Bewildered
Martha Beck and Rowan Mangan
What if we stopped listening to the controlling voice of the culture around us, and instead learned to reconnect with our own true nature?
Sometimes we aren’t even sure why we feel so bewildered… and discontented… and even downright miserable. Often it’s because we have let the forces of society replace our own instinctive knowledge of what is right for us.
Now, it’s time for us to find that voice again—before it’s too late.
For Martha and Rowan, Job One is to live according to our deepest truths, making the commitment to feeling good even when it means looking weird. We believe that this is how we will reinvent our world—from the inside out— to create a society that’s kinder, more equitable, and more ecologically sustainable than the one we see around us right now.
This is the vision that we laugh and stumble and chat and feel our way towards here on this podcast. Did we mention LAUGH? We want no part of personal and global transformation if it isn’t fun!
So if you struggle to find a place where people who are as idealistic and brokenhearted, as silly and deeply sincere, as bewildered as you are—you might have just arrived.
Welcome!
Sometimes we aren’t even sure why we feel so bewildered… and discontented… and even downright miserable. Often it’s because we have let the forces of society replace our own instinctive knowledge of what is right for us.
Now, it’s time for us to find that voice again—before it’s too late.
For Martha and Rowan, Job One is to live according to our deepest truths, making the commitment to feeling good even when it means looking weird. We believe that this is how we will reinvent our world—from the inside out— to create a society that’s kinder, more equitable, and more ecologically sustainable than the one we see around us right now.
This is the vision that we laugh and stumble and chat and feel our way towards here on this podcast. Did we mention LAUGH? We want no part of personal and global transformation if it isn’t fun!
So if you struggle to find a place where people who are as idealistic and brokenhearted, as silly and deeply sincere, as bewildered as you are—you might have just arrived.
Welcome!
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 2, 2025 • 1h 3min
War of the Worldviews
Have you ever been drawn into conspiratorial thinking? In this Episode 99 of Bewildered, we’re talking about how easy it is to get pulled into conspiracy theories because of a phenomenon called apophenia. It's the tendency to perceive connections or meaningful patterns between unrelated or random things—and it happens to feel delightful. Want to learn more about apophenia, conspiracy theories, fractured worldviews, and how we can all come to our senses? Join us for this episode of the Bewildered podcast! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 19, 2025 • 46min
Your Money or Your Life
Dive into the fascinating exploration of how society conflates money with identity and purpose. Discover the humorous side of transformative hair journeys and how they symbolize deeper personal change. The discussion reveals the addictive nature of the pursuit of wealth and challenges listeners to rethink their relationship with money. With a focus on creativity and community, find out how engaging in artistic endeavors can foster genuine connection and fulfillment, offering a fresh perspective on what truly matters in life.
Mar 5, 2025 • 58min
Clamor and Birdsong
Noise. It’s ever-present in our culture, and often it affects us in ways we don’t even realize. In this episode of Bewildered, we explore how different sounds impact the nervous system—from disrupting sleep to interfering with brain waves to triggering fear in the amygdala—and what we can do to heal. (Hint: Birdsong is a powerful antidote!) Tune in for the full conversation to learn about the physiological and emotional effects of noise and how to regain your equilibrium in an increasingly noisy world. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 19, 2025 • 39min
Stand By for Further Instructions
This is a spicy time in history, and in between bouts of fear, we’ve been thinking about how to navigate through potentially dark and dangerous times. Want to know our go-to strategy? Trusting our intuition! In this episode of Bewildered, we talk about how intuition is heightened during uncertain and chaotic times, and how to recognize the messages your intuition is trying to send you. (Hint: It involves curiosity, synchronicities, and inexplicable joy.) Tune in for the full episode to find out more! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 5, 2025 • 1h 5min
You Have One Missed Call From Destiny
Intuition is like a call from destiny that we often miss because we're always "on the other line" with culture. In this episode of Bewildered, Martha and Ro explore the concept of intuition and how to connect with it amidst all the noise of our cultural conditioning. They talk about how to tell the difference between intuition and anxiety, the reasons we tend to ignore intuition, and how to hang up with culture so you can listen to the messages your intuition is trying to tell you. Don't miss it! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 22, 2025 • 53min
How Not Anxious?
Martha and Ro are back with another episode of Bewildered, and it's a follow-up to their "Why So Anxious?" episode. This time they're talking about how not to be anxious, and why moving beyond anxiety is linked to creativity, your life’s purpose, and building a better society. You'll learn ways to retrain your brain to have a completely different experience of being human in community—and how lowering anxiety can help us all create a more beautiful, more just world together. Give it a listen! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 8, 2025 • 49min
Why So Anxious?
Do you suffer from the odd bit of anxiety? In this Bewildered, Martha and Ro are talking about Martha's new book Beyond Anxiety, which examines the causes of anxiety, its prevalence in our culture, and tried-and-true ways to overcome it. Martha says that moving more activity into the right sides of our brains is the only way to conquer anxiety—and the first step to getting there is curiosity. Tune in to hear more about cultivating curiosity to step out of anxiety and into a life of creativity and calm. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 11, 2024 • 47min
Best of Bewildered: How to Get Started
In this Best of Bewildered episode, Martha and Ro answer a question from listener Josephine, who's trying to understand and overcome her resistance to doing things that are good for her. The culture tells us that if something is good for us, we should just do it! Otherwise, we need to punish ourselves. There's only one problem with that: Punishments don't work. To learn how Martha and Ro use kindness and creativity to get past inertia and move through transitions, be sure to listen to the full conversation! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 27, 2024 • 31min
Best of Bewildered: The Other Butterflies
Martha and Ro have a very special guest on this Best of Bewildered episode…Ro's mum Paula! Paula has a mind-expanding story to tell about the time she followed monarch butterflies on their migratory path and learned that 10% of these butterflies always follow a different path—and for an unexpected reason. Tune in to find out the purpose of these aberrant butterflies' journey, why Martha and Ro relate to them so strongly, and why all paths through life, whether "normal" or divergent, are valid and valuable. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 13, 2024 • 1h 1min
Awkward Moments
Do you ever lie awake, burning with embarrassment about something awkward you said or did? In this episode of Bewildered, Martha and Ro are talking about how those awful, awkward moments (like when your child pulled your pants down in front of the babysitter, or when you unintentionally said something offensive during a big presentation) could be the moments that give you access to personal—and maybe even global—revolution. Find out how by tuning in for this inspiring (and hilarious) conversation! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
