The Art of Manliness

Fishing has been used as a backdrop in both film and literature for finding the meaning of life and coming-of-age stories (A Rive Runs Through It comes to mind). But these fishing-as-life metaphors often become trite, losing some of their significance.My guest today wanted to write a book about fishing that's not about fishing. He wanted to suss out philosophical and life ideas without making the fishing metaphor trite. And I think he did a darn good job.His name is Mark Kingwell, and in his book Catch and Release, he explores his newfound love of fishing. Within that, he also explores the themes of masculinity, boredom, procrastination, and more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are you an endurance athlete unhappy with your stalled performance? Are you constantly battling aches and pains? Are you running 30 or 40 miles a week, but still can’t get rid of your spare tire around your mid-section?If so, this episode is for you.Today on the show I have Mark Sisson on to talk about his latest book Primal Endurance. We discuss the well-entrenched endurance training myths that many athletes follow that result in sub-par performance and the counter-intuitive programming and dieting protocols you need to follow to break through your performance wall.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We live in a time of uncertainty and complexity. Things are always changing; whether it's business, politics, or life in general, you're having to constantly adapt and make decisions, even when you don't have all the information. This complexity is at its peak during combat, and us civilians are in for a treat today because my guest has gleaned lessons on dealing uncertain situations from his own time in the military.Jocko Willink is a retired Navy SEAL officer who served and led in the Battle of Ramadi. During his time in Iraq, he developed and taught other men how to lead in times of extreme complexity, which led to his book, Extreme Ownership. Today on the show we talk about decision making, self-discipline, and much more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You've probably heard of the great battles fought in Europe and the Pacific during WWII, but did you know that part of WWII was fought just miles off the coast of the United States? And that the men taking part in these battles were civilians?Well, my guest today has published a book about this oft forgotten of WWII history. His name is William Geroux and his book is The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats.Today on the show, William and I discuss the U.S. Merchant Marine and their important role during WWII and why they were targets for German U-boats off the coast of the United States. We also discuss why Mathews County Virginia produced so many merchant mariners during WWII and the family from Mathews County that produced 15 men who took part in the merchant marine war.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are tons of books about how to be happier, how to improve yourself, how to be less angry, etc. These books often tout things you should add to your life to get to where you want. But sometimes the best way to achieve a goal is to actually subtract something from your life, and to stop doing the things that are making you miserable.That's the approach today's guest took in his latest book, How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use. His name is Randy Paterson, and he's a psychologist. Today on the show, we discuss the things he's seen with his patients -- common lifestyle choices and thinking patterns -- that make them miserable, and what you can do to eliminate those things from your life.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You've probably all seen the Dos Equis 'Most Interesting Man in the World' commercials. He goes on great adventures, has tremendous stories to tell, is friends with the rich and famous, etc.The Dos Equis man is a fictional character. But here's the thing: there was a man from 19th century who would put the Most Interesting Man in the World to shame. And you've probably never heard of him. Frederick Russell Burnham was a world-famous scout, took part in multiple wars all around the world, prospected for gold and oil and jewels in the world's roughest environments, and befriended Teddy Roosevelt amongst many other famous men of the era.There's a new book about his life called The Splendid Savage, written by Steve Kemper. Today on the show we discuss Frederick Russell Burnham, including what drove him to take part in all these adventures and what men today can learn from his life.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you're an endurance athlete, you probably experience the wall - that moment in the race when you're pushing yourself really hard and your body just tells you, "Enough. You can't go on." The same can be said for strength trainers too - you're lifting a weight that's been easy before, but now feels too heavy to complete. So you wonder if it's maybe your body telling you you've had enough, and it's time for a rest.But what if that's all in your mind? What if your body can go further and push itself harder? My guest today has written a book that focuses on recent research regarding mind over muscle - how we can push ourselves beyond what we think we're capable of by using a few neurological principles. His name is Matt Fitzgerald, and his book is called How Bad Do You Want It?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you're a dad, or plan on being one someday, you probably have some advice or principles that you'd like to pass on to your children so that they can grow up to be well-adjusted adults. My guest today has not only passed along his wisdom, but compiled it into a couple books. His name is Walker Lamond, and I first had him on the show back in 2009 to discuss his popular book, Rules for My Unborn Son, which lays out style advice, etiquette tips, and all kinds of other principles that he wanted to pass along to his son. On today's show, we talk about how that journey is going with Walker's 8-year-old son.We also talk about his new book, Rules for My Newborn Daughter. We talk about fatherhood, and how it's different for a daughter vs a son, as well as a ton of other dadhood and parenthood topics.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're in the middle of a presidential campaign here in the U.S., and once again commentators, politicians, and reporters are bemoaning the apathy and disengagement of young Americans, but there was a time in American history when young people were the most passionate participants in American democracy. No, it wasn't the 1960s. It was the 1860s.My guest today on the podcast has just published a book about nineteenth century politics, and the energy that young voters brought to the process, and how young people, particularly men in the nineteenth century, looked to politics for a sense of manhood and adult identity during a time of economic and social upheaval.His name is Jon Grinspan, and his book is The Virgin Vote: How Young Americans Made Democracy Social, Politics Personal, and Voting Popular in the Nineteenth Century. On today's episode Jon and I discuss why politics was an essential part of male identity in the nineteenth century, and how a man's first vote was an important rite of passage into manhood during this time. We also get into the atmosphere of campaigns in the nineteenth century America. If you think this current election cycle is unprecedented in its violence, nastiness, and general circus-like environment, wait until you hear about the booze laden, torch lit, midnight campaign barbecues, and the shankings and brawls that happened at the polls during the nineteenth Century, some pretty crazy stuff.After the show make sure you check out the show notes at AOM.IS/VirginVote, where you'll find links to resources, things we mentioned, so you can delve deeper into this topic.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last year I put a garage gym in my house. It's been fantastic, but it's not without its problems. For starters, there's the issue of space. How do you cram in a gym when you have to fit a car in your garage as well? The start up costs for a garage gym are hardly anything to flinch at. How can you save money on equipment without skimping on quality? Which equipment do you actually need? The other issue is just motivating yourself when working out by yourself. How do you motivate yourself to workout when it's just you in your garage and it's dark and 30 degrees outside?My guest today, he has spent his career doing garage gyms and helping people transition to garage gyms. His name is Jared Moon. He's written a lot of content for our site on how to make DIY fitness equipment, like the ever popular DIY prowler. He's got a new book out called Garage Gym Athlete. Today on the podcast, we're going to talk about how to become a garage gym athlete: the pros and cons of garage gyms, the math of garage gyms, the economics of garage gyms, why it might be more affordable than a regular gym, and how to motivate yourself when you're working out by yourself. If you've been thinking about switching over to a garage gym, this podcast might finally push you over the edge.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.