It was a joy to connect once again with my friend and colleague Matt Sturm (who previously appeared on my podcast for The Hydra, Hercules and the Polycrisis).
I very much enjoy how Matt articulates often complex subject matter in such a way that feels clarifying and inviting, rather than divisive.
This conversation was also inspired by the lead up to the Cascadia Men’s Conference, a gathering I’m co-stewarding, which aims to bring men together to invoke the personal and cultural work so necessary in these troubled times.
All men are welcome to attend. Get the full details & ticket links here.
Also, if you’re new to mythopoetics, a great place to start is The Archetypal Compass.
This mini-guide is designed to help you navigate the internal archetypes of the soul, providing a map for those ready to move beyond personal inquiry and toward a more conscious stewardship of their lives and the world.
I’d love to hear your comments on my conversation with Matt (open to Paid Supporters).
SHOW NOTES
00:00 Introduction to Matt Sturm: Welcoming author and researcher Matt Sturm to discuss his work at CIIS and his journey through masculinity, sexuality, and the tarot.
04:00 Bridging Two Worlds: The friction between boots-on-the-ground men’s work and the academic world of gender studies, and why these two camps rarely talk to each other.
06:00 The Roots of Critique: Looking back at the 1990s backlash to Robert Bly and why many feminists originally saw the mythopoetic movement as a distraction from systemic issues.
13:00 Soul Work vs. Grievance: Clearly distinguishing the healing and integrity found in the mythopoetic lineage from the red pill or manosphere culture of mutual grievance.
17:00 Transformation in Community: Understanding the men’s group as a container where status and jobs are dropped in favor of a deeper collective human experience.
22:00 Performance vs. Depth: Contrasting the sociological view of gender as a social performance with the mythic view of masculinity as a living, archetypal force.
25:00 The Necessity of Ritual: Why the experience of a sacred space is more impactful than having a specific belief system or a concept of the soul.
28:00 Facing the Shadow: A candid conversation on the tragic end of Robert Moore and what it means to hold the shadow of our lineage and its teachers.
34:00 The Science of Behavior: Challenging common myths about testosterone and biology, and looking at how our hormones actually respond to our social environments.
40:00 Queering the Program: How we can use queer theory to dismantle our social programming and step into a more authentic, self-defined version of being a man.
45:00 Locating Our Perspective: Why naming this as a middle-class white space isn’t about being “wrong,” but about building trust and acknowledging our limitations.
50:00 An Ecology of Men’s Work: Moving toward a symbiotic reality where different groups—indigenous, black, queer, and cis—can learn from and support one another.
53:00 Supporting Other Voices: Discussing the mission to advocate for those uniquely oppressed by the gender-class-race system and standing on the shoulders of feminist scholarship.
57:00 The Final Benediction: A closing prayer from Sophie Strand on composting our heartbreak and finding our place in the larger song of the world.
