The Mythic Masculine

We’re just under 30 days out from my upcoming Cascadia Men’s Conference , a first-of-its-kind mythopoetic gathering happening August 6-9 in the Squamish Valley, north of Vancouver. In the lead up, I’ve been hosting live conversations with our presenters - previous episodes have included men’s author Matt Sturm , indigenous poet Cliff Taylor , and later this week Scottish storyteller Dougie Mackay...

Two decades ago, I graduated university. I took a job writing copy for a small online business that rented holiday properties, and my role was to add content for the search engines to bring in traffic. It was a 9-to-5 kind of thing. I liked my employer and coworkers. And the job itself, I voraciously learned as much as I could and pumped out all the work that was assigned to me. Pretty soon, I was...

We have reached the final episode of the series: ”Trans Men: In Their Own Words” . This conversation began with Episode #1, looking at the collective cultural moment with The Seed and the Soil. We explored how trans folk represent a trickster figure, troubling the psychic architecture of the binary many of us were raised with. We talked about the urge to ‘monster’ the other, but we also looked at...

Last week, I released Part One ( you can listen here ). This series grew from a seed - a conversation with Emmanuel H. Brown. Emmanuel has been navigating his own journey, seeking out the places where manhood and masculinity might be expanded to hold the lived experience of trans men. As someone rooted in the mythopoetic lineage , I recognize that these voices have often been missing from our circ...

To brood is to wander through a grove where one sheep strays and a hundred wolves follow. Why did I make brooding my vocation when AWE was an option? Thought spinner, mull the wine of wonder. - RUMI Three years ago, my colleague Deus and I joined forces to craft an experiment. We invited 12 men out to the forest. He brought his years of training in breathwork, transformational art, and psychedelic...

Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility and right moment to kick off this new series on The Mythic Masculine. It didn’t grow out of a plan; it grew out of a message from a trans man named Emmanuel H. Brown . Emmanuel was looking to join an in-person gathering of mine—a ritual space he discovered was not open to trans men. It was an intentional choice made with my collaborator Deus For...

My guest today is David Sutcliffe , a somatic psychotherapist and former actor who has stepped off the red carpets of Hollywood to venture into the deeper landscapes of the masculine soul. David is something of an enigma to me. He’s a therapist who champions the necessity of men getting in touch with their feelings and expressing their rage and grief. Yet, he is also an ardent Trump supporter and...

Friends, it’s been a minute. I’m deeply troubled by the times - yet, I’m honoured to share this conversation with Nisha Moodley , an integrative leadership coach, community builder, and founder of the Center for Devotional Leadership. We have been in mutual orbit for years, including sharing a number of mutual friends and an appreciation for each other’s work in the realms of cultural healing. Whi...

My guest today is once again Stephen Jenkinson , a culture activist, teacher and author, and principal instructor of The Orphan Wisdom School, co-founded with his wife Nathalie Roy. He has Master’s degrees from Harvard University (Theology) and the University of Toronto (Social Work). The School, though now formally closed, has made an incredibly significant mark on my life and Stephen continues t...

My guest today is Miki Dedijer , a writer, ecologist, and mentor devoted to the ancestral arts of belonging, fatherhood, and grassroots initiation. In our conversation, Miki invites us to look at the crisis facing young men and the absence of meaningful adulthood in our time. He speaks to the ecological and emotional consequences of failing to initiate the young, how untempered fire in boys become...

I’m pleased to share this #mini episode with Maria Souza , a Comparative Mythologist, Poet, and Educator, and founder of Women & Mythology. As we name in the conversation, we’ve known about each other for some time and appreciated each others’ work from afar. Just as Robert Bly’s ‘Iron John’ is the book that ignited the mythopoetic men’s movement, so too, does Clarissa Pinkola Estés’s book ‘Women...

“Eros is not something you get from another person. It’s the aliveness that rises when you are fully in your body.” - Victor Warring My guest today is Victor Warring , a somatic educator and founder of Rewilding Eros - a body-centered path to reclaiming our natural erotic intelligence. In our conversation today, Victor invites us to look deeply at the condition of modern men: domesticated human an...

An audio version of my long-form essay that explores my encounter at the 40th Anniversary of the Minnesota Men's Conference in 2024. For the full references and links to supporting interviews, check out the essay on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Jonathan Stensland, a poet and long-time collaborator and friend of Robert Bly. This conversation was recorded in 2024 at the 40th anniversary of the Minnesota Men's Conference . Speaking from the banks of the Saint Croix River, Jonathan offers a unique insider's perspective on four decades of men's work. In his early 20s, Jonathan was involved with Bly as he worked on his semina...

My guest today is Miguel Rivera , a seasoned ceremonialist, musician, and ritualist. This conversation is a two part series recorded in 2024 at the 40th anniversary of the Minnesota Men’s Conference . Miguel is a longtime facilitator to the conference where he has played a pivotal role in guiding men through transformative experiences. Miguel's journey began in the vibrant cultural landscape of th...

Recently I spoke with Adam Lewis, co-founder of MANCAMP , a Canadian gathering dedicated to “the celebration of masculinity.” ( Disclosure: Adam is also a mentorship client of mine). Now entering its second year, MANCAMP emerged from Adam’s experiences organizing raw and elemental camping trips with small groups of men in the wilderness. What began as paddling into Algonquin Park has grown into a...

My guest today is Darren Silver , a rite of passage guide, ceremonialist, and storyteller. With nearly two decades of experience, Darren has devoted his life to ritual, wilderness living skills, and guiding transformational experiences across the world.. An apprentice to the old myths, he weaves the power of the natural world, vision, and community in service of regenerative culture. Darren’s path...

My guest today is Daniel Waite Penny , a journalist and cultural critic whose recent work investigates the connection between masculinity and the climate crisis. He’s the creator of NonToxic , a podcast exploring men and sustainability, and co-creator of Carbon Bros , an investigative series made in collaboration with Drilled . Here’s an overview of the series: You’ve heard it from cable news pund...

My guest today is Matt Sturm , a guide and writer dedicated to the evolution of masculinity. His offerings include psychotherapy, psychedelic-assisted work, sacred sexuality, and men’s retreats. He is the author of two books— The Organic Masculine and Primal Drives —and the creator of the Living Kosmos tarot deck. (You might also remember Matt from when he joined Deus and I to discuss eros & intim...

Note: you can watch the Youtube version of this podcast here. ___ Well, the saga around Aubrey Marcus continues. You may recall a few weeks back when I spoke about Aubrey, an American entrepreneur, influencer, and “psychonaut”, who released an episode of his podcast with his wife Vylana, their lover Alana, and their mentor Marc Gafni. The main reveal was that during a trip to Egypt, Aubrey receive...

Greetings friends. By now you have likely heard about, if not already listened to, Aubrey Marcus’ podcast “A New Pattern for Sacred Relationship.” If you haven’t I would recommend at least check out the first 30 minutes. Last weekend I listened to the whole thing, all 2.5 hours. I've also read and watched a number of responses to it (and there are many). Some folks call him a "false king" who is n...

Last week, I sat down with Chris Kyle, co-founder of the upcoming Big Tent Summit , a gathering for men & woman who are involved in the stewardship of healthy masculinity today. Chris has been in the exploration for nearly three decades, and he articulates his perspective on the “three waves” of the modern men’s movement: from its mythopoetic roots, to the rise of embodied presence, and now—an int...

Today, I’m honored to share a conversation with Minna Salami —author, social critic, and senior fellow at The New Institute. This exchange was recorded during the Fugitive Futures Summit I co-hosted in February 2025. I’m sharing it here because of the powerful resonance between Minna’s work and the questions we hold on this podcast. Her book Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyo...

Heads up - we’re taking AWE on the road this July! I’m pleased to share this conversation with my collaborator Deus Fortier , and two colleagues, Paul Simard and Robin Corlux , who are supporting us to bring our men’s ritual weekend to the Montreal region this July. AWE is more than a retreat - it's an initiation into erotic maturity, focusing on the Lover archetype. This archetype, which emphasiz...

Earlier this week, I posted this on Facebook and Instagram and received quite a strong response - so I’m publishing here as well to hear from my readers. In my recent interview with Tyson Adams , we explored the phenomenon of pornography and its deep, often hidden, effects on men. You might think it’s not so different from what previous generations faced—but after listening to our conversation , y...