Four Titles, One Truth
Four Titles, One Truth is a real-talk podcast for Black men, veterans, husbands, and fathers navigating life after the military and beyond.Hosted by two retired U.S. Army leaders, a Sergeant Major and a Colonel, this podcast dives into life after service, fatherhood, marriage, leadership, identity, and personal growth through honest, lived experience.Each episode explores the conversations that matter:• Transitioning from military to civilian life• Relationships, marriage, and family• Fatherhood and legacy• Leadership beyond the uniform• Navigating life as Black men in AmericaThis isn’t advice. This isn’t theory.It’s real conversations rooted in experience, wins, failures, lesson...
Do We Still Support Our Troops?
When a country gets tired of war, do the people wearing the uniform feel like we’ve grown tired of them, too?
We remember strangers thanking us for our service, paying for meals, and applauding as we returned home from deployment. Those moments meant something. Today, we’re asking what has changed, and whether public appreciation tells the whole story of how America supports its troops.
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, retired Army veterans Tommie Jones and Lance Taylor share their experiences with military service, homecomings, and the...
Do Your Children Really Know Who You Are?
Your children know you as Dad. But how much do they know about the person you were before fatherhood, your dreams, fears, mistakes, and the experiences that shaped you?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance explore father-child relationships from both sides: as sons who still have questions about their fathers and as fathers considering what their own children know about them.
Tommie reflects on discovering at his father’s funeral how proudly his dad spoke about him. Lance shares how becoming a father helped him un...
When a Black Man Walks Into the Room | Confidence & Respect
Same confidence. Different expectations.
What changes when a Black man walks into a room full of Black people versus a room full of white people?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance explore Black men’s confidence, identity, belonging, and the expectation of respect. Through their own experiences, they examine how childhood, family, and military service shaped the way they read a room—and decide how to engage.
Tommie enters one room prepared to insist on equal standing and another hoping to conn...
Why Do Men Stay Stuck — Even When They Want More?
You can look successful and still feel stuck. What happens when you want more for yourself, but procrastination, fear of failure, or not knowing where to start keeps getting in the way?
Tommie Jones and Lance Taylor look inward at the habits, responsibilities, and learned limits that have shaped their own personal growth, from putting off important tasks to questioning whose definition of success they’ve been chasing.
Through their experiences as husbands, fathers, Army veterans, and Black men, they explore:
• Recognizing when achievement has stopped feel...
We’re Not Resilient…We’re Just Surviving (And That’s The Problem)
Are men truly resilient, or have we simply become good at surviving whatever life throws at us?
For generations, men have been taught to push through adversity, carry their responsibilities, hide their struggles, and keep moving forward. But does surviving difficult experiences automatically make us resilient? Or have we confused endurance with genuine strength?
In Season 3, Episode 14 of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie Jones and Lance Taylor welcome entrepreneur, inventor, author, and resilience coach David Ask for an honest conversation about what resilience really means in...
What Makes a Marriage Feel Emotionally Safe?
What does emotional safety in marriage feel like, and how do you rebuild it after you’ve caused your spouse pain?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, TJ and Lance talk about the everyday moments that build trust between spouses. TJ shares that he feels safe with Nikki and knows she has his back, yet letting his guard down can still be difficult. He also reflects on his responsibility to make their marriage feel safe for her.
Together, they explore the unspoken tests we give our spouses, what re...
Losing Your Father Before He Sees the Man You Become
What happens when your father dies just as he begins to see you as a man?
Tommie lost his father in 2004, only 13 years into his 30-year Army career—and just as their relationship was beginning to change. Lance had his father through almost his entire military career but lost him before retirement.
In this deeply personal conversation, Tommie and Lance examine father loss, grief, father-son relationships, the need for a father’s approval, and what grown men still need from their fathers after building careers and families of their own.<...
Why Men Finally Decide to Get Married.
I loved Nikki when I proposed. But love wasn’t the only thing shaping that decision. What finally makes a man ready to ask someone to marry him?
Why do men finally decide to get married? TJ and Lance look back at the marriages they grew up around, what they witnessed during their military careers, and how those experiences shaped their own expectations. They talk honestly about love, timing, responsibility, fear of loss, and the moment a relationship becomes a decision about marriage.
Marriage, Why Men Ge...
Why Men Feel Alone - Even When They’re Surrounded by People Who Love Them
You can have a spouse, family, friends, and people willing to support you—and still feel completely alone. But what if part of that loneliness comes from never letting them see what you’re truly carrying?
Why do some men feel alone even when they’re surrounded by people who genuinely love them?
Tommie and Lance examine how fear of betrayal, judgment, and failure can cause men to hide financial pressure, relationship problems, family struggles, and personal setbacks—even from people who have earned their trust.
Can You Fix a Broken Relationship With Your Adult Child?
What do you do when you want a stronger relationship with your adult child…but you don’t know what’s keeping them distant?
What do you do when your adult child becomes distant, but you don’t completely understand why?
Tommie and Lance have an honest conversation about repairing strained relationships with adult children, when to keep parenting, when to simply listen, whether giving them space creates even more distance, and what happens when you’ve apologized, changed, and tried everything you know to do.
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Why Men Stop Talking in Marriage
Most of the time when a married man says “never mind,” he didn’t forget what he wanted to say. He decided it wasn’t worth saying. But what happens when “never mind” stops being something you say once in a while and becomes how you communicate in your marriage?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance examine why men can feel corrected, dismissed, or unheard in marriage, and why silence can start to feel easier than another argument.
But this isn’t about blamin...
Why Becoming A Civilian Was Harder Than Serving
After more than 30 years of active-duty Army service, Tommie thought he was prepared for military retirement. What he wasn’t prepared for was the identity shift that came with transitioning from military service to civilian life.
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance have an honest conversation about military transition, veteran identity, purpose after the military, and the challenges of becoming a civilian again.
For decades, the uniform provided structure, responsibility, status, belonging, and a clear mission. But what happens when the un...
What Happens When A Blackman Admits He Is Not Ok?
For many men, keeping things close to the vest can feel like protection. Health concerns.
Mental health.
Financial struggles.
Marriage problems.
Fear.
Failure.
Problems with our children.
Even parts of our past we would rather people not know.
But there’s a difference between privacy and secrecy, and sometimes a difference between protecting ourselves and protecting the image we want other people to see....
What Happens When Being A Provider Isn’t Good Enough for Your Family?
What does it really mean to provide for your family? And what happens when the money, sacrifice, and hard work still aren’t enough?
For generations, many men were taught that being a good husband and father meant one thing above everything else: provide.
Work hard. Pay the bills. Keep food on the table. Make sure your family never goes without.
Tommie learned that definition by watching his father work for 35 years at Armco Steel in Middletown, Ohio. Later, the Ar...
Are You Happy in Your Marriage…or Just Comfortable? | A Conversation for Husbands
What happens when a marriage isn’t falling apart…but isn’t growing either?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance have an honest conversation about a question many husbands never stop to ask:
Are you happy in your marriage…or have you simply become comfortable?
Through personal reflection and lived experience, they discuss how careers, responsibilities, routine, and complacency can slowly replace intentional love and pursuit. This isn’t about blaming wives or exposing private details…it...
Leading at Work While Leading at Home | Leadership Doesn't Change, The Audience Does
Are you leading your family the same way you lead at work?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Dr. Jermain Williamson (CW5 (R)) joins Tommie Jones and Lance Taylor for an honest conversation about one of leadership’s biggest challenges: learning to lead at home while building a career leading others.
The military intentionally develops leaders through schools, mentors, promotions, and decades of experience. At the same time, many leaders are also becoming husbands and fathers, but without the same roadmap.
...Why Good Fathers Still Have Regrets
Can you be a good father and still fail your child in ways you deeply regret?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance have an honest conversation about fatherhood mistakes, missed opportunities, and the difficult gap between loving your children and making sure they actually feel loved.
Tommie reflects on his own relationship with his adult son and the painful realization that good intentions, financial support, and love do not always replace consistent presence. Together, Tommie and Lance discuss the regrets fathers...
What Nobody Tells Men About Life After 50 | Marriage, Purpose, Retirement & Aging as Men
What Nobody Tells Men About Life After 50 is an honest conversation about aging, purpose, marriage, fatherhood, retirement, health, friendships, and how our perspective changes as we get older. In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, retired Army leaders Tommie Jones and Lance Taylor discuss the realities of life after 50—the lessons they wish someone had shared years ago and the truths many men quietly discover for themselves.
If you’re approaching 50, already over 50, retired from the military, navigating marriage, raising adult children, or simply wondering what this next chapter of life shou...
Thank You for an Incredible Season 2 | Season 3 Returns 6, July 2026
Thank you to everyone who has listened, watched, subscribed, commented, shared an episode, visited our website, or supported Four Titles, One Truth in any way. What started as two friends having honest conversations has grown into a community that continues to challenge, encourage, and inspire us.
The conversations have helped us grow as husbands, fathers, veterans, and Black men, and we can only hope they’ve helped some of you along the way as well.
We’re taking a short break, but we’ll be back with S...
Why Didn't Anybody Teach Us About Juneteenth?
Two retired Army veterans, fathers, and Black men ask a simple question: How did we grow up in America and barely know anything about Juneteenth?
In this episode, Tommie and Lance talk about growing up Black in America in the Midwest...and neither of us remembers being taught much about Juneteenth.
Not in school.
Not in church.
Not in everyday conversations.
Years later, after discovering Juneteenth for ourselves, we started asking questions...
We Really Thought This Was Cool? | The Stuff We Thought Was Cool Growing Up
Remember backward hats, giant shorts, loud bass systems, tube socks, and movies we thought were classics? Yeah…we need to talk about it.
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance take a break from heavy conversations and look back at the trends, styles, habits, and moments we were convinced made us cool growing up…that now make absolutely no sense.
From backward hats, baggy shorts, loud bass systems, and tube socks…to old movies, TV shows, and “old man habits” we used to laugh a...
When Military Service Ends… the Battle Doesn’t Always End With It
In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, retired Army leaders Tommie Jones and Lance Taylor sit down with Navy Chaplain Dr. Larry Brant to talk about the difficult reality of suicide in the military, mental health, leadership guilt, trauma after deployment, and the emotional weight carried by service members long after they return home.
Tommie opens up about losing Soldiers under his leadership to suicide and tragic circumstances after combat deployments, while Dr. Brant brings insight from years of counseling and supporting military members through some of their darkest moments.
<...Politics Feels Different When You’re Black
What happens when politics stops feeling political… and starts feeling personal?
There are moments when politics stop feeling distant… and start feeling personal.
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance have an honest conversation about what the current political climate feels like through their lens as Black men, fathers, husbands, and veterans.
This isn’t a debate about parties.
It’s a conversation about identity, race, representation, patriotism, frustration, responsibility, and the emotiona...
Success Isn't Enough...Now What? | The Truth About Achievement & Emptiness
What happens when you do everything right…
build the career, provide for your family, and become the man you said you’d be…
and it still doesn’t feel like enough?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance sit down with Albert Butler (CPA, author, father, and leader) for a real conversation about success, identity, and the quiet tension many men carry but rarely talk about.
This isn’t about money, titles, or status.
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Are we Raising Boys Too Fast?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance sit down with Kaleth Wright to have an honest, unfiltered conversation about fatherhood, pressure, and the reality of raising boys into men.
This isn’t a parenting guide.
This is a real conversation between fathers who have already raised their sons and are now looking back at the results.
Together, they explore:
When fathers start expecting boys to act like menHow upbringing and en...You’re Not Strong… You’re Ignoring the Damage
We spend years building strength, pushing through pain, and doing what we think we’re supposed to do...especially in the military.
But what happens when your body starts keeping score?
In this episode, we sit down with retired First Sergeant David Rosen to talk about the reality of fitness, injuries, and the long-term cost of always pushing through. This isn’t about advice it’s about lived experience, hard lessons, and how our relationship with our bodies changes over time.
📌 WHAT’S...
You're Not Reacting to Now...You're Reacting to Your Past
Most of what we think is “just who we are”… is really what we’ve been through.
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, we explore how our past continues to influence how we show up today—our reactions, relationships, communication, and decision-making. Through real conversation and lived experience, we unpack how patterns are formed, why we repeat them, and what it takes to recognize and change them.
We’re joined by Dr. Gloria Vanderhorst, a psychologist, writer, advisor, and mentor, who adds perspective on how early ex...
Outgrowing People: Growth, Loneliness, or Isolation?
Everybody says “protect your peace”…
But what if what you’re calling growth is actually distance?
In this episode, we unpack what it really means to outgrow people, places, and even old versions of yourself and the tension that comes with it. We challenge the idea that a smaller circle always means progress, and take a hard look at the difference between alignment and isolation.
Through our own experiences as husbands, fathers, and veterans, we talk through the cost of growth, how it shows...
The Music We Grew Up On: 70s, 80s & 90s Songs That Defined Our Childhood
Before streaming… before playlists…
music came from somewhere.
From your parents’ records… the radio…
and the streets you grew up on.
And the songs we heard back then?
They didn’t just play… they shaped who we became.
This episode is a conversation rooted in lived experience not judgment, not advice… just honest reflection.
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance...
Why the U.S. Army Keeps Relearning the Same Lessons | w/CSM(R) Carl Cunningham
The United States Army is built to fight and win our nation’s wars. So why do militaries often find themselves relearning the same lessons every generation?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance sit down with Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Carl Cunningham to explore institutional memory in the Army.
Drawing on decades of leadership experience from the Cold War era through the post-9/11 wars, the conversation examines how lessons are captured, why some are forgotten, and what today’s leaders can lear...
Black Excellence vs Black Exhaustion | What Are We Carrying…And Passing Down?
Black excellence is something many of us were taught to pursue.
But what happens when excellence starts to feel like exhaustion?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie Jones II and Lance Taylor reflect on the expectations many Black men grow up carrying — the pressure to succeed, the responsibility to represent more than just ourselves, and the quiet weight that can come with constantly striving.
This conversation looks honestly at the balance between pride and pressure, and how those expectations sh...
What Did Leadership in the Military Actually Give Us...And What Did it Quietly Take?
What did leadership actually give us — beyond rank, titles, and responsibility?
And what did it quietly take?
In 🎙️ Season 2, Episode 25 of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie Jones II and Lance Taylor reflect on what decades of leadership in the U.S. Army produced in their lives — internally, relationally, and personally.
This isn’t about leadership theory.
It’s about lived experience.
In this episode, we unpack:
• The emotional w...
Transition Shock: Why Military Retirement Hits Harder Than Most Admit w/CSM(R) Gabriel Camacho
Military Retirement Reality: Identity, Purpose, and Life After the Uniform
Retirement from the military doesn’t end with the ceremony and for many, the hardest part begins afterward.
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, we have an honest conversation about transition shock, the mental, emotional, and identity shift that hits many service members after retirement. Retired leaders Tommie & Lance, along with their guest CSM (Retired) Gabriel Camacho share their lived experiences navigating life after the uniform, from the silence that follows constant responsibility to re...
What Black History Month Means to Us | Why It Still Matters
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, we reflect on what Black History Month has meant to us...then and now. This conversation isn’t about teaching history or speaking for everyone. It’s about lived experience, reflection, and how Black history has shaped who we are today.
What We Talk About:
• When we first became aware of Black History Month
• How our understanding of Black history evolved beyond the classroom
• The hard truths we didn’t learn until adulthood
Raising Children Without a Script w/COL(R) Terence Huston & LTC(R) Kelsie Hill–Huston (Part II)
What happens after the realization that parenting changes everything?
In Part Two of this conversation on Four Titles, One Truth, we continue the discussion with Terance Huston, COL (Ret.), and Kelsie Huston, LTC (Ret.), exploring how parenting, partnership, and purpose evolve over time.
This episode picks up where Part One left off—digging deeper into sacrifice, maturity, marriage, and the long-term impact of the choices we make as parents and partners.
Rather than offering advice, we reflect on lived experiences: th...
Raising Children Without a Script w/COL(R) Terence Huston & LTC(R) Kelsie Hill-Huston (Part 1)
🎙️ Aren't we all just raising our children without a script?
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, we’re joined by retired Army officers Terance Huston and Kelsie Huston for an honest conversation about parenting, partnership, and purpose.
Together, we reflect on what it’s like to raise children without a manual—how our upbringings shaped us, how marriage and communication matter in parenting, and what it means to lead a family while still learning and growing yourself.
This isn’t a con...
Be a Man! Is It Taught or Learned?
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How Fathers, Culture, and Generational Trauma Shape Modern Manhood in the Black Community
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance have a real, reflective conversation about manhood — where our ideas of it come from, how they were shaped by our fathers and environment, and how those definitions change as we grow older.
This isn’t a debate or a rulebook. It’s a lived-experience conversation about what we were taught, what we questioned, and wh...
Prostate Cancer & Black Men | Lived Experiences w/CSM(R) Maurice Jackson
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Breaking the Silence on Prostate Cancer Risk, Advocacy, and Survival for Black Men.
Prostate cancer is often called a “silent killer” — and for Black men, the risk is higher, the conversations are fewer, and the consequences can be deadly when warnings are missed.
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance sit down with retired CSM Maurice Jackson, a prostate cancer survivor...For an honest, perspective-based conversation about prostate cancer through three Black men’s lived ex...
Grief Isn’t Depression...Until It Is | How It Showed Up for Us
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Grief and depression are often treated as the same thing — but they’re not. Until they are.
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie Jones II and Lance Taylor have an honest, needed conversation about grief, mental health, and the fine line that many men — especially Black men — are taught to ignore.
We talk about how grief shows up differently for everyone, why men often suppress it, and how unresolved grief can quietly turn into depressi...
Racism, Power, and Accountability: A Hard Conversation Everyone Needs to Hear
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Racism, Power, and Accountability in America: A Necessary Conversation About Prejudice and Responsibility
In this episode of Four Titles, One Truth, Tommie and Lance take on one of the most uncomfortable — and misunderstood — topics in today’s conversations about race: racism, power, and accountability.
This episode goes beyond surface definitions and challenges listeners to think critically about the difference between racism and prejudice, the role of power and systems, and how accountability applies to everyone, including within the Black community.
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