The Third Way. Hosted by Justin Foster

My good friend, Gareth Gwyn, is brilliant, original, and interesting, so I was excited to have her on to talk about her new book and other essential work she is doing. She is the author of “You Are Us: How to Build Bridges in a Polarized World.” The 13 stories in the book are from the perspective of 13 people who are radically different but are also unified by having done the work of inner reckoni...

Chad Thomas is a fitness and boudoir photographer based in Annapolis, MD. He is a third-way thinker and vocal promoter of women's empowerment. Our topic was around art and sensuality - with a wide-ranging discussion that included both of us answering these questions: * What are some common negative stories we tell ourselves about our sensuality? * How do you help make someone safe to express their...

Ari Honarvar is a fascinating and brave person with an incredible story. She is an award-winning writer, speaker, and artist dedicated to building bridges between the arts, social justice, and well-being. She is also a strong and vocal voice for women being oppressed in theologically authoritarian countries - especially in her home country of Iran. In this episode, we dig into authoritarian theolo...

Allison Crow is an internal family systems and self-leadership coach based in Austin. She is also the author of the book “Unarmored: Finding Home in the Wild Edges of Being Human.” We’ve been on a similar path of mid-life awakenings, harnessing our gifts, and increasing our self-love and self-understanding. As with all of my guests, our conversation could have been on a vast array of topics but Al...

What an awesome first episode of 2023! Two of the men I most admire are my older sons, Logan and Caden. They were the first to introduce me to my heart’s capacity for pure love. They’ve both grown into beautiful, original, thoughtful, courageous, dedicated, and perfectly imperfect men. In this episode, I sat down with Caden in person to discuss art and life. I admit that I couldn’t look at him too...

Be sure to listen to the audio for additional instructions and details - and my answer to each. Please feel free to share on your socials! What is a 2022 achievement to celebrate? Was this planned or unplanned?  What didn’t work in 2022 that you want to work in 2023? What do you want for 2023 that you already have? What do you want in 2023 that you don’t have now? Where are the current biggest gap...

I’ve known Michael (his friends call him “Santa”) for many years. He is one of my dearest friends but we’ve never met in person! He is a truly original thinker who is grounded in his ethics and values in life and business. Santa works primarily with tech leaders to help them understand humans better so that change can be accelerated. His “straight talk” approach is just the kind of methodology nee...

I met Erika through two of my prior guests, Liz Deering and Ben Gibson, when I was a guest mentor at an Un. Inc cohort. I was struck by Erika’s authenticity and fierce humility and was inspired by her vision behind her non-profit, We Are Those People . Another interesting connection … Erika’s awesome husband, Frank Ball , did tattoos for Virginia and me! In line with Erika’s personal story and her...

Like many of my friendships over the past decade, meeting and connecting with Rachel Fell was serendipitous. She randomly met my great friend, Mike Green, in Alaska, who then introduced us. Rachel and I hit it off immediately as we are both coaches and are both curious and prone to subversiveness! The topic for this episode is redefining intelligence. Rachel and I both answered the following: * Wh...

Mike O’Krent is a fellow Austinite and a former client who has become a dear friend. Mike is a multidimensional and fascinating person. He is a sought-after documentarian who specializes in creating life stories of family patriarchs and matriarchs. Our topic for our conversation was: living a compelling story Together, we answered the following questions: * What are the components of a compelling...

“Essays from a Pandemic” is now available on Amazon! $14.95 for print and $1.99 for Kindle Reminder: all paid subscribers will receive a free signed copy. I will be in touch to get your address. If you are not yet a paid subscriber, you can rectify that here: This reading is from an essay from the book written in May 2020, called “How to be a Heretic”. With the launch of Massive , this essay is mo...

This week, I visited with the very impressive, Gay Gaddis. Like all of my guests, Gay is a multidimensional person - an entrepreneur, author, artist, speaker, and mentor. She is a legendary leader in the Austin community and brims with joy and wisdom. When I saw the title and concept behind her new book, I had to have her on! We both answered these questions: * In the context of personal power, wh...

Although a history buff, I also love imagining the future - especially through a more hopeful lens. So I was extra excited to visit with Byron Reese on the topic of “mastering the future”. I connected with Byron via LinkedIn a while back and saw that he has a fascinating new book out (link below). Byron is an Austin-based entrepreneur with a quarter-century of experience building and running techn...

Special Note: Hello, Third Way community! Please join my partner, Virginia, and me for a LinkedIn Live on 11/11 where we will be hosting a forum on business leaders and social change, as well as announcing the launch of a new kind of coaching practice, called Massive. Register here. Every time I have a guest on the podcast, I think, “Damn. I know a lot of smart people!” Such is the case with my gr...

Orville Morales is a friend and client - and one unique and interesting dude! Orville’s experience with double immigration and living in different cultures helped spark his curiosity about how policies and politics shape our lives. This exploration led him to found The People’s Lobbyist , where he works with organizations and groups on what he calls Pragmatic Activism. Which is also the topic we d...

Gareth Higgins is an author, speaker and facilitator who splits time between Belfast in northern Ireland and Ashville, NC. I came across his stellar book “How Not to Be Afraid” earlier this year. It quickly became one of the top must-read books I’m recommending lately. Please buy the book for yourself (and others!) but if you’d like to see what caught my eye, here are the highlights. Our topic was...

Stacy Ennis is a best-selling author and noted author coach. Stacy and I have been friends since 2011. From an initial conversation interviewing me for a magazine article to editing my first book , I’ve witnessed Stacy’s trajectory in life, business and thought-leadership. Along the way, she’s had the same daring, kind and generous spirit. The topic of our conversation was "Writing it All Down". H...

I love brilliant people and I love finding the intersection between ideas and concepts that don’t typically intersect, so I was extra excited to talk with my dear friend, Karen Falkler, about the intersection of leadership and wellness. Karen has a unique background and knowledge set that she has combined to bring a new kind of advisory to corporate leaders. In our visit, we both answered the foll...

John Kormanik is a lawyer who coaches lawyers - not on their business practices but on how to reclaim their lives from the warped view of success perpetuated by their industry. John’s methods and ideas apply to anyone who feels trapped in the hustle-and-grind culture of any profession or pursuit. In our conversation about redefining success, we both answered the following questions: * What is your...

David Casler is a fascinating dude. A former Marine and IED survivor turned trauma healer and breathwork coach, David is part of a rising group within the consciousness movement that I refer to as “awake alphas”. In our conversation, David shares some of his incredible story and we dive into the topic of trauma and masculinity. David and I both answered these questions: * What do you think the mos...

As part of the launch of my upcoming book “Essays from a Pandemic”, I will be doing a few select readings of essays that are think are, to quote Scott Monty’s “timeless and timely.” For this reading, I selected an essay I wrote in June of 2020 called “The Root of the Beast”. It is one of the few essays I’ve written that is specifically about a political issue As I mention in the intro to this epis...

Heather Willems is a visual strategist, a great friend, and one of the most unique and talented people I know. She has the very rare skill of using listening (with ears and soul) to what someone is trying to articulate and/or express and converting it to visuals and words. Be sure to check out her work! The topic for our visit was inclusivity and vision and we both answered these questions: * What...

Gavin McMahon is the founding partner and Chief Learning & Product Officer at fassforward. From an initial Twitter exchange in 2012 to a decade-long friendship and strategic partnership, Gavin McMahon has consistently impressed me and challenged me with his perspectives and ideas. Gavin and I discussed the topic of unconventional thinking and covered these questions: * What can leaders do to devel...

Mike Green is a Master Certified Coach who currently lives just outside Denali National Park in Alaska. His core belief is that great leaders are formed in the wild. Mike is one of my closest friends and one of the most impressive and interesting people I know. He has combined his many years as a wilderness/hunting guide with his years as a performance coach to create what he calls “Leadership Adv...

Over the past few years, I’ve been fascinated (and horrified) in studying how institutional (read: Patriarchal) Christianity intentionally defeminized Jesus’ teachings and faith in general and demonized feminine power. There is a group of modern voices speaking up on the issue of reclaiming feminine power within Christianity. One articulate and insistent voice is my guest, Meghan Tschanz - best-se...