This week, Dan’s back with an update on our makeshift pledge drive. We hear from Noah, a longtime listener who has pledged his support, and Dan makes a case for you all to be like Noah. (If you can.) Would…
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Why Men Fight
If you’re a man, chances are, at some point when you were a boy, a man in your family made a conscious effort to teach you how to properly throw a punch. That was a skill you would need as…
Why Aren’t I Happy? Men and Depression
Men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women, and their depression is more likely to manifest as anger and violence. As this week’s guest, Terry Real, puts it men either feel that they are failing the…
Keeping it 100
Is “keeping it 100” a thing people still say these days? Many eons ago, back in 2015, it meant “to be you, be honest, be true to yourself and the people you love, be unapologetic but respectful at the same…
How Podcasts Can Help Men Improve Their Relationships
Most relationship self-help books are roundly dismissed as being “for women.” And, some guys just aren’t all that into reading anyway—or so “they” say. (We wonder how much of it has to do with the fact that the books, products,…
It’s the First Anniversary of The Man Rules Podcast!
When we started The Man Rules podcast one year ago, we had no idea what we were doing. We knew that we wanted to offer a self-improvement resource for men that went way beyond the whole, “how to get laid,…
The Deep Dive Guys Do It Differently – Episode 49
In this episode of The Man Rules podcast, The Deep Dive Guys (Tim Walsh, Michael Dinneen, and Dan) talk about the ways in which they felt “different” as kids, the consequences, both internal and external, that they experienced for breaking…
Eager to Please – Episode 48
If you’re confused about what women want sexually, it may be because many of them are confused themselves, though through no fault of their own. Most of us, men as well as women, feel confusion about sex and our sexuality,…
Episode 45: Go Coach Yourself!
Happy New Year! And welcome to the annual tradition of making resolutions without much resolve. This year, though, could really be your year. Instead of relying on willpower to achieve your goals, rely on a framework for positive change, like…
Episode 44: Your Presence is a Present
Hurray for the holidays, a time of joy and wonder! You wonder why you put yourself through this shit every year and feel joy when it’s finally over. BAH HUMBUG. Okay–so maybe it’s not that cut and dried. What most…
Episode 43: Dueling with Dualities
“Things can be true on one level, and on another, not true at all. Wisdom is to know how to hear and see on different levels at the same time.” – Richard Rohr Let’s think about the typical life cycle…
Bonus Episode: But I’m Not Sexist
Roy Moore. Harvey Weinstein. Bill Cosby. These are “bad guys,” right? They represent the extreme end of the sexual misconduct spectrum. Most men can easily say they don’t identify with any of these guys. They have never done the things…
Episode 41: Gender Jiu-Jitsu with Dr. Jamie Marich
Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art that “promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend themselves or another against a bigger, stronger, heavier assailant by using proper technique, leverage, and most notably, by taking the fight to the ground.”…
Episode 37: NOT As Seen On TV! Andrew Smiler on how TV Shapes the ‘Average Man’
If you were a social anthropologist and you wanted to understand the norms and values of some ancient society, you’d likely take a look at their cultural artifacts. You’d closely examine their writings, paintings, sculptures, etc., to look for clues…
Practical & Tactical Tips: Don’t F&#k It Up! (Episode 36)
“Fathers be good to your daughters; daughters will love like you do.” John Mayer‘s song “Daughters” — while only slightly less cheesy than “Your Body Is A Wonderland” — hits upon a very real pressure that fathers of daughters around the…
Practical & Tactical Tips: Uncomfortably Numb – Rick Belden On Grief & Loss (Episode 35)
“The child is grown, the dream is gone. I have become comfortably numb.” So many men could relate to that Pink Floyd lyric. Leading what Thoreau called “lives of quiet desperation,” so many of us stuff down our negative feelings day…
Practical & Tactical Tips: Sex Is A Crisis & An Opportunity (Episode 34)
Tinder. Sexting. YouPorn. Oh my! Despite all the ways that sex continues to pervade our culture, research shows that the younger generations are having less actual, in-person sex than you might think. And those having sex might still feel like…
Episode 33: It Ain’t Just About Getting Laid
Man Rule #1: Real men have as much sex as possible whenever possible with as many hot and different chicks as possible with as big of a dick as possible. So, if you are a man, and find yourself craving…
Practical & Tactical Tips: Grow Up, Man! (Episode 32)
Living life in recovery can be challenging on even the best of days. (Of course, the hardest day sober is still better than the best day living under the thumb of addition.) But with the world more on edge than…
Episode 32: Grow Up, Man! Allen Berger on the 12 Tenets of Emotional Sobriety
Level 1 of recovery is the struggle to gain sobriety from the substance or behavior that has taken control of your life. Level 2 of recovery is the struggle to gain real emotional sobriety and balance by gaining humility in our…
Practical & Tactical Tips: The Gift of Desperation (Episode 31)
Addiction may be cunning, baffling, and powerful, but it is also possible. Amid all the onslaught of disturbing statistics about our country’s addiction epidemic, it can be easy to lose sight of the individual rays of hope that personal recovery stories…
Episode 31: The Deep Dive Guys on the Gift of Desperation
People in recovery speak a language that makes a lot of us uncomfortable. In a culture where we’re told repeatedly to put only our best foot forward and treat emotion like it’s an inconvenience that only serves to get in…
Practical & Tactical Tips: When You Need Help Getting Help (Episode 28)
This week, Google suddenly announced that they’d stopped running ads for treatment centers. The recovery world was rocked, but it was welcomed by many as a sign that Google had recognized that shady centers were gaming the system. Now, the…
Episode 29: All in the Fam Damily – Dr. Tian Dayton on Emotional Sobriety and Adult Children of Addicted Families
The day that a child raised in addiction finally becomes an adult and sets out into the world on their own, is the day they finally feel free. Free from the chaos and the pressure and the terror that comes…
Practical & Tactical Tips: Hey Addiction, WTF?! (Episode 27)
People recovering from addiction often like to say that the disease is “cunning, baffling, and powerful.” And although many aspects of addiction and recovery are debatable, we can all probably agree that it’s true. Humans have been suffering from and…
Episode 27: Hey, Addiction! WTF?
Addiction means that you can’t stop; but, some people eventually can. Addiction is a medical condition; but, it’s also a spiritual condition. Addiction is caused by societal and psychological factors and not by the drugs; but, sometimes it is caused…
Episode 26: Self-Love Is So Unmanly! Ross Rosenberg on Narcissism, Addiction, and Self-Love Deficiency in Men
They’re sexy, they’re interesting, and they ignore you. Obviously, they’re your type. Your intense attraction to this person must be love. So, you enter into a relationship. Soon, your dream lover morphs into a bit of a nightmare. They’re a…
Episode 25: I Learned It By Watching You – Dan on the Realities of Addiction & Recovery
Reality can be a real buzzkill. While it’s true that most people can drink alcohol, use prescription pain killers, and even experiment with recreational drugs without becoming addicted, it’s also true that one in seven people in the United States…
Practical & Tactical Tips: An Eyebrow-Raising Approach To Personal Success (Episode 24)
How do you define success? For so long, we’ve been culturally conditioned to think that fame and fortune are the ever-elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but more and more, people are rejecting that framework in…
Episode 24: An Eyebrow-Raising Approach to Personal Success – Jason Hewlett on Personal Integrity and ‘The Promise’
“All the world’s a stage,” and every writer (and/or podcast producer) makes a promise to trot out this tired old Shakespearian cliche every time we’re describing an entertainer who has something to teach us about life. It’s one of our…
Practical & Tactical Tips: The Deep Dive Guys Start Making Cents (Episode 23)
Mo’ money, mo’ problems. It’s more than just a rap lyric! Sometimes it seems like the more you spend, save, and just plain go about your life in a world full of money, the more complicated life can be. But oddly,…
Episode 22: The Deep Dive Guys Start Making Cents! Dan Griffin, Tim Walsh, and Michael Dinneen Talk Money
Folks, do you like a good bargain? Then you’re going to LOVE the deal we’re offering to you, and only you, our best listeners, on this episode of The Man Rules podcast! If you listen now, you’ll get to hear…
Episode 22: The Generational Gender Shift — Jack Myers On Gen Z & Masculinity
Times are changing. Especially in terms of our society’s attitudes about traditional gender roles. For some, times can’t change fast enough. They are eager for a time when we’ll finally be free from the personal and professional limitations that result…
Practical & Tactical Tips: The Games We Play & Escaping Adulthood (Episode 21)
“Adult.” No longer just a noun or an adjective, the word has recently even become a verb, encompassing all of those activities that make adult life so dreary. As in, “I can’t adult today. Please don’t make me adult.” But…
Episode 21: The Games We Play – Escaping Adulthood with Jason Kotecki
In 2016, the word “adulting” was officially introduced in our lexicon when it became a top contender for Oxford Dictionaries Word of The Year. “Adulting” is defined as “the practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult,…
Practical & Tactical Tips: Power, Porn, and Patriarchy (Episode 20)
“In the last ten years especially, there has been a more pro-pornography, feminist, sort of approach to not just pornography but women owning their sexuality,” Dan explains in this week’s episode of The Man Rules podcast, “and that, in many…
Episode 20: Power, Porn, and Patriarchy – Dr. Robert Jensen on Sex & Masculinity
Imagine your life without porn. No, really. Try. What do you think would happen if you did turn off the porn for a while? Would you start to think more about the role that sex plays in your life? Would…
Practical & Tactical Tips: Healing The Mother Wound (Episode 19)
If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother! The late, great Robin Williams put it so well: Sometimes you aren’t even aware of how deeply your experiences with your mother – or lack thereof – could be affecting your life…
Practical & Tactical Tips: Where To Find Help With Anger (Episode 18)
If you find yourself lashing out in ways that you don’t understand and certainly never expected, there’s hope. You don’t have to live that way any more. Dan explores the roots of anger issues — and how to heal them…
Episode 18: What’s Wrong With You? Men & Anger
Hurt people hurt people. Then, they feel ashamed that they hurt people, which makes them hurt more, and then feel more ashamed, which makes them hurt more people. It’s a horrible cycle that has been destroying men and their families…
The Man Rules Podcast – A Recap
For several weeks now, we’ve been bringing you fresh episodes of The Man Rules, a podcast about supporting men through their successes and struggles. What do you think so far? Here’s a quick recap of the core issues we’ve been exploring….
Practical & Tactical Tips: Gay Men & Their Fathers (Episode 16)
To close out Father’s Month, jazz pianist Tim Clausen joined Dan to talk about the specific ways in which gay men negotiate their relationships with their dads. From the pressure of impossible expectations, to the heartbreak of being rejected after…
Episode 14: When His Best Was Not Enough — The Father Wound, with Rick Belden
Your father did the best he could. But, what if his best wasn’t good enough? What if his best still left you ashamed, angry, and grieving, years and years after you stopped living under his roof? What if he was…
Practical & Tactical Tips: Fear Of The Dad You Could Be (Episode 13)
In this episode of The Man Rules podcast, I sat down with author Jeremy Smith for fatherhood tips in an exploration of how dads can make fatherhood an intentional choice — and not just something that happens to them. Modern fatherhood truly can…
Episode 13: Fear Of The Dad You Could Be, with Guest Jeremy Smith
Our grandfathers knew exactly what was expected of them in their roles as fathers: go to work, put food on the table, step in and provide discipline when the kids are especially unruly. But, today, the expectations for dads are…
Episode 5: When Life Busts Your Balls, with Dr. Jon Caldwell
When Dr. Jon Caldwell, a psychiatrist and Medical Director for Meadows Behavioral Healthcare, was a kid he worked at a golf course where his job was to pick up golf balls in the rough and take them back to the…
Episode 4: Breaking the Code of Disconnection with Terry Real
Terry Real was talking about men and intimacy before it was cool. Seriously, this guy has been a thought leader in helping men break out of the bondage of the Man Rules for three decades. If you care about men…
Episode Two: Can We Be Goofy & Still Be All Right? With Dr. Allen Berger
The most interesting thing about Dr. Allen Berger isn’t where he’s been – though he’s definitely been a few places. It’s where he’s come back from. After the traumatic loss of his father at age 11, Allen developed a drinking…