Raising Men

In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson sits down with Dr. Carla Caturia, elite mental performance coach and founder of The House of RISE. She's back for a short follow-up on helping young athletes handle pressure, and it starts with her own story. Carla played varsity basketball, and her dad had coached her since she was born. When a younger, better teammate arrived, the pressure from h...

In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson sits down with Dr. Samuel Latimer, a clinical and social psychologist and founder of Fostering Growth and Cooperation. Together they ask what ancient wisdom can teach modern parents about raising boys who feel needed. Dr. Samuel draws on traditional societies like the Maya, who bring toddlers into household chores from the very start. Shaun shares...

In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson sits down with Geoff Owen, founder of Aligned Parenting and author of The Parenting Assumption, to test-drive his new AI parenting agent. Built on Biologically Aligned Parenting, the agent gives parents somewhere to turn when a hard moment hits at 11 o'clock at night. Shaun brings a real one. His four-year-old daughter is warm and close when it's j...

In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson sits down with Ryan Riley, an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and author of the Books for Boys character and leadership series. Ryan explains how boys drift before they collapse, and how parents can catch emotional withdrawal early. He defines drift simply: change outpacing our awareness. Shaun and Ryan talk about why so many dads struggle to find conne...

In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson sits down with Tiffany Braxton, author of Consent Comics, for her third conversation on the show. After the news out of Cornell, Shaun wanted help talking with kids about consent without getting pulled into the culture war. Tiffany shares how she talked it through with her 12-year-old son, and why it was easy. It was one more chapter in a conversat...

In this episode of Raising Men , host Shaun Dawson sits down with Geoff Owen, founder of Aligned Parenting and author of The Parenting Assumption . Together, they explore what it means to strip away performance-driven parenting and build a home environment aligned with a child's natural biology. Geoff breaks down his core philosophy of "Biologically Aligned Parenting," explaining how traditional d...

In this episode of Raising Men , host Shaun Dawson sits down with Dr. Carla Caturia, an elite mental performance coach, former educator, and founder of The House of Rise. Together, they explore the hidden mental health struggles facing today’s high-achieving youth—young men and athletes who crush it in academics and sports on the outside, yet wrestle with crippling anxiety, burnout, and self-doubt...

In this episode of Raising Men , Shaun Dawson sits down with Dr. Adam McCormick, professor of social work at St. Edward's University and author of The Cost of Becoming a Boy . Together, they explore how modern boyhood often operates as a form of cultural trauma, pressuring young boys to abandon emotional vulnerability, tenderness, and help-seeking simply to maintain belonging. Drawing from twenty-...

Shaun Dawson sits down with a very special guest—his son, Lake. Stepping into the interviewer’s chair, Lake leads a candid, heartwarming, and witty conversation with his father.  Together, they explore their earliest memories, reflect on the loss of family pets, and recount the frosty conditions of Lake’s arrival during a minus-twenty-degree polar vortex. Key Takeaways Children process life's scal...

In this episode of Raising Men , Shaun Dawson sits down with Liz Ortenburger, CEO of SafeNest, Nevada's largest non-profit addressing domestic and sexual violence, to navigate some of the most daunting topics facing parents today. Together, they confront the reality of early digital exposure and pornography, discussing how accidental access impacts developing adolescent brains and skews expectatio...

In this episode of Raising Men , host Shaun Dawson introduces a new format focused on cultivating one of the most critical skills in modern masculinity: evaluating claims to discover what is actually true. Prompted by a viral quote claiming American teenagers have lower testosterone levels than 68-year-old men, Shaun uses this episode to practice moving from reactive emotional responses to discipl...

In this episode of Raising Men , host Shaun Dawson sits down with Dr. Katrina Ostmeyer—CEO of Beyond the Individual, Associate Professor of the Practice at the University of Kansas, licensed psychologist, and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Beyond her clinical and academic credentials, Dr. Ostmeyer brings invaluable lived experience as the mother of a neurodivergent boy. Together, they navigate...

In this episode of Raising Men , host Shaun Dawson shares a special solo reading inspired by a recent conversation with Dr. Randolph Schiffer, author of Bedtime Stories That Will Terrify Children . Exploring how experiencing controlled fear in a safe environment is essential for a boy's emotional health, Shaun reads "Dog"—a story about two young brothers navigating late-night dread inside a forest...

In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson welcomes Dr. Randolph B. Schiffer, a neurologist, former Marine infantry officer, and founding director of the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Brain Health. Together, they examine how modern parenting culture often protects children from discomfort, inadvertently creating a fearful society that avoids failure, responsibility, and risk. Dr. Schiffer e...

In this episode of Raising Men , Shaun Dawson explores the cultural noise surrounding trans issues, encouraging listeners to approach complex debates with grace, protection, and humility rather than online outrage. Shaun reflects on a story from The Bulwark Daily podcast about Julia Curlee, the first openly transgender CIA officer, and her daily security briefings with former Vice President Mike P...

In this episode of Raising Men , host Shaun Dawson sits down with Dr. Mike Ayers, author of Father Friend: How Intentional Dads Lean In, Lead Well, and Love Big at Every Stage , to discuss what it takes to stop parenting on autopilot and build an intentional roadmap for raising sons. Drawing from over 25 years of studying developmental psychology and organizational leadership, Dr. Mike explains ho...

In this follow-up conversation, host Shaun Dawson reunites with Tiffany Braxton, author of Consent Comics , to unpack why traditional cultural messaging around consent often turns men off—and how to reframe it productively. Moving past narrow sexual contexts, Tiffany presents consent as an accessible, everyday framework for living that centers on recognizing, enforcing, and respecting healthy boun...

In this episode of Raising Men , Shaun Dawson sits down with author, activist, and educator Tiffany Braxton to explore consent, personal power, and respect. Overloaded with cultural baggage and zero-sum framing, the conversation around boundaries often alienates men and boys by painting them strictly as aggressors. Tiffany reframes this dynamic through her book, Consent Comics , which uses layered...

In this solo episode of Raising Men , Shaun Dawson explores what it truly looks like to protect the people relying on us. Drawing from the historical covert trip President George W. Bush took to Baghdad in 2003 , Shaun contrasts performative thumping of the chest with the quiet, risk-absorbing nature of genuine protective masculinity.  Shaun outlines how modern culture floods young men with perfor...

Jennifer L.W. Fink returns to Raising Men to explore why raising boys today feels increasingly complex and how parents can guide them with clarity and intentionality. Bringing decades of experience as a nurse, mother of four sons, and author of Building Boys, Jennifer addresses the cultural pressures, pathologized narratives, and digital environments shaping young males. Together, Shaun and Jennif...

In this live short episode, host Shaun Dawson sits down with mindfulness expert Marc Krusin to step away from the standard interview format and experience a live guided meditation. Addressing his own daily struggles with staying relaxed and present, Shaun invites Marc to lead a five-part foundational mindfulness exercise designed to quiet a racing mind. Together, they explore box breathing, though...

Modern parents face the ongoing challenge of raising children in an "always on" world saturated with digital noise. In this episode, host Shaun Dawson sits down with London-based meditation teachers Mayra Clay and Marc Krusin to discuss how emotional awareness, stillness, and presence can transform family dynamics. Myra and Mark share how Bright Path Ascension Meditation techniques offer a practic...

In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson sits down with relational guide Mike Elliott to explore what it truly means to lead a family with presence, purpose, and emotional safety. Moving beyond the traditional mandate of simply providing a paycheck, Mike breaks down how true security is created when a father cultivates a home where vulnerability and connection can thrive. The conversation...

In this episode of Raising Men , host Shaun Dawson sits down with licensed psychotherapist and parent coach Todd Sarner to discuss navigating daily family conflict and moving from constant power struggles to deep connection. Focusing on the turbulent preschool years, Todd breaks down the underlying developmental and attachment dynamics that drive toddler behavior and morning meltdowns. Together, t...

Shaun Dawson dives into an unexpected source of parenting wisdom: the bestselling sci-fi series Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Behind its absurd premise—a man in his boxers and a leather jacket navigating a brutal, subterranean reality-TV death trap with his ex-girlfriend’s cat—lies a surprisingly tactical manual for modern male agency. Shaun draws parallels between protagonist Carl’s sudd...