Jon Macaskill and Will Schneider: Men Talking Mindfulness: Mental, Physical, & Emotional Fitness to Elevate Performance and Resilience for Leaders and Teams Under Pressure!

Jiu-Jitsu World Champion At 64: David Meyer On Taming The Ego And Writing Your Next Chapter

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

David Meyer was one of the first Americans ever to earn a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He’s an eleven-time world champion, he holds the Coral belt, and he turns 64 this month — and still trains seven seven-minute rounds against men half his age. He’s also the co-founder and former CEO of Adopt-a-Pet.com, and now runs Food System Innovations. When Will asks what keeps him going, the answer has nothing in it to buy: hydrate, protect your sleep, cycle what you train so something is always recovering. His line on discipline reframes the whole thing — it’s easy for him to train today because he trained yesterday.

Then Jon asks about ego, and David draws a distinction worth the whole hour: ego isn’t something to get rid of, because it’s your identity. It’s something to tame. He covers the deathbed test, the paradox that the only way to improve is to train against people who beat you, and what he tells himself when he gets wound up — the mountains are laughing. And when Jon describes being introduced at parties as “my friend the Navy SEAL” rather than as John, David doesn’t tell him to let it go. He tells him to expand it.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
1. Why longevity has no cheat code, and what gets built instead by an ordinary day repeated
2. How David trains and recovers at 64 — cycling muscle groups, protecting sleep, and giving stiffness the time it now needs
3. Why ego is not the enemy, and what taming it looks like in the moment — including the deathbed test and “the mountains are laughing”
4. The paradox of competition: the way to get better is to train with people who beat you, and the way to win more is to care less about winning
5. What happens to a man when the title goes — and why expanding an identity beats letting one go

CONNECT WITH DAVID MEYER
• The Ageless Warrior Lab Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ageless-warrior-lab/id1840239491
• Food System Innovations: https://www.fsi.org
• His bio and background: https://www.fsi.org/david-meyer
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agelesswarriorlab/

STAY CONNECTED WITH MTM
• Join the MTM community — text MTM to 33777
• Website: mentalkingmindfulness.com
• Take our Free Assessment - https://focusnowtraining.com/assessment-page
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• Work with us / speaking inquiries: focusnowtraining.com/contact

Produced by Robert Lopez: https://cratesaudio.com

How Loneliness & Poor Sleep Control Your Cravings | Dr. Jason Linder, Trauma Therapist

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 08:30:00 GMT

Most men who eat when they are already full have decided the problem is willpower. Dr. Jason Linder spends this episode taking that explanation apart and handing back something more useful.

Jason is a bilingual trauma and relationship therapist in San Diego, an EMDR Certified clinician and EMDRIA-Approved Consultant, and an adjunct professor at Alliant International University. In his clinical experience, almost every addictive pattern he has treated — substance or process — sits on top of two things: not enough high-quality human connection, and unresolved past experience that still has a pull on the present. The quantity of relationships is beside the point. One person can bring grief, vulnerability and overwhelm to change the picture.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

Why compulsive eating sits on top of connection and unresolved experience rather than a lack of discipline
The three things most men were never given permission to bring to anyone — grief, vulnerability and overwhelm — and what it costs to carry them alone
How short sleep raises hunger signalling, and why evening cravings tilt toward sugar, salt and fat
How to tell nutritional hunger from emotional hunger, and what the emotional kind is actually asking for
What urge surfing is, plus four small mechanics that change a meal: chew fully, set the utensil down, no screens, stop earlier in the evening

CONNECT WITH DR. JASON LINDER
• Alliant International University faculty page: https://www.alliant.edu/faculty/jason-linder
• Writing at Psychotherapy.net: https://psychotherapy.net/blog/author/jason-linder-lmft
• Therapy practice — San Diego, California clients only: https://dr-jason-n-linder.clientsecure.me
• Instagram — @drjasonnlinder
• Linkedin — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-n-linder-psyd-8871a68b/

Take our FREE 5-minute Assessment
https://focusnowtraining.com/assessment-page

STAY CONNECTED WITH MTM
• Join the MTM community — text MTM to 33777
• Website: mentalkingmindfulness.com
• Focus Now Training: focusnowtraining.com
• Awareness to Action program: focusnowtraining.com/a2a
• Work with us / speaking inquiries: focusnowtraining.com/contact

Produced by Robert Lopez: https://cratesaudio.com

Operator Syndrome: Dr. Chris Frueh on the Hegseth Memo and What Actually Heals

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

You do not have to have kicked in a door overseas for this conversation to land. Training alone carries a heavy physiological burden and the injuries it leaves behind have a name.

Dr. Chris Frueh is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii–Hilo with more than 30 years working alongside combat veterans, special operators, contractors, and first responders. He was lead author on the 2020 medical paper that coined the term “operator syndrome,” and his book of the same name is written for operators and their families rather than for clinicians. Dr. Mark Gordon introduced him to Jon, and this episode pick s up exactly where the Gordon conversation left off. Chris explains what operator syndrome actually is and how it differs from PTSD, gives the fullest public account we’ve heard of what Secretary Hegseth’s July 15 announcement and follow-up memo actually said, and lays out a genuinely hopeful recovery path — starting with tests almost anyone can get. As he puts it: this is not a life sentence of horrible misery.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
1. What operator syndrome is — and why PTSD is only one possible piece of it
2. How the same symptoms get called depression when the real driver may be hormones, sleep, or inflammation
3. What the Hegseth July 15 announcement and one-page memo actually said — including the context most coverage missed
4. The first moves in a recovery plan: hormone and cardiometabolic panels, a sleep study, and lowering inflammation
5. Why bringing your partner into the process changes the outcome — and how to start that conversation

More about Dr. Chris Frueh:
1. Website: https://www.chrisfrueh.com
2. Book: Operator Syndrome (Ballast Books) — available on Amazon and via his website
3. The original 2020 Operator Syndrome paper is free to download from chrisfrueh.com
4. Instagram: @drchrisfrueh

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Produced by Robert Lopez https://www.cratesaudio.com/

The Four Questions: Vaisesika Dasa on Attention, Purpose, and the Power of Service

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Out of every punctuation mark in every language, Vaisesika Dasa argues the question mark is the most powerful. Why, because a question is a hook that pulls the answers already around you closer.

Vaisesika Dasa left an ordinary path at 15 to become a monk, chasing questions most people never stop to ask. He has spent his life studying a traditional line of Vedic teaching and translating the Bhagavad Gita into something genuinely usable for professionals and seekers in the modern world. His book, The Four Questions: A Pathway to Inner Peace, distills it into four questions anyone can carry: Where am I investing my attention right now? What is the lesson? What is my purpose? And how can I be of service? In this conversation with Jon and Will, he makes the case that attention is our only real asset, that life is a schoolhouse rather than a bed, and that the fastest way to feel connected to your own life is to serve something beyond it.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
1. Why your attention is your most valuable asset — and how to get a real return on it
2. The one-question practice that pulls you back into the moment when you drift
3. How to turn setbacks into lessons by changing the question you ask
4. A simple exercise for getting clear on your purpose and writing your own personal constitution
5. The hierarchy of service — and why serving out of love outperforms serving out of fear or gain

More about Vaisesika Dasa:
1. Book: The Four Questions: A Pathway to Inner Peace — https://www.thefourquestionsbook.com
2. Website: https://www.vaisesikadasa.com
3. Published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust — also available on Amazon

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Does your company need help, or would you like to reduce safety incidents??
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Produced by Robert Lopez https://www.cratesaudio.com/

How Howard Behar Overcame Depression and Realized Asking for Help is Our Biggest Strength

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Howard Behar helped grow Starbucks from 28 stores to more than 15,000 and at 80, he found himself in a treatment center for depression.

Howard is the former president of Starbucks North America and the founding president of Starbucks International, a longtime advocate of servant leadership, and the author of It’s Not About the Coffee and The Magic Cup. He returns to Men Talking Mindfulness for one of the most candid conversations we’ve had: what depression actually felt like in his body, why acknowledging it was the hardest and most important step, what treatment really looked like (including the setback when he thought he was ready to go home), and what keeps him well now. His message is direct and hopeful.

Depression is a sickness, not a weakness, nobody is beyond its reach, and people around you genuinely want to help if you let them. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
1. Why depression is a physical illness as much as a mental one — and what it felt like in his chest
2. Why acknowledging it was the hardest step, and what changed the moment he did
3. What treatment actually looked like, including the setback that taught him he wasn’t done yet
4. The two-week marker: when ongoing symptoms are a signal to reach out rather than wait it out
5. What keeps him well now — ongoing counseling, real routine, and letting people in

More about Howard Behar:
1. Website: http://howardbehar.com/
2. Books: It’s Not About the Coffee and The Magic Cup — available on Amazon
3. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-behar-24ba274/
4. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hpbehar
5. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)

Take our Awareness to Action COURSE (A2A)
12 modules structured curriculum on attention, presence, practices & performance — plus an inspiring community built in for connection.
https://focusnowtraining.com/a2a-course

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Join our free weekly Substack newsletter → Click HERECheck out our MTM Website to see what else we are up too! https://mentalkingmindfulness.com/

GET FOCUSED!!
Does your company need help, or would you like to reduce safety incidents??
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Produced by Robert Lopez https://www.cratesaudio.com/

Hegseth's Testosterone Plan: A Doctor Who Treats Veterans Responds | Dr. Mark Gordon

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT

The average man today is walking around with meaningfully less testosterone than his grandfather had at the same age — and the fix the military is reaching for may be aimed at the wrong target.

Dr. Mark Gordon returns to Men Talking Mindfulness for his third appearance to unpack the quiet war on male hormones. He’s a pioneer of hormone-and-brain medicine, Medical Director of the Warrior Angel Foundation, and featured in the documentary Quiet Explosions. This episode centers on a live policy moment: a Pentagon directive associated with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would screen service members over 30 for low testosterone and offer TRT, with the goal of a more capable, resilient force. Dr. Gordon shares the good news underneath the headline — the goal is right, and the biology is fixable — while making a clinical case that simply injecting testosterone is the wrong target, because it shuts down the body’s own ability to produce it. Jon and Will dig into what actually drives low T, why everyday ibuprofen may be quietly part of the problem, and the root-cause path that restores a man’s own hormone engine.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
1. Why the average man today carries far lower testosterone than his grandfather did — and what’s driving the decline
2. The Pentagon’s proposed directive (tied to Secretary Hegseth) to screen service members over 30 for low T and offer TRT — and Dr. Gordon’s clinical case for a smarter target
3. How everyday NSAIDs like ibuprofen (“vitamin M”) can quietly interrupt the brain’s signal to make testosterone — and how to work around it
4. Why blast and TBI exposure can leave blood testosterone looking “normal” while brain hormone production is devastated — and why an injection can’t reach that
5. The root-cause approach that restores your own production — pulsed clomiphene, calming inflammation and cortisol — instead of shutting your system down

More about Dr. Mark Gordon:
1. Educational site: https://www.tbihelpnow.org
2. Store (10% first-time discount, funds veteran treatment): https://www.millenniumhealthstore.com
3. Neurosteroid hormone paper — available on his website and Instagram
4. Documentary: Quiet Explosions: Healing the Brain — featuring Dr. Gordon and the Warrior Angel Foundation
5. Book: Peptides for Health — available via millenniumhealthstore.com

(00:00) - Cold open
(01:18) - Welcome to Men Talking Mindfulness
(01:27) - The 60-second version: why testosterone is falling
(02:11) - Meet Dr. Mark Gordon
(03:26) - One-breath grounding practice
(04:04) - Hormones 101: what the endocrine system does
(06:14) - What disrupts your hormones
(10:15) - 'Vitamin M': the military's ibuprofen habit
(10:58) - How ibuprofen shuts down the testosterone signal
(12:02) - Selenium and Brazil nuts: reversing the damage
(16:13) - The Pentagon's TRT directive - and Mark's objection
(17:10) - What ten years of veteran data shows
(19:43) - What an 'optimal' testosterone level really is
(21:39) - Fertility, Clomid and dosing mistakes
(24:32) - Case file: Quiet Explosions
(27:38) - Hormones and psychedelic-assisted therapy
(30:53) - The brain's own pharmacy
(36:10) - Breaking the NSAID wall
(38:22) - Brain injury, LH and reading the labs
(42:34) - Inflammation, pain and peroxynitrite
(44:20) - What a listener can do without a military-grade panel
(47:31) - Reversing MS: Tim's story
(50:50) - First steps for a new patient - and what it costs
(53:59) - Closing thoughts and where to find Dr. Gordon

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

12 modules on attention, presence & performance. Work at your own pace plus a community built for Inspiration and connection.

1. www.focusnowtraining.com/a2a-Course

JOIN US IN PERSON — Future Events and Retreats.

1. Live in-person event: Warrior Defined.
We will be in Charlotte, NC, September 25, 2026 more info HERE:

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Produced by Robert Lopez | https://www.cratesaudio.com/

The Barbarian in You: Ed Hinman on Vigor, Wonder, Fellowship, and Trusting Your Own Heart

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT

The parts of you that feel most alive — the vigor, the wonder, the real friendship — aren’t gone. They’re just waiting for you to make a little room for them again.

Ed Hinman is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, an eight-year Marine Corps veteran, and an executive protection specialist at Gavin de Becker & Associates — who left a paved path to chase what he loved, earned a master’s in history, and turned his writing into a career. His book, The Barbarian in You, is built on three pillars every man can reclaim: vigor (physical effort and aliveness), wonder (awe, imagination, meaning), and fellowship (real male connection). In this episode, Ed joins Jon and Will to make a genuinely hopeful case: living well doesn’t take a blown-up life or heroic willpower — it takes intention, a willingness to be the fool, and the courage to trust your own heart. Just showing up, he reminds us, is ninety percent of it.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
1. The three pillars of a life that flourishes — vigor, wonder, and fellowship — and how to build more of each
2. How to make real friendships as a grown man (Ed started a book club that’s thrived for 13 years)
3. How to tell a genuine calling from ego — and the simple litmus test that reveals it
4. Why filling your own cup lets you give from the overflow, not the reservoir
5. How to move through dark seasons — reach for your people, and remember you don’t have to go alone

More about Ed Hinman:
1. Website and Book - https://www.barbarianinyou.com/
2. Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ed_hinman/
3. Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@edwardhinmanbarbarian

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

12 modules on attention, presence & performance. Work at your own pace plus a community built for Inspiration and connection.

1. www.focusnowtraining.com/a2a-Course

JOIN US IN PERSON — Future Events and Retreats.

1. Live in-person event: Warrior Defined.
We will be in Charlotte, NC, September 25, 2026 more info HERE:

Or mentalkingmindfulness.com

GET MORE FROM MTM:

Text MTM to 33777 — free weekly newsletter

1. Subscribe: mentalkingmindfulness.com

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Produced by Robert Lopez | https://www.cratesaudio.com/

Pain Is a Doorway: Alexander Love on Forgiving His Father’s Killer, Turning Toward What Hurts, and Why Being a Good Man Takes Courage

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT

In 1998, Alexander Love’s father was murdered. Years later, he sat down — on Zoom — with the man who did it. And what he found there was not what anyone expected.

Alexander Love is an acupuncturist, developmental coach, and senior faculty at the Newfield Network, where he created the Lumina Process — an integrative approach to shadow work weaving together Eastern wisdom, Integral theory, parts work, and polarity work. His TEDx talk is titled “How Embracing Pain Creates a Legacy of Love,” and his forthcoming book, the Evolutionary Gestures Trilogy, opens with the story of his father’s murder and the restorative justice dialogue he pursued with the man convicted of it. In this solo conversation with Will (Jon was away), Alexander makes a radical, gentle case: pain is not something to escape but a doorway to walk through — and the courage to turn toward it is what actually makes a good man.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:

1. Why pain is a doorway, not a problem to eliminate — and what opens when you turn toward it
2. The restorative justice dialogue: forgiveness, and why “hero and villain” falls apart on contact with a real human
3. The belief that human beings are fundamentally good — even the man who took his father
4. The three-step practice: turn toward, locate the sensation in the body, and lovingly embrace it
5. Why the cultural story that “real men feel no pain” is a marketing myth — and being a good man takes the opposite

More about Alexander Love:
1. Website: alexanderlove.org
3. TEDx talk: “How Embracing Pain Creates a Legacy of Love” — search on YouTube
4. Newfield Network (9-month coach & personal transformation training): https://www.newfieldnetwork.com

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

12 modules on attention, presence & performance. Work at your own pace plus a community built for Inspiration and connection.

1. www.focusnowtraining.com/a2a-Course

JOIN US IN PERSON — Future Events and Retreats.

1. Live in-person event: Warrior Defined.
We will be in Charlotte, NC, September 25, 2026 more info HERE:

Or mentalkingmindfulness.com

GET MORE FROM MTM:

Text MTM to 33777 — free weekly newsletter

1. Subscribe: mentalkingmindfulness.com

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Produced by Robert Lopez | https://www.cratesaudio.com/

Why Asking for Help Early Is the Whole Game — Dr. Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, ER Psychiatrist

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT

The crisis almost never arrives all at once. It builds — quietly, gradually — and then one day, people break.

Dr. Adjoa Smalls-Mantey has stood in two of the most extreme places a human can be. As an emergency psychiatrist in New York City, she sits with people at the absolute edge of crisis. Off the clock, she looks for her own edge on the sides of mountains —. A physician-scientist trained at Oxford and Columbia with a PhD in HIV immunology, an award-winning author, and a national mental health policy voice, she joins Jon and Will to talk about what actually brings people into the ER, why economic stress is now hitting the middle class and young adults, and the single lesson the mountains taught her that changes everything: ask for help early.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

What gets in the way when we need to ask for help?
The most common crises that bring people to the psychiatric ER — and how the demographics are shifting
Why economic stress is now breaking middle-class professionals and young adults who can’t find work
Crises build gradually, then people break — and why to call 988 and ask for help early
What mountaineering taught her about asking for help: inexperience delays it, and delay costs the whole team
Put your own mask on first, ask the right person, and keep the ask time-limited

More about Dr. Adjoa Smalls-Mantey:

1. Instagram & Youtube: doctoradjoa

2. Children’s book: Anjali the Brave (All About Vaccines) — on Amazon

3. New York Mental Health Foundation — launching soon

4. New York County Psychiatric Society (branch of the American Psychiatric Association) — Dr. Smalls-Mantey is immediate past president

5. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

12 modules on attention, presence & performance. Work at your own pace plus a community built for Inspiration and connection.

1. www.focusnowtraining.com/a2a-Course

JOIN US IN PERSON — Future Events and Retreats.

1. Live in-person event: Warrior Defined.
We will be in Charlotte, NC, September 25, 2026 more info HERE:

Or mentalkingmindfulness.com

GET MORE FROM MTM:

Text MTM to 33777 — free weekly newsletter

1. Subscribe: mentalkingmindfulness.com

2. FNT: focusnowtraining.com

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1. focusnowtraining.com/contact

Produced by Robert Lopez | https://www.cratesaudio.com/

Male Loneliness Epidemic, and How Emotional Intelligence can help men Connect. - Dr. J.J. Kelly

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT

One of the biggest reasons why many men are suffering with loneliness is their lack of emotional intelligence and emotional literacy.

Dr. J.J. Kelly, the Punk Rock Doc, is a clinical psychologist who runs a practice called The Unorthodox. She is the author of the Holy Shit book series and recently wrote a piece for Vice on why men are so damn lonely.

In this returning appearance, she joins Jon and Will to make a blunt, funny, and genuinely useful case: the male loneliness epidemic is about emotional illiteracy. The good news is that emotional intelligence is a set of skills anyone can learn if they are willing to do the work. This common challenge stems from limited opportunities to develop these vital skills earlier in life.

Fortunately, emotional intelligence and emotional literacy are abilities anyone can strengthen through consistent practice. Men who cultivate these capacities gain the tools to identify their feelings, communicate with honesty, and form authentic connections. This growth supports men's mental health and creates space for deeper friendships and brotherhood. Mindfulness and emotional awareness practices further enhance resilience and a sense of belonging, leading to richer relationships, greater purpose, and happier, healthier lives.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:
1. Why emotional illiteracy — not circumstance — is the root of male loneliness
2. Insight is not a skill: why reading every book changes nothing until you practice
3. Name it to tame it: validation and acceptance before change (the backbone of DBT)
4. The values exercise: behaving according to your values even when you’re activated
5. Eating your shit sandwich with dignity, and why courage rarely backfires

More about Dr. J.J. Kelly:
1. Website: https://www.drjjkelly.com
2. TikTok: large free-content library — search “Dr. J.J. Kelly”
3. Get Real Self-Study: 8-week emotional intelligence course — via drjjkelly.com
4. Books: the Holy Shit series (incl. the loneliness book with the “note to men,” and the forthcoming Holy Shit I Think I’m In Love) — on Amazon
5. Gifted Misfits: her program in book form (most affordable entry point) — via drjjkelly.com
6. Vice article on male loneliness — https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-psychologist-has-a-blunt-theory-about-whats-really-driving-the-male-loneliness-epidemic/

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

12 modules on attention, presence & performance. Work at your own pace plus a community built for Inspiration and connection.

1. www.focusnowtraining.com/a2a-Course

JOIN US IN PERSON — Future Events and Retreats.

1. Live in-person event: Warrior Defined.
We will be in Charlotte, NC, September 25, 2026 more info HERE:

Or mentalkingmindfulness.com

GET MORE FROM MTM:

Text MTM to 33777 — free weekly newsletter

1. Subscribe: mentalkingmindfulness.com

2. FNT: focusnowtraining.com

BRING FNT TO YOUR TEAM:

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Produced by Robert Lopez | https://www.cratesaudio.com/

Why Men Break When the Intimacy Stops: Dr. Celeste Holbrook on the Desire Gap, Purity Culture, and How to Fix It

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT

What if the reason intimacy carries so much weight for men is that it’s the only place we’ve been given permission to be fully human?

Dr. Celeste Holbrook is a sexologist with a PhD in health education and thirteen years of practice working with couples. Her book, Missionary Position: A Slightly Irreverent Guide to Sex After Purity Culture, helps people rebuild their relationship with their own bodies after being taught to fear them. In this episode, she joins Jon and Will for one of the most direct conversations we’ve had about why men struggle to talk about intimacy, what purity culture actually did to boys, why rejection lands as a rejection of self, and what changes when men have more than one place to experience their own emotions.

IN THIS EPISODE:
1. How purity culture shaped men differently than women — and what it taught boys about their own bodies
2. Why intimacy becomes the only sanctioned outlet for male emotion — and the cost of that
3. The desire gap: why every couple has one, and how to negotiate it without resentment
4. Why a no can land as a rejection of self, and the work required on both sides
5. Focus on what you want to feel, not what you want to do — the reframe that changes everything

More about Dr. Celeste Holbrook:
1. Website: https://www.drcelesteholbrook.com
2. Book: Missionary Position: A Slightly Irreverent Guide to Sex after Purity Culture - available on Amazon and her website. Don't forget to check out her book club!

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

12 modules on attention, presence & performance. Work at your own pace plus a community built for Inspiration and connection.

1. www.focusnowtraining.com/a2a-Course

JOIN US IN PERSON — Future Events and Retreats.

1. Live in-person event: Warrior Defined.
We will be in Charlotte, NC, September 25, 2026 more info HERE:

Or mentalkingmindfulness.com

GET MORE FROM MTM:

Text MTM to 33777 — free weekly newsletter

1. Subscribe: mentalkingmindfulness.com

2. FNT: focusnowtraining.com

BRING FNT TO YOUR TEAM:

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Produced by Robert Lopez | https://www.cratesaudio.com/

Why Can't I Focus? Janel Penaflor on the Real Science Behind Focus, Your Nervous System, and Why Stillness Is the Key

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT

Trying harder to focus is making it worse. And there’s a reason for that.

There is a very intimate relationship between your body and your mind. It's actually the health and harmony of your body that determines the state of your mind. Once you know this, you change the game on what focusing is and then how to actually get back to focusing on what matters.

So we brought in Janel Penaflor to help us understand these intricacies. Janel has spent thirty years investigating why trained, capable people stop seeing the thing right in front of them — inside oil and gas plants, nuclear facilities, aviation systems, and chemical operations. What she found changed how she understands focus entirely.

In this episode, Janel joins Jon and Will to break down The real science behind focus, the lies have been told about focus and practices you can use every day to remain focused.

IN THIS EPISODE, you will learn:
1. The focus lie: why trying harder to focus makes it worse
2. The prefrontal cortex as a battery — how it drains and what depletes it fastest
3. The polyvagal ladder: where most people are living and how to come back down
4. Why your body controls your brain more than your brain controls your body
5. The default mode network and why stillness is where the deepest work actually happens

More about Janel Penaflor:
1. Website: https://www.safetysenseinc.com
2. Books: Search “Janel Penaflor” on Amazon for her full catalog
3. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janel-penaflor-09654119/

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Dr. Mark Gordon on Peptides & the Science Behind Them: Brain Repair, Hormones, and Safety

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT

Everyone is talking about peptides. Dr. Mark Gordon has been developing and proving the science behind them for 25 years.

This man is the authority on peptides!
As a physician, researcher, and the Medical Director of the Warrior Angel Foundation for over a decade, Dr. Gordon has treated thousands of veterans, first responders, and athletes with neuroinflammation-driven conditions: TBI, PTSD, depression, cognitive decline. He’s appeared six times on the Joe Rogan Experience and advises the Clinical Peptide Society on neuropeptides. His new book, Peptides for Health, is the clearest map yet for understanding what peptides actually do and how to use them safely. In this episode, Dr. Gordon joins Will for a wide-ranging conversation on peptide basics, the brain after trauma, why men are literally rusting from the inside, and the one thing that kills the effectiveness of everything.

IN THIS EPISODE You’ll Learn:

-What a peptide actually is — and why they’re not the cure-all some people claim

-How to use peptides safely and effectively

-How neuroinflammation after TBI creates a cascade that drives PTSD, depression, and anxiety

-Growth hormone secretagogues: why stimulating your own production is better than replacing it

-How to know if peptides are right for you — and why quality is non-negotiable

More about Dr. Mark Gordon:

-Educational website: https://www.tbihelpnow.org

-Store (10% first-time discount): https://www.millenniumhealthstore.com

60% of proceeds from store go into veteran and first responder treatment funding
Instagram: @drmarkgordon

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Hostage Negotiation: Make Someone Feel Heard and Everything Changes: Derek Gaunt on Tactical Empathy

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT

A man walked into a room with a gun, a grievance, and nothing left to lose. The person who talked him down had spent 20 years learning one thing: the moment you make someone feel understood, the whole situation changes.

Meet Derek Gaunt; he spent 29 years in law enforcement, 20 of those on hostage negotiation teams in the DC metro area. Now an instructor and expert coach at the Black Swan Group — Chris Voss’s firm — Derek brings the same tactical empathy that resolved life-or-death standoffs into every boardroom, difficult conversation, and parenting moment he trains. He’s the author of Ego Authority Failure and the newly released Fight Less, Win More — a practical companion to Never Split the Difference. In this episode, Derek joins Jon and Will to break down what tactical empathy really is, why your tone does 13 times more work than your words, and how to get more of what you want by getting people to say no.

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. What tactical empathy actually is — and why 95% of people aren’t getting it anywhere

2. No-oriented questions: why asking for no gets you more than pushing for yes

3. The three levels of listening — and which one most people are stuck in

4. The three voices: accommodator, late-night FM DJ, and the BISS voice to never use

5. The blue flame, ego authority failure, and why rapid promotion creates toxic leaders

More about Derek Gaunt:

1. Website: https://www.blackswanltd.com

2. Book: Ego, Authority, Failure: Using Emotional Intelligence Like a Hostage Negotiator to Succeed as a Leader (2nd Edition) — on Amazon and blackswanltd.com

3. Book: Fight Less, Win More: How Master Negotiators Influence Hearts, Minds, and Deals (co-authored with Jonathan B. Smith, foreword by Chris Voss) — on Amazon

4. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-gaunt-2943a824/

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The Ultimate Superfood NASA Endorsed and You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: Dr. Catharine Arnston on Algae, Energy & Longevity

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT

What if everything you’ve been taking to boost your energy, sharpen your focus, and fuel your body was covered by one single food?

Dr. Catharine Arnston discovered algae sixteen years ago while researching how to help her sister heal from breast cancer, and it changed the entire direction of her life. NASA has endorsed algae as a complete food for space travel. The United Nations has called it one of the greatest solutions to human nutrition on Earth. Now 72, with a PhD earned last year and zero medications or chronic disease, Catharine joins Jon and Will to break down exactly how spirulina and chlorella work in the body, from mitochondrial energy and testosterone to heavy metal detox and why men, specifically, are prone to a problem most have never heard of: cellular rust.

As an algae nutrition expert, Catharine walks through the spirulina and chlorella benefits that define these algae superfoods, starting with mitochondrial health and its role in fueling cellular energy in men's nutrition. She explains how antioxidants for men neutralize free radicals, easing inflammation and testosterone disruption, while nitric oxide and blood flow support men's hormone health and performance. For men over 40, whole food supplements like ENERGYbits deliver longevity nutrition through high fiber content that strengthens gut health, complementing a Keto lifestyle. Catharine also details how algae supports heavy metal detox, binding toxic metals for gentle clearance, and positions itself as a natural energy supplement built on decades of research into cellular vitality and aging well.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

1. Why mitochondria are the real power plant behind energy, testosterone, and brain fog

2. Spirulina vs. chlorella: nourishment in, toxins out, and why men need both

3. The connection between nitric oxide, blood flow, and male performance

4. Why men accumulate stored iron — and how that quietly damages the heart and brain over time

5. Why most supplements fail to get absorbed, and what makes whole-food nutrition different

More about Dr. Catharine Arnston:

1. Website: https://www.energybits.com

2. Discount Code: MTM for 20% off sitewide, no expiration

3. Instagram (brand): https://www.instagram.com/energybits

4. Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/catharinearnston

5. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharinearnston

6. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/energybits

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

12 modules on attention, presence & performance. Work at your own pace plus a community built for Inspiration and connection.

1. www.focusnowtraining.com/a2a-Course

JOIN US IN PERSON — Future Events and Retreats.

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We will be in Charlotte, NC, September 25, 2026 more info HERE:

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Produced by Robert Lopez | https://www.cratesaudio.com/

What the Manosphere Really Is w/ Elliot Hulse; Is the Netflix Documentary all Propaganda?

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT

What is the manosphere, and why are young men gravitating towards it?

Elliott Hulse has been on YouTube since 2007. With over one billion views across his channels and 2.4 million subscribers, he’s been mentoring men longer than most of the manosphere’s biggest names have had smartphones. He was filmed for Louis Theroux’s Netflix documentary on the manosphere — three hours of footage with his family that was cut to seconds. In this episode, Elliott sits down with Will to break down what the manosphere gets right, where it goes wrong, the propaganda backed into the Netflix documentary, and what young men actually need.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and beliefs expressed in this episode are solely those of the guest and do not represent the values, positions, or editorial stance of Men Talking Mindfulness, its hosts, or its affiliates. MTM is committed to open, respectful dialogue across differing perspectives.

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. The vacuum young men are trying to fill — and why the manosphere speaks to it

2. The history of the manosphere: how it started, how it evolved, and how the algorithm weaponized it

3. What real masculinity looks like vs. the caricature the internet sells

4. Why Elliott believes family — not content — is the answer for men today

5. What young men actually want when you get past the noise

More about Elliott Hulse:

1. Website: https://elliotthulse.com

2. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elliotthulse @elliotthulse

3. YouTube — STRENGTH: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0ASolYU_Yh3yShLFQC0stg

4. YouTube — WISDOM: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLrI-dOLyDbRnPyUeWadsOg

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Professor Joseph Fuller on why men are falling behind and what it means for all of us (An MTM AI Short)

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 17:05:33 GMT

Harvard Business School Professor Joseph Fuller joins Jon Macaskill and Will Schneider to break down decades of data showing that men are quietly falling behind in education, the workforce, and health outcomes. Joe explains why this is the first generation since the Great Depression where young men don't expect to match their parents' lifestyle, how the job market shifted away from traditional male-dominated work toward social-skill-heavy cognitive jobs where women outperform men by 25 to 35 percentage points, and why the "college for all" philosophy fails 60% of 18-year-olds who will never finish a four-year degree.

The conversation covers how schools were designed in ways that disadvantage boys, the professionalization of youth sports ($40 billion industry), applicant tracking systems that create "scar tissue" work identities, the historical pattern linking young men without household formation prospects to societal instability, and practical solutions including apprenticeships starting in 10th grade, teaching social skills in elementary school, AI-assisted learning, and eliminating homework. Jon shares how these trends show up in his own family. Joe closes with a direct charge: don't wait for someone else to do something. Mentor a kid. Show up.

Full episode: https://pod.fo/e/3335aa Full video: https://youtu.be/ekGQtNiRP-k

Take the free awareness assessment: https://focusnowtraining.com/assessment-page Get the free app (mobile): https://focusnowtraining.com/get-the-app-page Learn about the Awareness to Action course: https://focusnowtraining.com/a2a-course Get Jon's book DIAL in Your Leadership for free: https://dial.thrivecart.com/dial-book
Text MTM to 33777 for all of this stuff in one link!

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When We Connect, We Survive with Dr Shauna Springer on the 10 Beliefs About Mental Health That Are Quietly Killing Our Bravest

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT

What if the things we say and do to support our bravest are actually the things putting them at risk?

Dr. Shauna Springer is back. A Harvard-trained psychologist and Chief Psychologist at Stella Mental Health, she’s spent over a decade as a trusted “doc” to warfighters and first responders. Her new book, Fallout: 10 Common Beliefs That Kill Our Bravest and the Truths That Can Save Them, dismantles the well-intentioned myths quietly costing lives — from suicide awareness campaigns to the idea that resilience can simply be taught. In this episode, Shauna aka Doc joins Jon and Will to dig into why connection beats every tool and treatment, why grief and trauma need completely different approaches, and the innovative biological treatment changing how PTSD is healed.

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. Why suicide awareness campaigns can increase risk instead of preventing it

2. The difference between grief, trauma, and moral injury — and why they need different treatment

3. Elasticity vs. resilience: a better framework for sustainable peak performance

4. Why suicide often feels selfless, not selfish, to a warrior — and how that changes prevention

5. The dual sympathetic reset (DSR/SGB): treating PTSD as a physiological injury first

More about Dr. Shauna Springer:

Check out her website to connect and learn more plus find her latest books.: https://www.thinlineadvisory.com
Email: doc@thinlineadvisory.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/docshaunaspringer/
Column: Mental Edge Mondays — https://www.crackyl.com/mental-edge-mondays-the-body-keeps-the-score-but/
Stella Mental Health: dual sympathetic reset / stellate ganglion block treatment - https://stellamentalhealth.com/treatments/sgb-dual-sympathetic-reset

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

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JOIN US IN PERSON — Future Events and Retreats.

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Mediocrity Happens by Default, Exceptional Happens by Design: Greg Scheinman on Releasing the Midlife Accumulation Trap

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT

What if the move most men never make in midlife is the one that changes everything?

Greg Scheinman has had two seven-figure exits — one acquired by Disney CEO Michael Eisner. He’s coached over 100 executives, completed HYROX Nationals, and at 53 is in the best shape of his life. But things weren’t always that way. Greg has been through alcoholism, depression, the loss of his father at 17, and hit rock bottom twice. What he found on the other side became the Midlife Mail — a weekly newsletter followed by over 50,000 men who are done going through the motions. In this episode, Greg joins Jon and Will to talk about the one move most men in midlife never make: releasing instead of adding. Dropping the old titles, the ego armor, the relentless accumulation of achievement — and designing the life you actually want.

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. Why midlife is about releasing, not reinventing — and what that actually looks like in practice

2. The Six F’s framework: redefining success around Family, Fitness, Finance, Food, Fashion, and Fun

3. Conformity, complacency, and redundancy — the three traps keeping most men stuck

4. Show me your calendar, I’ll show you your priorities: the design-over-default framework

5. Why knowledge doesn’t make you better — and the one thing that actually does

Follow Greg Scheinman:

-Website: https://gregscheinman.com
-Newsletter, Podcast & More: https://midlifemale.com

-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregscheinman/ (@gregscheinman)

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

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Dr. Varpas de Sa Pereira on Warrior Withdrawal: why leaving the military feels like going cold turkey (An MTM AI Short)

Jon Macaskill & Will Schneider — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT

Dr. Varpas de Sa Pereira, US Marine veteran, former USASOC Special Operator, and clinical psychologist at the VA, joins Jon Macaskill to break down warrior withdrawal syndrome and why traditional diagnoses like PTSD and adjustment disorder miss the mark for so many veterans. Dr. Varpas uses a substance abuse model to explain why military service functions like a drug and why separation produces real withdrawal symptoms, even in veterans who never deployed to combat. He covers why basic training alone is enough to create the warrior identity, how infinite choice after the military breeds anxiety the same way zero agency breeds depression, and the PLEASE acronym (physical health, limit screen time, eat right, avoid mood-altering substances, sleep, exercise) as both a skill set and a scoreboard.

Jon and Dr. Varpas also dig into sleep as the foundational fix, the grenade analogy for interpersonal conflict and why mindfulness extends the fuse, marksmanship as active mindfulness, and why that critical first six months after separation is when most major negative life events happen.

Full episode: pod.fo/e/2ebcc0 Full video here
Free A2A Awareness assessment, free Focus app, and limited free access to the full A2A course: text MTM to 33777

Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:

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