Podcast Suggestion: Art of Manliness

I'm listening to a lot of podcasts because I drive a lot. One of the sites I discovered a long time ago when I was looking at shaving and finally decided to take up shaving with a badger hair brush, a lavender shave soap to make a nice lather, and a Merkur safety razor like my grampa used to use, is Art of Manliness.

I go to the website periodically and read the articles there that catch my attention. They aren't all aimed at me, but all men aren't like me so I get that. The ones on style, for instance... I'm not very stylish or fashionable so those I pretty much skip.

I recently discovered Art of Manliness has podcasts and I really enjoy them. I've been listening to mostly interviews of authors who write books that I would never read because I tend to read escapist fiction and these are books about, here are some topics I've listened to and enjoyed:

• Forces of Character
• The Wonder of Boys With Dr. Michael Gurian
• Level up Your Life
• Improving Strength & Durability With the Kabuki Movement System
• Ancient Roman Honor With Dr. Carlin Barton
• Hard-wiring Your Brain for Happiness with Dr. Rick Hanson

There's a wide variety of topics and authors and ideas presented and they're man-centric. That's not to say they're anti-female. I recently encountered two very good friends of mine who are men around my age (They're between late-30s and mid-40s) who independently of each other started a conversation saying, "I know I shouldn't say this but..." then they went on to talk about something somewhat man-centric. It was pro-male without being anti-female. It's not a zero sum game. It bugged me that they seemed to be apologizing for being male. That's annoying.

One of the things I hear/see is white, CIS-male privilege being figuratively shouted at white males online when we espouse an opinion on a topic that differs from someone who is not born a white male. I get it. My experience will differ from someone who is not a middle aged white males experience. I have the privilege of being who I am in the culture in which we live. I'm not apologizing for that though. Nor do I feel ANYONE should apologize for it.

These podcasts are nice in that they address being a man in today's world and what that means, what it has meant historically, and things we, as men, might find interesting. I enjoy it. I think many people would enjoy it and I recommend it. I think many people would enjoy it and I recommend it to anyone regardless of gender. They interview both male & female authors or scientists about topics on a variety of subjects.