The Art of Manliness

Nancy Sherman, a Georgetown philosophy professor, explores how Stoicism can aid modern soldiers in healing both physically and mentally. She discusses the emotional resilience and personal growth Stoic principles can foster, particularly for those facing trauma. Sherman examines the misconceptions around emotions in Stoicism, the complexities of moral injury, and the challenges soldiers face when reintegrating into civilian life. Her insights highlight the importance of empathy in healing and shed light on stories from her works like 'Afterwar'.

One of my favorite writers is Adam Makos. He has a new book out called Devotion. It's about two men -- one black and one white -- who end up in the Korean War together and become fast friends. In this podcast, Adam and I talk about these two men, as well as why he thinks it's important to continue telling the stories of our war veterans.

Kyle Eschenroeder is an entrepreneur who runs Startupbros.com. Beyond that, he's a guy who reads and thinks deeply, and has contributed a few excellent pieces of content for AoM. In this podcast we talk about one of those popular articles, which was about thriving in uncertainty. We tend to think we have more control over our lives than we really do. So today we talk about tools and techniques to truly thrive when life takes us in unexpected directions.

Edward Slingerland, an author who delves into the blend of Chinese philosophy and neuroscience, offers fascinating insights on achieving goals without excessive effort. He discusses 'wu wei,' the art of effortless action, and contrasts it with the intense striving often seen in the West. Slingerland explains how embracing our weaknesses can lead to strength and shares practical strategies for living spontaneously. The conversation also touches on how trust in human interactions can be enhanced by allowing for more authentic, relaxed behaviors.

Carol Dweck discusses the importance of mindset in success. She explains the difference between growth and fixed mindsets, how they impact relationships and responses to challenges, and offers strategies to shift to a growth mindset for lifelong success.

Every guy at one point or another in his life dreams about being Jason Bourne or James Bond. Lock picking, escaping restraints, evading bad guys, killing bad dudes with an improvised weapon. That's stuff guys like to know even if they'll never have to use it. Well, now you can learn how to do all that cool spy stuff. Navy SEAL Clint Emerson has just published a book called 100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative's Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation. In it, you'll find every cool Jason Bourne skill you'd ever want to know. Today on the podcast, Clint and I discuss the EDC you should have to be prepared, the workout you should do to be a tactical athlete, and skill sets you should acquire to keep you and your loved ones safe. You don't want to miss this one!

In the last decade or so, books, blogs, corporations, and even governments are putting more emphasis on the idea of happiness. On the surface, this sounds great, but our guest today argues that maybe this should give us some pause. William Davies is the author of The Happiness Industry, and makes the case that this focus on happiness may be more about dollar signs than our actual well-being.

Believe it or not, we're coming up on the 20th anniversary of the movie Braveheart. It's a film that fills you with thumos and inspires you. On today's episode, I talk with the man who created the William Wallace we know from that movie. His name is Randall Wallace, a screenwriter, produce, songwriter, and author. His new book is called Living the Braveheart Life: Finding the Courage to Follow Your Heart.

You've heard of the Oregon Trail. You learned about it in elementary or middle school, quite possibly by playing the popular computer game. Despite it being one of largest land migrations in human history, though, you probably don't know a whole lot about the Oregon Trail. Today's guest decided to remedy that by actually crossing the entirety of the trail in a covered wagon and with a team of mules. It's a fascinating conversation that you won't want to miss.

Geoffrey Miller, co-author of 'Mate' with Tucker Max, discusses the science of mating and dating. Topics include building confidence, attraction and dominance, the relationship between wealth and attraction, the importance of social proof, and maintaining long-term relationships.