podcast host, and founder of Speaking Real Communications—to explore the emotional, relational, and cultural complexity of truth-telling. Jen s...

Episode Description In this episode of More in Common, Keith Richardson and Gerren Taylor are joined by Zach Amatore to explore the journey of emotional awareness and how masculinity is shaped by environment, leadership, and lived experience. Zach reflects on growing up in high-pressure, male-dominated spaces — from sports culture to family business — and how those environments influenced how emot...

Episode Description In this episode of More in Common, Keith Richardson and Gerren Taylor sit down with Zach Amatore to explore what it actually looks like to practice emotional intelligence in real life—at work, in leadership, and in moments of pressure. Zach’s appearance on the show isn’t accidental. As he shares in the conversation, his approach to emotional regulation, listening, and supportin...

More In Common Podcast In this episode, Keith Richardson, Gerren Taylor, and Nicholas Miller unpack the confusion, pressure, and possibility surrounding modern masculinity. As social expectations shift, many men are left asking: What am I supposed to do now? Rather than framing masculinity as something broken, this conversation reframes it as evolving—and explores how healthier models of masculini...

Keywords masculinity, code-switching, social connections, loneliness epidemic, impression management, gender roles, community building, emotional literacy, fatherhood, societal expectations Summary This conversation delves into the complexities of masculinity, exploring themes of code-switching, societal expectations, and the importance of community. The speakers share personal experiences and ins...

In this episode of More In Common, hosts Gerren Taylor and Keith Richardson sit down with sociologist and systems-change strategist Nicholas Miller to explore the evolving meaning of masculinity in today’s world. Using public conversations around modern masculinity—including ideas popularized by Scott Galloway—as a starting point, the group examines how masculinity has always been shaped by econom...

Keywords Thanksgiving, family dynamics, conversation strategies, emotional intelligence, holiday stress, boundaries, gratitude, family traditions, communication tips, conflict resolution Summary In this episode, Gerren Taylor and Keith Richardson discuss the complexities of family dynamics during Thanksgiving. They share personal anecdotes and explore the emotional tensions that can arise during f...