The Art of Manliness

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The Code They Killed For: Honor, Manhood, and the American Gunfighter Aug 26, 2025

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When you picture a gunfighter, you probably think of a Hollywood cowboy — spurs jangling, six-shooter on his hip, squaring off at high noon in a dusty frontier town. But gunfighters weren’t just products of Hollywood. They were real men who lived and died by a code: one rooted in a particular sense of honor.

My guest today is Bryan Burrough, author of The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild. We dig into the true story behind America’s gunfighting era — how it grew out of the South’s dueling culture, was intensified by the violence of post–Civil War Texas, and spread across the frontier via the cattle drive. We explore why so many gunfights had less to do with crime and more to do with reputation, why the Colt revolver transformed personal conflict into deadly spectacle, and how young men came to see violence as a rite of manhood. Along the way, Bryan also explores how gunfighters went from frontier figures to pop culture icons — and which films, in his view, captured their essence best.

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Aristotle’s Art of Self-Persuasion: How to Use Ancient Rhetoric to Change Your Life Aug 19, 2025

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The ancient art of rhetoric has shaped political policies, influenced social movements, structured legal arguments, and molded cultural narratives throughout history. It's been used for three thousand years to persuade other people to change their lives.

But what if you could use it to persuade yourself?

My guest today says you can. Jay Heinrichs is the author of Aristotle's Guide to Self-Persuasion, and he explains how the same rhetorical techniques that great leaders and orators have used for millennia can be turned inward to help you change your life. We discuss how to identify your "soul" as your internal audience, use the concept of kairos to turn chaos into opportunity, create hyperbolic moonshot goals that inspire action even if you fall short, and employ ethos, pathos, and logos to achieve the habits and goals you aspire to. Along the way, we talk about how Jay used these self-leadership tools to go from barely being able to walk to attempting an athletic feat physiologists told him was impossible.

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How to Make a Big Decision (Faster!) Aug 12, 2025

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Making big decisions can feel paralyzing. Whether it's choosing a new job, moving to a different city, or deciding if you should break up with someone, these choices can keep you agonizingly stuck, forever cycling through pros and cons.

My guest can help you finally choose and move forward. That's what she does for a living. Nell Wulfhart is a professional decision coach who has all her clients reach a decision within a one-hour session. Today on the show, she explains why people get stuck when faced with big choices, why we often take way longer than we need to make a decision, and how this actually makes our lives worse. Nell then walks us through two practical exercises she uses with her clients to home in on the right option, and shares her tips on overcoming the paralysis that often attends making a big decision, as well as how to deal with the regret that inevitably comes with making tough choices.

Maybe by the time our hour together is over, you'll have finally made the big decision that's been weighing on your mind.

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Rooted Living in a Shallow Age: A Shepherd’s Guide to the Good Life Aug 05, 2025

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In a world that often feels dominated by technology and constant change, it’s easy to forget that some people are still living by the rhythms of ancient traditions. James Rebanks, an author and shepherd, is one of them, and in today's episode, he shares what following a way of life that has endured for thousands of years can teach us about modern life and the things that matter.

James offers a glimpse at the often ignored and misunderstood world of pastoral life in England's Lake District, which isn't just about working with sheep and cattle but maintaining a deep connection to past generations, a commitment to community, and a sense of purpose. He takes us through the life of a fell shepherd, where the timeless values of hard work, seasonality, stewardship, and stillness still get lived out day to day.

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From Plane Crashes to Terrorist Attacks: Who Survives, and Why Jul 29, 2025

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You're on an airplane that crash lands. Smoke fills the cabin, and you've got only seconds to react. How would you respond? Would you immediately take action — or freeze in place?

While you might think you know how a scene like this would play out from watching movies, the reality of what occurs in the aftermath of a disaster is quite a bit different. And that knowledge gap could prove deadly.

My guest, Amanda Ripley, spent years researching how humans actually respond in emergencies, interviewing their survivors, as well leading researchers. In her book, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why, she uncovers the myths and realities of survival psychology and explores the individual and structural factors that shape people's outcomes in unexpected crises. Today, Amanda explains why the biggest threat during an emergency isn't panic but passivity — and how to overcome the tendency to be overly complacent and compliant. We discuss why you might actually want to read the airplane safety card, what we can learn from the surprising calm that prevailed in the World Trade Center towers on 9/11, how to improve your risk assessment, what influences if you'll act heroically in an emergency, and much more. This episode will give you plenty to think about — and could even make the difference in how you respond if you're ever faced with the unthinkable.

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The 6 Levels of Wealth and How to Reach Them Jul 22, 2025

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You've heard the advice that to build wealth, you need to earn more, spend less, and invest consistently. But what if there was a clearer way to understand exactly where you stand financially — and what steps you should take to reach the next level?

My guest, Nick Maggiulli, offers just such a framework. Nick is the creator of the Of Dollars And Data blog, the Chief Operating Officer at Ritholtz Wealth Management, and the author of The Wealth Ladder. Today on the show, he unpacks the Wealth Ladder concept, taking the complex, often overwhelming concept of personal finance and distilling it into six easy-to-understand wealth levels, each tied to specific net-worth milestones and financial freedoms.

Nick walks us through each rung of the Wealth Ladder, from getting out of financial instability to achieving restaurant and travel freedom, and eventually reaching upper levels of significant financial independence. We discuss the distinct strategies you should utilize on each rung to make the most of that level and move on to the next. And we get into why your spending decisions should be based on your net worth rather than your income, how wealth allocation changes dramatically as you climb the ladder, and why increasing your earning potential becomes more important than penny-pinching as you progress.

Whether you're just getting started or well on your financial journey, this episode provides actionable insights and practical wisdom for climbing the Wealth Ladder and securing a life of greater freedom and fulfillment.

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The Microbiome Master Key: How 100 Trillion Bacteria Influence Your Weight, Mood, and All-Around Health Jul 15, 2025

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When you think of the microbiome, you probably think of your gut. But bacteria live all over your body. And they’re incredibly numerous; you play host to about as many microbes — a hundred trillion of them — as you do human cells.

As my guest will explain, these microbial ecosystems are not only ubiquitous but hugely influential for your health — impacting everything from your weight and mood to your risk of developing many diseases.

Dr. Brett Finlay is a microbiologist and the co-author of The Microbiome Master Key. Today on the show, Brett explains what the microbiome is, how modern life — including our overemphasis on hygiene — has damaged it, and how the quality of your microbiome is connected to nine of the top ten leading causes of death, as well as everything from depression to Parkinson’s. Brett also shares how we can boost the health of our microbiome, including whether probiotic supplements are effective, how something as simple as flossing your teeth can cut your risk of Alzheimer’s by 50%, and why you might want to let your dog lick you in the face.

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Tame the Dopamine Drive: How to Stop Chasing and Start Living Jul 09, 2025

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All the neurochemicals in the brain have to do with life in the present. Except for one: dopamine. Dopamine is the one neurochemical that looks to the future. It anticipates what may be to come and drives you towards it.

That can be a good thing — dopamine is one powerful motivator — but it also has its downsides. Here to help us understand how the most important chemical in the brain works and how to deal with its pitfalls is Michael Long. Michael is a trained physicist turned writer whose latest book is Taming the Molecule of More. Mike and I discuss how dopamine, for better and worse, makes you want what you don't have. He shares what causes low dopamine activity, how to know if you're experiencing it, and what increases dopamine. We then talk about how to deal with the consequences of dopamine in some of the scenarios in which it plays a role — like losing the spark in a relationship and getting stuck in a smartphone scroll habit — and why so much of taming dopamine comes down to living in the here and now. We end our conversation with why The Great Gatsby is really a novel about dopamine and the fundamental answer to not letting the dopamine chase lead you around.

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Books, Routines, and Habits: The Founders’ Guide to Self-Improvement Jul 01, 2025

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Note: This is a rebroadcast.

A lot of self-improvement advice and content feels empty. And there’s a reason for that. It often offers routines and habits to practice, but doesn’t offer a strong, overarching reason to practice them.

That’s why the self-improvement advice of the Founding Fathers is particularly compelling. Though they were imperfect men, they had a clear why for trying to become better than they were. For the Founders, life was about the pursuit of happiness, and they equated happiness with excellence and virtue — a state that wasn’t about feeling good, but being good. The Founders pursued happiness not only for the personal benefit in satisfaction and tranquility it conferred, but for the way the attainment of virtue would benefit society as a whole; they believed that political self-government required personal self-government.

Today on the show, Jeffrey Rosen, a professor of law, the president of the National Constitution Center, and the author of The Pursuit of Happiness, shares the book the Founders read that particularly influenced their idea of happiness as virtue and self-mastery. We talk about the schedules and routines the Founders kept, the self-examination practices they did to improve their character, and how they worked on their flaws, believing that, while moral perfection was ultimately an impossible goal to obtain, it was still something worth striving for.

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Ancient Buddhist Principles for Modern Life’s Dilemmas Jun 24, 2025

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When you’re feeling stressed, burnt out, and anxious — when you’re striving and achieving but still finding yourself persistently dissatisfied with life — you might start looking for answers beyond what’s offered by contemporary self-help.

One ancient philosophy that can cast light on the sources of and solutions to our seemingly modern dilemmas is Buddhism. If you’ve ever been intrigued by Buddhism but admittedly only have a vague sense of what it’s all about, Brendan Barca — co-author of The Daily Buddhist: 366 Days of Mindful Living — will walk you through its foundational principles.

We begin our conversation with how Buddhism is similar to and different from other ancient philosophies like Stoicism, and Brendan offers an accessible introduction to the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. In the second half of our conversation, we explore how Buddhist principles and practices can be applied to our everyday modern lives and help you deal with the anxiety created by living in an impermanent world, shift your perspective on daily challenges, and cultivate greater compassion and patience. We discuss different meditation methods, the real purpose of meditation, and how to get started with it as a beginner. We end our conversation with the Buddha’s final words and what it means to “strive with vigilance.”

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