The Art of Manliness

Why are men (generally) more violent then women? Why are men (generally) drawn to competition? Is the idea that masculinity means having courage and strength just a complete cultural construct or is their a biological underpinning to it? Well, our guest today makes the case that we can look to our closest animal relatives, the great apes, to find answers to these questions. His name is Dr. Richard...

The Marine Combat Hunter Program was developed during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to give soldiers tools on how to detect threats before they happen. The goal is to make Marines as situationally aware as possible so they can not just survive, but also win lethal encounters. In Left of Bang, Patrick Van Horne presents the skills and mindsets that are taught in the Marine Combat Hunter program for...

Maneesh Sethi is the creator of Pavlok. It's a wearable device that connects to your smartphone and helps you make and break habits. One of the things Pavlok does is shock you if you do something you're not supposed to be doing, like visiting a time wasting site like Facebook, or when you don't do what you should be doing, like going to the gym. I talk to Maneesh about habits and the power of puni...

In this episode I talk to writer J. C. Herz about her book, Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about CrossFit. I'll admit that before I read Learning to Breathe Fire, I had just a vague idea of how CrossFit worked, and was honestly pretty skeptical of it. My only interaction with the program...

I talk to Bruce Feiler, author of the book The Secrets of Happy Families. We discuss what recent research says on how you can create a positive culture in your family. If you're a dad or plan on becoming a dad, this podcast is for you. Bruce show agile development, mission statements, and GoRuck challenges can help you have a happy family. This podcast is brought to you in part by OriginalStich.co...

I talk to Tim Larkin, self-defense instructor and creator of Target Focus Training. We discuss why people need to get comfortable with violence if they want to survive a life-threatening encounter, the difference between anti-social bluff and asocial violence, and how studying the worst people in society can help us become better defenders of ourselves. And much, much more. See Privacy Policy at h...

Today I talk with Andy Forch and Richard Greiner, the co-founders of the men's online store Huckberry. If you're a business owner or have thought about starting your own business, this podcast is for you. I ask Andy and Rich to share how they bootstrapped a business they started into their apartment and turned it into one of the largest men's e-commerce stores on the web. As a business that's in t...

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman has spent his career researching, writing, and speaking about an unpleasant topic: killing. Specifically, what happens to a person physically and psychologically whenever they have to take the life another human to protect themselves or someone else. Grossman's work has provided invaluable insights on how to better train and prepare our warriors for the stress that comes wit...

I talk to Cal Newport, author of the book So Good They Can't Ignore Ignore You. In his book Cal makes that case that "following your passion" is terrible career advice and can actually cause people needless anxiety and problems in their lives because they're constantly jumping from one career to the next. Instead of "following your passion", he argues that you should instead focus on developing ma...

I talk to Juliana Schroeder, PhD candidate at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business about our mind's evolved ability to read the minds of others. This mind reading ability of ours is what makes a lot of social interaction possible. Her research with Nichols Epley has uncovered some fascinating insights on how status makes us dehumanize others, how making small talk makes us happier, a...

We continue our conversation with Mark Rippetoe author of Starting Strength. In this episode, I ask Mark questions about strength training submitted by Art of Manliness podcast listeners. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

This week I talk to strength training expert and author Mark Rippetoe about barbell training. We discuss why a man should be strong, the benefits of barbell training over machines, old-time strongmen, the importance of form in barbell training, the main lifts every man should be doing and much, much more. In next week's episode I field questions to Mark that AoM readers had for him. See Privacy Po...

I talk to professor of classical history Carlin Barton about her book Roman Honor: The Fire in the Bones. Honor has played a huge role manliness across time and cultures. Professor Barton and I discuss what honor meant to the Romans, how it governed their lives, and what it meant to Roman masculinity. Professor Barton explains the how the Romans distinguished males from men and how a male gained s...

I talk to to author Mark Greenblatt about his book Valor: Unsung Heroes from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Homefront. We discuss why the American public know so little about heroes from the most recent wars, stories about the brave men he features in this book, and lessons we can take from them on being better men. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https...

I talk to charisma expert, Olivia Fox about her book The Charisma Myth. We discuss the myth that charisma is something you're just born with, how charisma can make a man look smarter, more influential, and even taller than he really is, the three pillars of charisma, specific actions you can take to improve your charisma, different charisma styles, and much more! See Privacy Policy at https://art1...

I talk with fitness expert, bodybuilder, and business consultant John Romaniello about his book Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha. John and I discuss what it means to be "alpha"; how Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey can make you a better man; how to increase your testosterone; intermittent fasting; how pounding down 14,000 calories of ice cream in one setting may help you lose fat; dogmatism in t...

I talk to author Kenneth W. Royce about his new book Modules For Manhood. Kenneth and I discuss how the famous gunfighter Jeff Cooper inspired this book; the skills every young man should have before leaving his parents home; why manhood is lacking today; what young men can do today to start down the path of manhood; and what parents can do to help their sons. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c...

I talk to J.D. Roth, founder of the personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly, on why we all need to become the Chief Financial Officers of our lives. J.D. and I discuss taking financial practices from the business world and applying to our personal finances. If you've been wanting to get a better hold on your finances, you'll get a lot of this podcast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy...

Today I talk to Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post and author of the book Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder. Arianna and I discuss our culture's glorification of sleeplessness, power, and money and the ill effects its having on us as individuals and as a society. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and C...

I talk to Jack London scholar Earle Labor about his new biography on Jack London entitled, Jack London: An American Life. Professor Labor and I talk about what Jack London can teach men about being men and how his life and work can inspire adventure even today. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

I talk to Dr. Anthony T. DeBenedet author of the book, The Art of Roughhousing. We discuss what the research says on the benefits of roughhousing with your kids. Basically, body slamming your kid on the bed makes him awesome. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

We talk to The Obstacle Is the Way author, Ryan Holiday, about stoicism, turning adversity into triumph, and great men from history. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

We talk to survival expert and TV star Les Stroud, better known as Survivorman. Les and I talk about how he got started with wilderness survival, how his one-man TV show "Survivorman" got its start, wilderness survival tips every man should know, and how the wild has affected his music career. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privac...

We talk to Joe DeSena, founder of the Spartan Race about his new book Spartan Up. We discuss how to forge mental toughness, overcoming obstacles, and what it means to spartan up. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

We talk to Charlie Hoehn about his book Play it Away: A Workaholic's Cure for Anxiety. Charlie shares his experiencing burning-out from work and how rediscovering play saved him. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .