This is a great conversation with a friend of mine who chose to remain anonymous. “Tina” share her story of living with a veteran who struggled with traumatic brain injuries and alcoholism. The most profound parto of this conversation is how those who support veterans don’t have to choose between compassion and accountability. You can also listen on itunes.  

 This is an unfiltered conversation with one of my Canadian brothers. We talk about some Canadian geography, but we also talk about how to support veterans who are working hard to get reacclimated to non-combat life.You can also listen on itunes.Find the transcript here.  

I rarely talk about race because the language around race is usually sloppy and politically charged. It means that when we should be focused on solving problems that affect our communities, we wind up focusing on how to prop up our ego. Conversations about race tend to devolve into polar opposites—we feel like we need to pick sides. I hate picking sides because I am usually uncomfortable with shutting down either side of an argument. I’m not talking about extremists—on either side—who advocate for violence or total separation. I’m talking about people who express the depth of their lived experiences and are struggling to know how to live their best life. Somehow, my friend Adrian got me to open up more about race. Adrian and I started graduate school together and wound up getting our Ph.D. on the same day. Check out Adrian’s website and his engaging conversations with people from all over the world.

Episode 08: Cycles of Life In this podcast I spend some time with my good friend Jacob. We became friends at work but ultimately built a friendship based on a mutual interest in music and technology. This turned out to be one of the most impactful podcasts I’ve done because we really get to the heart of why I spent so much time in structured environments. In a lot of ways I moved from the military to the monastery and then to graduate school—all structured environments as a way to deal with the chaos of my childhood.

I was honored to join Hugh Keir at H-Hour Podcasts. I met Hugh through a mutual friend and it only took us a day to realize we wanted to do a podcast together. We wound up talking a lot more about Islam than I anticipated, but it was fun to talk about something I care about so deeply. At the end, we talked about the importance of sharing our stories of trauma and triumph. In some ways it helps us and in other ways it helps those who aren’t yet ready to talk about their experiences. Hugh is an incredible advocate for Veterans and I hope you’ll head over to his website, support him, and engage with his podcasts.

In this episode we talk more about how to live this hero life

My new friend Craig gets this podcast going right away. He sets the groundwork for a conversation with my oldest friend, Matt. Matt asks me one of the most difficult questions I’ve had to answer: “were you being self-destructive?” When you’re finished, head over to part two where we ask even more difficult questions.

In this podcast I’m really excited to talk to one of my best friends who I’ve known for over 20 years. One of the most interesting things we discussed was how it felt for Cody to see me up and leave for the Middle East every few months. I never knew that it was difficult for him to have his best friend constantly in harm’s way and it really got me thinking and led to some deep insights for me. We also got to talk about the importance of Veteran’s mental health. In my travels I experienced a lot of trauma and I know lots of others who experienced the same. Veterans—and anyone who goes to combat—do their best to live their hero life and it’s important that all of us work to protect them. It doesn’t matter if we agree with the policies that send us to war—principled disagreement is a necessary component of a vibrant civil society—those who head to the front lines need every bit of support we can give them. I hope you’ll enjoy hearing about my life through the lens of someone who knows me better than almost anyone else.