
The Great Unlearn
We grew up in a world we didn’t create. And one idea after the next—whether it was culture or society—we were told how to look, how to feel, and who to be. We were told that if we checked off the “right” boxes (think: career, car, money), we’d feel good, we’d be whole, and—naturally—we’d be set. But, turns out, there’s more to the story. On The Great Unlearn, Cal dives into unlearning and questioning what the world taught us, and—in the process—how to be the truest version of yourself, minus the bullshit. Whether it’s figuring out how to navigate a relationship, dealing with your emotions, diving into spirituality, or just feeling comfortable in your own skin, Cal and friends navigate the choppy waters of what it really takes to unlearn all the ideas we took for granted, and how to be the best version of what, sometimes, can be so hard to be: yourself.
Latest episodes

Aug 12, 2020 • 1h 42min
Preston Smiles | Being Pro Humanity
A force to be reckoned with on the personal growth scene, Preston Smiles is a conscious businessman, family man, experiential speaker, author of Love Louder, Founder of Kaboom Coaching, and Co-founder of The Bridge Method.No matter what “side” of the current revolution you reside, this conversation with Preston is an essential listen. As a badass messenger of love, he shares from his pro-humanity heart to inspire others to tune back into theirs. During this conversation, Preston and I discuss…The difference between caring deeply and trying to carry someone else’s painEmbracing the courage to speak our hearts when we know there may be great resistance.Why it’s not up to us to decide how others express and communicate their pain, anger, and hurt.How to remain deeply compassionate while taking a strong stand.Stifling our innate desire for curiosity with our attachment to being “right”And more...Referenced –Valarie Kaur Speech: https://valariekaur.com/2017/01/watch-night-speech-breathe-push/Connect with Preston –Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonsmiles/Website: https://prestonsmiles.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/questionswithPrestonBook: Love Louder: 33 Ways to Amplify Your LifeConnect with Cal –UnlearnX: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/unlearn-xInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cal.callahan/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegreatunlearnYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thegreatunlearn/Website: https://www.thegreatunlearn.comNewsletter: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/newsletterThis show is produced by Soulfire Productions

Jul 29, 2020 • 1h 19min
Boyd Varty | Allowing Nature’s Wisdom to Teach and Guide Us
I am thrilled to have Boyd Varty back on The Great Unlearn this week! Boyd is a lion tracker, storyteller, life coach, and wildlife activist. Even while surviving many uncertain and life-threatening encounters while growing up on the Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa, he holds that his truest challenge was that of discovering purpose — something he now helps people do all over the world.In this episode, Boyd shares about his recent experience of 40 days and 40 nights in the South African wilderness alone. Like most of us, this pandemic put him in a space that he wanted to resist and brought feelings of uncertainty. but once he embraced the season for what it is, he headed out into the wild and found rich meaning through clarity and stillness. During this conversation Boyd and I discuss...How nature allows stillness, connection to Spirit, and the feeling of pure being.How being in ceremony shows us where we are living based on others programming and allows us to develop our own.Tapping into nature's intelligence reminds us of our own deep knowing.Boyd’s real-time mentoring of Cal as he heads into a 5-day nature retreat (Dieta).And more…REFERENCED IN EP:Enneagram – https://www.enneagraminstitute.com40 Days & 40 Nights Podcast – https://boydvarty.com/about/40-days-40-nights/Adyashanti – https://www.adyashanti.orgWalking With Bears: On Bridges to Earth's New Era by Will Taegel – https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Bears-Bridges-Earths-New-ebook/dp/B07818K172Sacred Ceremony by Steven Farmer – https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Ceremony-Steven-D-Farmer/dp/1561709816Mystic Art Medicine Deck – https://www.mysticartmedicine.com/mystic-art-medicine-deckConnect with Boyd–Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boyd_varty/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boydvartyincWebsite: https://boydvarty.comGet Boyd's Book: https://boydvarty.com/book/the-lion-trackers-guide-to-life/Connect with Cal–Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cal.callahan/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegreatunlearnYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thegreatunlearn/Website: https://www.thegreatunlearn.comNewsletter: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/newsletterUnlearnX: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/unlearn-x

Jul 22, 2020 • 1h 37min
IN-Q | Using Pain to Create Not Destroy
My guest on this episode, IN-Q (short for “In Question”), is an award-winning poet, best-selling author of Inquire Within, multi-platinum songwriter & one of Oprah’s Supersoul 100.He writes to entertain, inspire, and challenge to look deeper into the human experience and ask better questions — which is precisely what he does on this episode of The Great Unlearn.In this episode of The Great Unlearn:How to use our pain as medicine and to create rather than destroyHow growth is incremental and accumulativeThe value of not trying to control the present moment but responding to itHow the mask of pretending gets heavyFollow IN-Q:Instagram: @inqlifeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/INQlifeWebsite: in-q.comGet the book: https://in-q.com/inquirewithin/Follow Cal:IG: https://www.instagram.com/cal.callahan/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCneI0an6qiL7t-7sne9TjhQWebsite: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/Newsletter: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/newsletterThis show is produced by Soulfire Productions

Jul 16, 2020 • 2h 1min
Reserve The Right to Change My Mind, and You Do Too | Solocast
In this solocast, Cal deep dives into the moment he awakened to his hand-me-down belief system and programming. Although incredibly grateful for his journey thus far, he abruptly arrived at the realization that many of his “beliefs” and ways of showing up weren’t actually his at all, they were largely instilled through deep inherited programming and childhood wounds. Since beginning his journey to the core of his being, he finds himself leading more with his heart and less with his mind— a lot more feeling and a lot less “shoulding”.In this episode of The Great Unlearn:Unlocking agreements to free ourselves from self-limiting beliefsWhy KNOWING is greater than KNOWING ABOUTTapping into our playful essence to be in the present momentDeconditioning the idea that we always need to be achievingHonoring our energetic need for physical space, especially within intimate relationshipsEpisode References:The Unlearn Experience — https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/unlearn-xThe Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz — https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878424319/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0Enneagram test — https://tests.enneagraminstitute.comInquire Within by IN-Q — https://in-q.com/inquirewithin/“You Can’t Rush Your Healing” by Trevor Hall — https://open.spotify.com/album/7LInWgnlGzdaGS8neaQoR3?si=hdw07ddNSOi7dff4Sjku2QTrack Your Life with Boyd Varty — https://boydvarty.com/category/podcast/Erick Godsey on TGU — https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/podcast/ep-11-erick-godseyCoffee with the Callahans — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INySmvLECJwEastern Philosophy Card Set — https://www.theschooloflife.com/shop/us/eastern-philosophy/Follow Cal:IG: https://www.instagram.com/cal.callahan/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCneI0an6qiL7t-7sne9TjhQWebsite: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/Newsletter: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/newsletterThis show is produced by Soulfire Productions

Jul 8, 2020 • 2h 33min
Wes Hurt | Sobering Up, Facing Fears & Coming Clean
An entrepreneur, person in recovery, and a man on a mission, Wes founded CLEAN Cause with the commitment of creating a sustainable source of funding to support the fight against the epidemic. He’s an entrepreneur that lost everything, including a multi-million dollar business, because of an addiction to drugs and alcohol. Now, he’s sober and he’s on a mission to help others avoid his history. And as you’re about to find out, he’s a shameless and unfiltered resource.In this episode of The Great Unlearn: The moment Wes stopped running from his pain and lost it allBreaking-through addiction using gratitudeThe paradox of going towards what you’re most afraid of to move away from itAvoidant behaviors & how they inevitably lead us back to fearUnlearning adopted beliefs to find our own pathResources:IG: @cleancauseFacebook: https://facebook.com/cleancausePinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cleancause/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-cause-inc/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleancauseFollow Cal:IG: https://www.instagram.com/cal.callahan/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCneI0an6qiL7t-7sne9TjhQWebsite: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/Newsletter: https://www.thegreatunlearn.com/newsletterThis show is produced by Soulfire Productions

Jul 1, 2020 • 2h 20min
Cory Allen | The Inward Journey.
Author, Podcaster, audio engineer, and meditation teacher, Cory Allen is here to talk about the wonder and flow of life. This belief-shifting conversation challenges perspectives and leads with curiosity.In this episode of The Great Unlearn:How to cultivate curiosity as a catalyst for unlearningEmbracing the challenge of conflicting beliefs“Existential Paralysis” & how to overcome it What music can teach us about the natural flow of lifeThe value of Binaural Beats and how to use them to go inwardResources:IG: @heycoryallenWebsite: Cory-allen.comMeditation: Release Into NowCory’s book: Now Is The WayCal on the Astral Hustle Podcast This show is produced by Soulfire Productions

Jun 23, 2020 • 2h 4min
New Marriage, Same Partner | Cal and Peyton
Peyton and Cal break down, for you, what broke down their relationship. The two discuss what it means to give ourselves what we need so that we can show up fully in relationships.In this episode of The Great Unlearn: The beginning of break down; the ending of a relationship Cal’s experience with healing through psychedelics Choosing our roles in relationships Collaboration over compromise Allowing “versions” of the relationship to end instead of the entire relationship itselfFollow Peyton@ohdeerpeytonhttps://www.peytoncallahan.com/This show is produced by Soulfire Productions

Jun 18, 2020 • 1h 1min
Mehcad Brooks | Unlearning Racism. Pt 2
Mehcad Brooks is a Hollywood actor, talented musician, and a former Calvin Klein model. Recently, he has been prolific on social media during this incredibly challenging period that hit a tipping point with the murder of George Floyd. He’s emerged as a voice of a generation. Mehcad knows his history and has shown love, compassion, honesty as he’s shared his deep pain vulnerably. He’s also started the Church of Anti-Racism on IG, which is currently in the midst of a 21-day anti-racist challenge.The (actual) history of Racism that pre-dates the United States.The invitation during this time to become more aware & take personal responsibility.Why being “colorblind” isn’t the answer & how empathy is.What we’re actually addressing as a country at this time. (Hint: it’s not Racism.)The church of Anti-Racism & the powerful impact it’s making.And more…Follow MehcadIG: @mehcadbrooks @churchofantiracismFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/mehcadbrooksTwitter: @mehcadbrookshttps://www.thegreatunlearn.com/This show is produced by Soulfire Productions

Jun 16, 2020 • 1h 12min
Mehcad Brooks | Unlearning Racism.
Mehcad Brooks is a Hollywood actor, talented musician, and a former Calvin Klein model. Recently, he has been prolific on social media during this incredibly challenging period that hit a tipping point with the murder of George Floyd. He’s emerged as a voice of a generation. Mehcad knows his history and has shown love, compassion, honesty as he’s shared his deep pain vulnerably. He’s also started the Church of Anti-Racism on IG, which is currently in the midst of a 21-day anti-racist challenge.The (actual) history of Racism that pre-dates the United States.The invitation during this time to become more aware & take personal responsibility.Why being “colorblind” isn’t the answer & how empathy is.What we’re actually addressing as a country at this time. (Hint: it’s not Racism.)The church of Anti-Racism & the powerful impact it’s making.And more…Follow MehcadIG: @mehcadbrooks @churchofantiracismFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/mehcadbrooksTwitter: @mehcadbrookshttps://www.thegreatunlearn.com/This show is produced by Soulfire Productions

Jun 11, 2020 • 1h 28min
Luke Ryan | Exposing Corruption in the Justice System & Unpacking White Privilege
Today’s guest, is an old college buddy of mine…when I say old, I mean over 25 years ago. Today I welcome on Luke Ryan to the Great Unlearn. In this Podcast Overturning 15,000 criminal convictions (featured on Netflix's, How to Fix a Drug Scandal (https://www.netflix.com/watch/80233339?source=35) ) With racial injustice, silence is not neutral. How to identify and move past "white fragility." The corruption of the justice system and the Attorney General’s gross misconduct The gift of clarity that sobriety gives. The corruption of the justice system & how Luke prevailed in the face of the Attorney General's misconduct. Follow Luke: Luke’s Documentary: How to Fix a Drug Scandal (https://www.netflix.com/watch/80233339?source=35) This show is produced by Soulfire Productions (http://soulfireproductionsco.com/)