The Art of Manliness

There's probably listeners out there who homeschool their kids using a curriculum that you've developed or bought online. But there's another type of homeschooling that doesn't use a curriculum, and it's called unschooling. It's a fascinating concept in which you have your kids at home, but put them in situations where they need to use problem solving skills and math and other subjects to complete a task at hand. My guest today, Ben Hewitt, has unschooled his two boys, and on the show we talk about how and why they've chosen this lifestyle.

I talk to relationship expert Duana Welch about what science says about when relationships go wrong. We tackle infidelity, porn use, how to break-up, and even how the death of a significant other effects men. Duana and I get into the nitty gritty in this show. You don't want to miss this one.

Several years ago we published an article about famous "mastermind groups" from history. One of them was a group of British scholars called The Inklings. From this group came two of the 20th century's most famous English writers: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. After I first learned about the Inklings, I wanted to dig deeper into this male-only writer's club to find out more about each individual and the group's effect on their respective lives and careers. In The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings, husband and wife team Philip and Carol Zaleski profile the four most prominent members of the Inklings (Lewis and Tolkien, along with Owen Barfield and Charles Williams), how the group started, and how its dynamics changed over its 30-year history.In today's podcast, I talk to Philip and Carol about the history of the Inklings and what we can learn from them about forming our own mastermind groups.

I'm a barbell guy. That's what I do for my strength training. But I know a lot of listeners love bodyweight exercises. You can do it anywhere, it saves you money, and it's incredibly functional. So there are a lot of benefits, but I've never really been able to find a good bodyweight program. But I came across a book called Homemade Muscle by Anthony Arvanitakis which builds periodization into bodyweight programming. He's got an amazing story, which we'll talk about, as well as the nitty-gritty of bodyweights.

In the past 20 years, there's been all kinds of research about declining community life in America. Participation in PTAs, civic clubs, even bowling leagues is on the decline, and Americans don't really know who their neighbors are anymore. My guest today argues that what we're seeing is a transformation in how people organize themselves socially. Why people are doing this, and how it affects our society, is what author Marc Dunkelman ("The Vanishing Neighbor") and I talk about.

Are you an entrepreneur or a manager, and you feel like every day at work you're just putting out fires? Or in your personal life, you go home and it's just crisis after crisis that needs fixing. And so you try to manage this trouble-shooting by getting more efficient at putting out those fires. What if the real answer though is not greater efficiency, but instead a way of looking at your life as a series of systems? That's what today's guest, Sam Carpenter, argues. On the show we talk about his book, Work the System, and how everyone can benefit from systemizing their work and life.

Since I started the site in 2008, I've read a lot of books about men's style. And one of the most fun, engaging, and witty books on the topic I've come across is called Men's Style: A Thinking Man's Guide to Dress. It's by a columnist and novelist named Russell Smith. Today on the show we discuss the philosophy of style, the history of it, why the great men of history were concerned about how they look, and why we should care today. We also get into practical tips on suits, shirts, shoes, etc.

In the past forty years we've seen dramatic changes in the way people date and marry. From the hook-up culture on college campuses to young adults putting off marriage longer and longer, a lot of explanations have been offered that focus on changing values in our country. But my guest today on the podcast argues that perhaps changing demographics has more to do with changing mating patterns in the West. His name is Jon Birger and he's the author of the book Date-onoics: How Dating Became a Lopsided Numbers Game. Today on the podcast Jon and I discuss how changing sex ratios influences everything from delaying marriage to the hook-up culture.

You've probably seen on TV or online the Highland Games: guys in kilts throwing giant logs, tossing hammers over their heads, etc. It's a fascinating strength competition, and one I've long wanted to learn more about and get in touch with my Scottish roots. Today on the show I'm talking with a Highland Games competitor named Matt Vincent. We talk what goes into training, how to get started with events if you're interested, a workout program called The Hate, and much more.

All of us are going to die someday. And we're all going to have loved ones who will die from disease or old age. In fact, some of you listening right now may be dying yourself or watching a loved one die.But the thing is most modern Westerners aren't prepared for the actual event of dying because we've done such a great job cordoning it off from the rest of life. If you're a young person, you've likely never seen a person die because we typically die in hospitals.Consequently, there are lot of myths and misconceptions about the dying process. Also a lot of fear- both for the person dying and those watching them die.But my guest today has made it her career educating people about the dying process and showing people that it's more than a medical event. Her name is Barbara Karnes. She's a hospice nurse and the author of several books about dying and how to bring it back to the natural part of life that it is.Today on the podcast Barbara and I get into what to expect when you're in the twilight of life and how you can make the experience less scary and even more meaningful.