The ManKind Podcast

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Boysen sits down with Douglas Guest, a Mankind Project brother from Scotland. Douglas has spent his career working for families and children, co-created Year of the Dad for the Scottish government, and helped establish the Scottish Healthy Masculinity Alliance. Together they talk about grief tending as a gateway into men's soul work, including Francis Weller's gates of grief. 

They discuss moving from a scarcity of masculinity toward an abundance of masculinities and femininities. They also cover bringing spirituality to the front of men's work, honoring the s...

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Somewhere around 37, give or take five years, a switch flips. The goals that drove you for two decades stop meaning anything, the achievements pile up and nobody cares, and the question quietly changes from how do I win to how do I die well. Dr. Drew Littlejohns has lived both sides of that line: multiple eight-figure brands, two bankruptcies, two divorces, seven and a half years sober, 25 years of mountaineering Colorado’s fourteeners with his kids, and a PhD in archetypal masculinity written under Doug Gillette, co-author of Ki...

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What if your organization isn't a machine but a living thing?

In this episode, Boysen Hodgson sits down with Norman Wolfe, founder and CEO of Quantum Leaders Inc., former Hewlett-Packard executive, ManKind Project brother, and co-author with his wife Jane Wolfe of the Living Organization trilogy. Norman's leadership journey started with a first performance review that said "unacceptable" in every category. Four decades later, he helps CEOs close the gap between strategy and execution by paying attention to what most leaders can't see.

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Three years ago Brandon signed up for Men and Women of Discomfort, made it two weeks, and quietly bowed out. This year, after a small plane lost an engine at 150 feet with him and his wife aboard, after a dire diagnosis for someone close to him, and after a fourth straight physical showing high cholesterol and low testosterone, he called Dane Sanders and said I'm in. This episode is the after shot. Dane flips the mic and interviews Brandon at week 12 about what actually happened, including the week...

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Most of us were handed one of two scripts: the "because I said so" dad with all structure and no warmth, or the gentle parent with all warmth and no structure. Both leave kids without what they actually need. Pat Barber spent 22 years as a CrossFit coach, won his region in 2011, and taught seminars on four continents. Then he turned that same method of relentless self-examination onto fatherhood. Thirteen years and four sons later, he runs The Fathers Guild, and this conversation lays out what he's learned.

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The US military does an incredible job of creating warriors and a horrible job of bringing them home. Jere Hartman lived that truth. After leaving the 75th Ranger Regiment, he chased the career ladder at the FBI, hit 240 pounds, and looked in the mirror at a miserable man achieving goals that weren't his. So he quit, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, and then said yes to something drastic: rowing 2,800 miles across the Pacific Ocean with a crew of veterans. Thirty-five days at sea. No way out. No way to...

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The world lost Dolly Parton this week — and you might be wondering what a men's podcast has to say about it. Everything. Because underneath the rhinestones, the hair, and the persona was a masterclass in things most men spend their whole lives trying to learn: naked ambition without arrogance, humility without self-erasure, principled stands without endless conflict, and wearing a mask consciously instead of being worn by it. Brandon and co-host Boysen Hodgson sit down days after her passing to unpack 80 years of legacy.

In this co...

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Most men have zero foxhole buddies. Not because they don't want them — but because they keep choosing comfort over the risk of being truly known. Nick Papadopoulos has spent 23 years building men's groups, and Jake Fishbein has spent the last decade inside them. Together they've written a novel about what it actually looks like when men stop spectating and enter the arena. It became an Amazon bestseller. This conversation is the unfiltered backstory.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

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There's a wound most men carry and rarely name: the father wound. In this episode, Boysen sits down with Ian Schwartz and John Harrington — co-founders of the Intentional Fathers Initiative — to talk about why intentional fathering isn't just good parenting advice, it's how generational wounds actually get healed.

Ian and John build what they call "father-focused men's work" — spaces where men bring their real challenges as fathers into the container of men's work: naming the father wound directly, examining what was passed down, and choosing, on purpos...

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Toby Sola has spent two decades teaching meditation — years of it inside a monastery, refined through close work with world-renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Today he runs Bright Mind, an app built on one guiding principle: as simple as possible, but no simpler.

In this conversation, Toby and Boysen talk about what monastic life actually teaches you — not mystical secrets, but community and humility, the two things that turned out to matter most. They dig into why so many men try meditation once, get frustrated with their own...

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The strongest communities aren't built by treating everyone the same—they're built by making sure everyone belongs.

In this heartfelt and often humorous conversation, Boysen Hodgson sits down with leaders of the ManKind Project's Barrier Free Movement to explore what authentic inclusion really looks like.

FULL TRANSCRIPT Available HERE.

Art Patterson, Dee Spitler, Mike Merino, Paul Jerde, Craig Tennant, and Marc Sage share deeply personal stories about disability, neurodivergence, recovery, leadership, and the transformative power of being fully seen.

Together th...

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What if healing doesn't begin by becoming someone new—but by remembering who you've always been?

In this episode of the ManKind Podcast, Boysen sits down with CJ Goulding, co-founder of Boys in the Wood, an organization using nature, brotherhood, and community to support the mental health and wellbeing of Black men.

CJ shares the personal story that led him from outdoor education to creating transformative retreats where men reconnect with themselves, each other, and the natural world. Together they explore how vu...

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Men's sexuality is under siege from every direction — algorithmic porn, AI girlfriends engineered to extract money by never actually satisfying you, and a culture that hasn't given men a single useful framework for talking about any of it. Taylor Johnson has spent seven years in the field helping men overcome sexual dysfunction, anxiety, and disconnection. What he's seeing in 2026 is unlike anything from even two years ago.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

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What if most conflicts about respect aren't actually about respect?

In this fascinating conversation, Boysen sits down with historian, researcher, TEDx speaker, and author Dr. Julie Pham to explore one of the most misunderstood words in our culture: respect.

Most of us assume we know what respect means. We ask for it. We expect it. We feel hurt when we don't receive it. But Dr. Pham's research suggests something surprising: while people generally agree on how respect feels...

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Most men wait for hardship to teach them resilience. Dane Sanders watched his best friend Tim Kruger — an Ironman triathlete — die of stomach cancer at 50. Tim's parting insight: "I'm really glad I practiced voluntary discomfort before involuntary discomfort chose me." That single line became the foundation of everything Dane has built since. This is a conversation about mortality, meaning, and why choosing the hard thing is actually the smartest move any man can make.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

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Young men are drowning, and the algorithm is doing it on purpose. Within 17 seconds on YouTube, three-quarters of a young man's suggested content steers him straight into the manosphere. Meanwhile, the men who've actually done the inner work are sitting on the sidelines. Jordan Bowman isn't waiting for a viral moment to fix it. He's been in the field for over a decade building something that actually works.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

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How do veterans grapple with the emotional weight of Memorial Day? Join us for a deeply moving Memorial Day episode of the Mankind Podcast, where we revisit a conversation from our Masks Off Monday series. Featuring a heartfelt panel discussion with five veterans, including Dean Ray, a former Marine Corps helicopter crew chief, who shares a poignant piece he wrote. This episode dives into their personal stories of loss, survival, and the importance of keeping the memories of their fallen comrades alive.

From the harrowing experiences...

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What kind of people does a healthy democracy require?

In this thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation, Boysen sits down with author, purpose guide, and ManKind Project brother Brandon Peele to explore the deeper questions underneath our current cultural moment: belonging, responsibility, freedom, purpose, and what it means to grow into mature adulthood in a fractured world. 

Brandon returns to the podcast to discuss his new book, Bison Medicine: The Cure for a Troubled Nation, where he offers a provocative but hopeful v...

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What are men really longing for?

In this rich and wide-ranging conversation, Boysen sits down with filmmaker, mythosomatic guide, and founder of The Mythic Masculine, Ian MacKenzie, to explore the deeper story underneath modern masculinity.

Together, they unpack the roots of mythopoetic men’s work, the cultural loss of village, the rise of the manosphere, and why so many men are searching for belonging, purpose, and deeper initiation.

Ian shares his own journey into men’s work through Iron John, the ManKind Proj...

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What does it actually take to build a strong, lasting relationship?

In this episode, Boysen sits down with Rich and Laurie Riedman—veterans of the ManKind Project and leaders in couples work for over three decades. Together, they explore the deeper mechanics of relationship growth, conflict, and connection.

At the heart of their work is a powerful idea: a relationship is not just two people—it’s a third entity that must be nurtured, strengthened, and protected.

Rich and Laurie break down:

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Most men spend years gathering the right information, waiting for the perfect moment, and convincing themselves the stakes are too high to act. Gregory Russell Benedikt ran a different experiment — 100 consecutive days of deliberately seeking rejection from strangers. What the data showed is almost impossible to believe: out of 100 attempts, only one interaction went genuinely negative. The rest? Laughter, connection, viral moments, and a relationship with the woman he'd spend the next three years with. This episode is a direct challenge to the logic-first framework most high-achieving men ha...

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In this episode, Boysen sits down with Geoff Laughton and Mark Johnson of The Undaunted Man to explore a radically different approach to men’s work—one that rejects external definitions of masculinity and instead helps men develop a deep connection to their own inner guidance.

Drawing from decades of experience, Geoff and Mark share how their work supports men in becoming internally governed—grounded, self-aware, and capable of making aligned decisions without relying on societal scripts.

They discuss:

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What if thinking isn’t always your greatest asset?

In this episode, Boysen sits down with psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and author Charles Eigen to explore the surprising ways our thinking can become a barrier to clarity, connection, and peace.

Drawing from Internal Family Systems (IFS), Zen practice, and decades of therapeutic work, Chuck shares how most of us are conditioned to live in our heads—often at the cost of our emotional awareness and embodied experience.

Together, they unpack:

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This episode brings together Chris Kyle, George Kansas, and Tim Wade—co-founders of the Big Tent Summit—for a grounded and expansive conversation about the evolving landscape of men’s work.

Drawing on over a century of combined experience, they explore the shift from early mythopoetic men’s work to today’s diverse and rapidly expanding ecosystem of support for men. The conversation highlights a growing cultural openness: more men investing in personal development, therapy, and emotional growth—and more pathways than ever to do that work.

...

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Clear minds lead purposeful lives.

In this episode, Brandon Clift sits down with Juan Carlos, a storyteller, product builder, and creator of the Re:Mind mental models system, a framework designed to help people think more clearly and navigate complex decisions.

Juan’s career spans filmmaking, technology, and product innovation. Through those experiences he discovered something powerful.

Most people struggle not because they lack intelligence.
 They struggle because they lack frameworks for thinking.

This conversation exp...

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What if the version of strength most men were handed is quietly breaking them?

In this deep and honest conversation, Brandon Clift interviews Trey Tucker, founder of Rugged Counseling and author of Tough Enough, a book written specifically for men in their twenties who feel stuck, drifting, or disconnected.

Trey opens up about the sudden death of his father and how he navigated grief without shutting down emotionally. He shares the unconventional approach he used to process loss and how it shaped...

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Five years. 250 episodes. Nearly 250,000 downloads.

In this milestone episode, Brandon and Boysen reflect on what they’ve learned about masculinity, fatherhood, therapy, connection, and the evolving conversation around modern manhood.

They talk about:

And they invite you into the next chapter.

Contact

Hearing the call? We're he...

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Can changing how men relate to one another reduce gender-based violence?

In this powerful international conversation, Boysen sits down with South African researchers Nicola Lazenby and Thaakirah Dollie, who conducted an in-depth qualitative study exploring how men’s relationships with other men influence their understanding of masculinity and mental health.

Set against the backdrop of South Africa’s gender-based violence crisis—where femicide rates are among the highest in the world—their research examines two distinct patterns of male bon...

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In this powerful return to The ManKind Podcast, John Henry Parker joins Brandon to unpack his latest book, Men Harvesting Wisdom: The 10 Heroic Dimensions of Transformational Self Leadership.

Two years after discussing Be the Dawn in the Darkness, John returns not with memoir, but with architecture. A field guide built from 35 years of sitting with men in crisis, veterans in transition, fathers on the brink, and leaders navigating identity collapse.

This episode explores:

• The identity crisis men face after military se...

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In this deeply grounded conversation, Boysen sits down with longtime friend and transformational teacher Michael Taylor to explore optimism, masculinity, race, and inner freedom.

Michael shares his journey from growing up in poverty to losing everything—marriage, finances, home—and how those experiences became the foundation for a life rooted in purpose and peace. Together, they examine outdated models of masculinity, the emotional health crisis facing men, and why inner work is essential for both personal and cultural transformation.

A central focus of t...

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What happens when the man you love breaks your trust—and then chooses to fight for his integrity?

In this deeply honest episode of the ManKind Podcast, Boysen sits down with Craig and Michelle Perra, co-founders of the Mindful Habit System—a revolutionary behavior change model that’s helped thousands of men break free from sex and porn addiction, not through shame, but by building habits of integrity, accountability, and self-leadership.

Craig shares his descent into secrecy, addiction, and rock bottom—and how Mich...

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When co‑host Brandon Clift and his pregnant wife climbed aboard a neighbour’s Piper Apache, they expected a relaxing ski trip in West Virginia. Instead, one engine failed on take‑off, forcing their small plane to circle back as gusting winds pushed them toward the trees.

With another pilot trailing the plane calmly advising “hold your blue line” over the radio, their pilots managed a safe landing. In this episode, Brandon recalls looking at his wife and wondering whether they were about to orphan...