
Hosted by Martha Beck and Rowan Mangan · EN
What if we stopped listening to the controlling voice of the culture around us, and instead learned to reconnect with our own true nature?
Sometimes we aren’t even sure why we feel so bewildered… and discontented… and even downright miserable. Often it’s because we have let the forces of society replace our own instinctive knowledge of what is right for us.
Now, it’s time for us to find that voice again—before it’s too late.
For Martha and Rowan, Job One is to live according to our deepest truths, making the commitment to feeling good even when it means looking weird. We believe that this is how we will reinvent our world—from the inside out— to create a society that’s kinder, more equitable, and more ecologically sustainable than the one we see around us right now.
This is the vision that we laugh and stumble and chat and feel our way towards here on this podcast. Did we mention LAUGH? We want no part of personal and global transformation if it isn’t fun!
So if you struggle to find a place where people who are as idealistic and brokenhearted, as silly and deeply sincere, as bewildered as you are—you might have just arrived.
Welcome!

When you hear “branding,” do you think of burning a hot iron into the side of a cow? Probably not, but that’s what a brand originally was. And metaphorically, it still is. A brand is a mark that defines where you belong, and our culture says it's never supposed to change. On this Bewildered, we start out in the world of branding culture and end up in the deep waters of impermanence and identity. We explore how the less you grip your brand, the more you find out who you actually are. Join us! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram CREDITSWandering The Path by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported LicenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if you’re not burned out…you just don’t want to hustle anymore? In this episode of Bewildered, we talk about how hustle culture strives to make our lives sterile and abstract: from fluorescent lighting and spreadsheets to profit-and-loss statements and KPIs. We explore what gets lost in that way of life and how to reclaim our wild human power from a world that keeps turning us into pixels. If you're curious what life could look like beyond the endless grind, this episode is for you. Join us! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram CREDITSWandering The Path by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported LicenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you noticed how there seem to be “cheat codes” (as they’re called in video game world) that let certain people ignore reality and get away with outrageous things? What if we could use our own cheat codes to quietly change the world for good? In this episode of Bewildered, we look at how truth gets twisted, why consensus is shattering, and how we might discover new cheat codes by trusting our senses, our weirder ways of knowing, and the invisible web connecting us beneath the chaos. Join us! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram CREDITSWandering The Path by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported LicenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When life as you know it crumbles—lost jobs, shaken identities, houses (literal or figurative) in rubble—what if you’re not meant to rebuild the old structure at all? In this episode of Bewildered, we're exploring our deep attachment to “putting it back how it was,” how culture teaches us to fear impermanence, and what becomes possible when we let Nature “take the wheel” to allow something entirely new to emerge. Tune in to grieve, rethink, and reimagine what the next chapter of your life could be. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you continue doing ordinary human-life things while the world feels like it’s collapsing in real time? That's what we're trying to figure out on this episode of Bewildered. We talk about ping‑ponging between school runs, summer camp registration, doctor's appointments, and breaking-news notifications that feel like the apocalypse is upon us. If you've been feeling caught in this same unnerving and exhausting back-and-forth, this episode is for you. Tune in and we'll come to our senses together. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram CREDITSWandering The Path by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported LicenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How are you weathering the season you’re in? In this episode of Bewildered, we talk about what it really means to surrender to the season, whether it’s an upstate New York winter, perimenopause, a busy parenting era, or the “my foot hurts and I think my gums are receding” phase of life. We talk about how culture tries to flatten all seasons into one endless, brightly lit, 69-degrees-and-productive-all-the-time moment, and why our bodies, souls, and sanity refuse to go along with that plan. Join us! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram CREDITSWandering The Path by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported LicenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever felt something was “off” about a situation or person...but then ignored that instinct to please others? In this episode, we explore how culture teaches us to override our body's internal signals in order to stay socially appropriate and “normal.” We talk about the difference between anxiety and intuitive warning, why our “social self” silences our “essential self,” and how trusting your body’s wisdom can keep you safe, possibly even psychic... Join us for this episode and find out how! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram CREDITSWandering The Path by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported LicenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens once you authorize your knowing? On this Bewildered, we pick up where we left off about authorizing our essential, deep knowing and explore the question: What happens next? We talk about what it means to stop living by the culture's rules and start seeing life as a video game where we’re not just avatars bopping around—we’re learning to write the code of the game itself. To hear stories of synchronicities and big moves that defied all logic, tune in and get ready to wallow in some magic! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram CREDITSWandering The Path by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported LicenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever feel like the world is telling you what to think, do, or believe—until you’re not even sure what you know anymore? In this episode of Bewildered, we’re talking about “authorizing your own knowing”—a concept we picked up from the incredible Dr. Lisa Miller. We explore how to reclaim your own inner guidance, trust your instincts, and stop outsourcing your authority to others. If you’re ready to stop spinning and start discovering what you know to be true for you, join us for the full conversation! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram CREDITSWandering The Path by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported LicenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the person you say you want to be… isn’t really who you want to be at all? In this episode of Bewildered, we talk about what it means to follow culture instead of joy, and how it all boils down to what Martha has learned (in person and on Instagram) about zebras and horses... Tune in to discover whether you really want to be the person you think you want to be, and find out the meaning of the unforgettable phrase: “Stop saying you want to be a horse!” It’s a fun one (we promise)—join us! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Bewildered Show Notes Follow Ro on Instagram Follow Bewildered on Instagram CREDITSWandering The Path by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported LicenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.