ManTalks Podcast

You’re going to want a comfy chair for this one. This week, my guest is Daoist Monk Yun Rou. Yun Rou is a brilliant interpreter of ancient ideas for a modern ear--if you’ve read his book The Mad Monk Manifesto you’ll know what I’m talking about. We got heavy into social media and how it affects us, why you might know more about Daoism than you think, and how Daoist philosophy can offer us a differ...

This is a really important topic for me; it’s one of the reasons I started ManTalks. In this episode, I check out why men seem to only turn things around after everything’s on fire.  I dive a bit into the shadow aspects of modern masculine culture, and how they amplify the problem (hint: shame is a big player).  Every man’s journey is different, but there’s one thing we all need--and I mean need--...

What does resiliency mean? How do you build the ability to bounce back after an event that shakes you to your core? How does it change you? To help answer these I spoke with adventurer, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and keynote speaker John Beede, and we dove straight into the hard stuff. It was a real pleasure to chat with John about what drew him to mountains, his struggles and victories,...

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve no doubt seen a spike in mental health issues over the last year. Most reasons are pretty obvious, of course, but there are other aspects you might not have considered. So I wanted to think out loud about what these are, how they work, and what we can do to mitigate the symptoms. In some ways, a mental health crisis is already here, and if we don’t talk abou...

For our 300th episode, I wanted to cover something so common we take it for granted, and so critical we can’t live without it: breathing. Most of the time, it’s something we do unconsciously, but how we breathe and what we’re taking in are critical. We don’t really give it a lot of thought, but James Nestor is dedicated to changing that. When he and I sat down to talk about the nature of breath, t...

This week I wanted to cover something a ton of people are experiencing right now: transition fatigue. Each of us has a natural limit on how much change we can take at once. When we hit that limit, issues can start cropping up that’ll impact you and your relationships in a pretty big way.  In my opinion, transition fatigue isn’t talked about enough, so I wanted to cover it here and in my weekly new...

Sex is (obviously) a big deal for a lot of us, and it has a huge impact on a relationship. So as someone who works hard at providing people tools and perspectives on lasting, genuine wellbeing, it’s SO important to me that we get the best ideas, the real science, and the most beneficial tactics to use in regards to sex. To that end, I brought on Michaela Boehm in June, Dr. Lori Brotto two weeks be...

I recently did an AMA on Instagram, and I was blown away by the response! I deeply appreciate your engagement, and so for this week’s mini-episode, I wanted to answer as many as I could with as much value as possible.  There were hundreds of questions, so I clearly won’t be able to cover all of them in under twenty minutes, but keep your eyes peeled. I and my team wrote them all down, and we’ll be...

Piracy. Gunrunning. Human trafficking. The harvest of endangered animals. Vigilantes pursuing justice. All happening in a world most of us know nothing about: the open ocean. This week, I sat down with Ian Urbina for an episode unique in the ManTalks canon. It’s my belief that cultivating or embodying the healthy masculine (or feminine) has to involve both inner and outer work, and a big part of o...

Men, brace for some real talk. I’m asked this question a lot, and it can seem like a straightforward problem to tackle. At first. Any time it involves another person, it’s a big decision, and you owe it to both yourself and the person you’re with to really dig deep and ask the hard questions. Listen in to hear what I ask back and what  you  need to ask yourself. As always, let me know what you thi...

I’m often asked to examine and debunk some of the myths and info gaps surrounding a woman’s desire and arousal, especially in long term relationships. So I sat down for a phenomenal conversation with one of the leading global researchers in sexual health: Dr. Lori Brotto. If you want real science, practices that work, and great conversation on sexual health, listen in. We dive into what research i...

The title says it all, team. In this week's mini episode, I debunk some of the myths—some of them hilarious—and give you some straight facts about masturbation (want fewer headaches? You know what to do). At the end of the episode, I also provide some tips and insight on how to incorporate healthy masturbation into your life or relationship. Play safe, play healthy! PS. if you happen know where th...

Is the warrior in us to blame for the division we see in today’s society? Yes...and no. Join me for an in-depth look at the warrior archetype. I cover its modes, its shadow, and why—and this might surprise you—it’s one of the best archetypes we have. From the warrior, we can light the fires of focus, develop clean anger instead of unhealthy aggression, set boundaries instead of borders, and levera...

You engage, I respond! A recent post about meeting your edge generated a ton of responses both publicly and in my DMs, so I wanted to elaborate. Whether you call it the masculine, the yang, or something else, there’s a part of us that always craves moving towards our edge: our mental, physical, or spiritual limits. Meeting it with conscious practices can help expand us, but suppressing or avoiding...

Now and then, I feature an anonymous session with someone I’ve never worked with before. This was a powerful one, and it’s a unique opportunity for you to listen to some real-time shadow work. I guide them through and into their shadow so they can get at what’s keeping them stuck or sabotaged. We go deep into my guest’s history with infidelity, relationships, living in the shadow of a sibling, and...

Today, I’m going to dive into shadow work. This is one of my favorite things to talk about, and you’ll hear me outline what the shadow archetype is, what shadow work is, and I’m also going to sprinkle in why shadow work is so valuable. I fundamentally believe everyone should do shadow work at some point, and I’ve seen the results firsthand. There are many different access points to shadow work, bu...

(Content Warning)  This week we go deep in an incredible conversation with author and business coach John Romaniello. John's clear, level-headed openness--about his father, psychedelics, recovering from abuse, forced vs. developed empathy, the meaning of becoming a man--I'll just say there's a lot to unpack here! Let me know what you think. Leave a review or tell me on Instagram! John Romaniello i...

Today, we're going to be talking about some current events. So this little segment, it's called "Thinking Out Loud", and it's just going to be me thinking out loud about some of things that are happening right now. I've had a lot of people reaching out to me asking what do I think about what's happening in terms of the rioting and the feds picking people up out of Portland and wanting me to commen...

Michael is co-creator of Global Citizen, a movement and music festival dedicated to ending extreme poverty in accordance with the UN sustainable development goals. The festival brings together over 70,000 people annually on the great lawn in Central Park, with musical performances by including Beyonce, Jay-Z, Coldplay and other leading artists which brings together world leaders from the Secretary...

So this week, I wanted to talk about numbing out. Why it happens, what it’s hiding, and how to tackle it in a healthy way. Because the more you reject or ignore an emotional state, the more often numbing out will happen, and the more you’ll turn to potentially unhealthy coping mechanisms. With everything going on these days, it’s more important than ever to bring some conscious awareness into thin...

I’ve followed Buddy’s work for a while now, and it was great to finally connect with him! This interview is full of incredible stories and is equal parts humorous, poignant, and uplifting. We cover a lot, including what it was like growing up gay in Texas, how that’s shaped his life and work, and finding the point of connection in everything. Buddy Wakefield is a three-time world champion spoken w...

In this episode, I talk about the art of saying no—and it is an art. Over the next 14 days I invite you to say no without feeling like you have to justify yourself or giving a backstory for your no. A lot of people grow up as kids feeling like they’re not able to say no in their family system and that causes them to feel like their no doesn’t matter as an adult. Listen in for hear more. Are you lo...

Why is marriage so difficult? Should you even bother? This week I sat down with acclaimed documentarian Roger Nygard. Using his latest film, The Truth About Marriage as our focal point, we explore partnership in all its forms, biology vs. culture, and the origins of monogamy.  Roger Nygard is perhaps best known for his acclaimed documentary Trekkies , about the most obsessive fans in the Universe....

Today we’re going to talk to someone about how to call someone forward and not call them out. When we call someone out it’s often about satiating our own ego and almost never has the desired impact on the other person or our relationship with them. We often deploy shame, guilt or anger to call someone out.  Many of us haven’t been taught any other way to give feedback in a productive way. Calling...

This week's interview is with GS Youngblood, and it is chock-full of useful advice and insight. In our conversation, we deep-dive into his exciting new book, "The Masculine in Relationship", and cover sexual leadership, the importance of embodiment practice, where we make mistakes in relationships, and what it looks like to respond in a grounded way instead of pure reactivity. I encourage you to l...