Men at Work

Mike and Eric talk with Chris West, a college hoops standout who won a national championship while at Louisville. He talks about the challenges and rewards that come with being a standout athlete, and how he transitioned that work ethic and passion into a career in social services. Eric decides not to brag about his high school career as a blue-chip ping pong player.

Mike and Eric talk with Ryan Dowd, homelessness guru. We talk about the real issues that lead to homelessness, and why society views homeless people the way they do.

Mike and Eric talk with Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jack Amberg, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Army. The discussion ranges from what characteristics make a man successful in the military, and how officers really feel about women in combat. They discuss why Soldier is always written with a capital S, and how goofballs turn into Generals.

Mike and Eric talk with Josh, a 20+ year HR professional. Topics range from why men seem to be in the top positions in a lot of companies, and why that might be changing. Josh dodges the question "Are men or women better employees?" like a true HR pro. Eric gets annoyed when the discussion turns to men's "privilege" in the workplace and turns a little feisty for a minute.

Paul joins us to discuss what turns out to have been a lifelong battle with depression and anxiety. He takes us on a journey that started with stomach aches as a kid, turned into years of drug and alcohol self-medicating, and eventually led to him seeking treatment and turning himself into a "success story."

We talk with E.B., an active sex worker who refers to herself as a "junkie hooker." She's also a podcaster, and author. Mostly, we focus on the men who come to see her. Who are they? How do they end up seeing her? What do they act like? Do they believe they're in a relationship with her? We run into quite few surprises (priests, lawyers, and a husband!), and some parts of the conversation end up being exactly what we expected.

Mike talks with Eric about a chapter from one of his books, "What to Expect When Adopting a Guy." We start off talking about why men always seem to ask other men what they do for a living. We wonder at the fact that we don't actually categorize women like we do with men, and why that is. Mike also admits being uncomfortable reading Eric's book because he reveals a bunch of "secrets" men don't want women to know. The most embarrassing secret being how disgustingly fast the average man pictures a woman naked after meeting her for the first time.

Mike and Eric spend some time with Guy, a retired corrections administrator and mental health clinician. He tells us about men who end up in prison and how, surprisingly, many of them aren't much different from you and me. We also talk about his work with sex offenders and Eric explains why he's never been able to work with the men who commit those offenses.

Mike and Eric talk with Kyle. He's a recovering alcoholic, and a fairly young one at that. He talks about growing up, his relationship with his dad, and the social pressures that led to him abusing alcohol. He also discusses the process of getting sober. Interestingly, all this leads to a discussion about Kyle being a Millennial and how that might have played a part in his alcohol abuse.

Mike and Eric talk with Mark (who's not actually that old) about how the definition of being a man has changed over time. Mark share s with us his perspective on growing up with his own father - "a real man if there ever was one" - and how the role of men has changed in Mark's 7+ decades. As a side note.... Mark's not buying into most of what society is telling him about being a "modern man."