Podcast Summary:

Love and Radio: Blood Memory — Episode 02: The Truth Always Rises
Host: Nick van der Kolk
Date: February 9, 2026
Duration: ~33 min

Episode Overview

In episode two of "Blood Memory," host Nick van der Kolk continues the exploration of Michael Lynn Thompson’s life story, delving deeper into Michael's formative years, his experiences on and off Native reservations, the trauma and violence he encountered as a child, and his relationship with the influential figure Walks on Top. Through in-depth storytelling and raw conversation, the episode seeks to unravel the threads of survival, cultural inheritance, masculinity, and the lifelong impact of violence. The themes of trauma, resilience, and spiritual identity are prominent, with a particular focus on the subtle but crucial wisdom passed from mentor to mentee.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of History and Blood Memory

• Understanding Family and Personal History:
  • The episode begins by establishing the importance of understanding someone’s family history to truly know them.
    • "You don't really understand who you're looking at until you do their history...you learn so much more about who you're sitting in front of by knowing everything about their history." (Narrator/Interviewer, 00:36)

2. Michael's Childhood on the Reservation

• Adversity and Survival:
  • Michael describes a childhood of instability—being "farmed out" to relatives, sleeping under a trailer, and scavenging for food like fry bread among different households (03:23–05:19).
  • Lived with resilience and self-sufficiency, but also experienced social isolation:
    • "Life on the reservation was about Survival. I slept underneath a travel trailer. I don't recall ever being inside back then." (Michael, 03:51)
• Trauma and Violence:
  • Michael provides a harrowing account of being brutally attacked by a group of men as a child—a formative, profoundly traumatic event:
    • "He grabbed my penis and testicles in his fist and lifted me bodily into the air. 'Let's cut these off before they get any bigger and he starts fucking our women.' ... I made it to my feet and ran for the tree line..." (Michael, 05:38–08:45)
  • Yet, this low point also triggered his profound realization of connection with nature:
    • "Suddenly I had the sense that just as I was aware of nature, nature was aware of me. It immediately calmed me." (Michael, 08:27)

3. Systemic Failure and Family Dynamics

• From Abandonment to Juvenile Detention:
  • After his trauma, Michael is placed in juvenile detention based on a dubious claim of being "incorrigible."
    • "They couldn't put me in juvenile hall without something. And so my mother made the claim that I was incorrigible...It's not really a discussion that I've ever had with her." (Michael, 09:14)
• Mother’s Perspective:
  • A letter from Michael’s mother, Jacqueline Miller, is read, rebutting the narrative that she abandoned him and providing insight into their difficult circumstances:
    • "I did not raise Michael after he was about 13 or 14, but I never abandoned him...If this has damaged Michael in any way, it shows up even in his choice of women. We're not perfect... We've made mistakes. We've also had our share of tragedies." (Jacqueline, 09:36–10:56)

4. Meeting Walks on Top: A Pivotal Encounter

• Introduction to a Mentor:
  • Michael recalls meeting "Walks on Top" (Jack Martin) at age 12, who would become a father figure and mentor. Walks on Top was half-white, half-Nez Perce, and highly respected for his traditional knowledge (12:01–14:03).
    • "He was highly regarded in the native communities all the way down into South America for his knowledge of traditional native ways...he was what's called wikasha wakan, which is man of spirit." (Michael, 13:37)
• The Meaning of an Alpha Male:
  • Walks on Top modeled a different idea of masculinity than the violent, braggadocious stereotype:
    • "You don't hear much about the alpha male characteristic... An alpha male, as Walks on Top would have told you is that individual who provides for his family, who looks after the children, who looks after the elders...It's to provide and protect." (Michael, 15:14)

5. Learning Skills, Ceremony, and Blood Memory

• Natural Aptitudese and Ceremony:
  • Michael quickly learns horsemanship, ranch work, hunting, and Native spiritual practices.
    • He describes "blood memory" as an inherited, almost instinctual connection to culture and ceremony (16:48).
      • "He saw that I had a natural connection to nature...he said, you know, you have a blood memory, you know, even in drumming. First time he handed me a hand drum he didn't have to tell me how to use...it was as if I knew, you know, that heartbeat." (Michael, 16:58)
• Diverse Spiritual Education:
  • The philosophy of spirituality is syncretic—Michael is trained in Lakota, Anishinaabe, Nez Perce, Cheyenne, Miwok, Kumeyaay traditions and languages (17:40).

6. Rodeo, Fighting, and the Ethics of Violence

• Life Lessons Through Rodeo:
  • Walks on Top teaches Michael bull riding, imparting the lesson that mastery comes from merging with, not dominating, the bull:
    • "I'm not going to compete with him...I'm going to merge with it. See, I don't fight it. But if you merge with it and go with that rhythm, all of life is a rhythm. All of life is a dance." (Michael, 18:05–18:55)
• The Genesis of Fighting Lessons:
  • A childhood trauma triggers Walks on Top to teach Michael to fight, using a bandana as a sparring ground.
    • "He constantly emphasized, make it your own, make it your own, make it your own. And I ultimately did. I mean, it took me probably till I was 18 to do that, but never occurred to me that I'd ever have a use for it. But as it turned out, I did." (Michael, 21:48)
• Violence and Ethics:
  • Michael reflects on the normalization of violence in his life, especially at rodeos, where older men would attack him out of resentment, and Walks on Top would let him fend for himself:
    • "If I'd knock a man down, I would step back and you know, tell them men, please stay down...Oftentimes there's an ethic associated with violence, particularly if you fancy yourself a warrior. Some violence is necessary, a part of the cycle of life... But violence is never acceptable as a trivial act... Violence without ethics is brutality. Walks on Top used to tell me that all the time." (Michael, 23:24–27:00)

7. Crime, Loyalty, and Unspoken Love

• Transition to Adult Life and Crime:
  • The episode closes on the revelation of Michael’s eventual arrest and the unwavering—if stoic—loyalty shown by Walks on Top:
    • "He only wanted to know from the commitment offense: he came to see me one time... he said, 'Did you do it?' I said, 'No, sir.' He said, 'That's all I wanted to know.' He got up and left. That was it, man. A few words. And that's the last time I saw him." (Michael, 27:10)
    • The absence of explicitly stated love lingers:
      • "Did he love me? Don't know, never said I loved him, you know." (Michael, 27:17)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the sun’s symbolism:
  "You'll notice that I'm facing east, of course. The sun just now rising. We say that's the truth that always rises."
  — Michael Lynn Thompson (01:53)

• On nature as refuge after trauma:
  "Suddenly I had the sense that just as I was aware of nature, nature was aware of me. It immediately calmed me."
  — Michael Lynn Thompson (08:27)

• On the complexity of family and survival:
  "I did not raise Michael after he was about 13 or 14, but I never abandoned him... If this has damaged Michael in any way, it shows up even in his choice of women. We're not perfect... We've made mistakes."
  — Jacqueline Miller, Letter (09:36–10:56)

• On what makes a true alpha male:
  "An alpha male, as Walks on Top would have told you is that individual who provides for his family, who looks after the children, who looks after the elders, who...remains in the village to protect it."
  — Michael Lynn Thompson (15:14)

• On merging with the bull/spirit of life:
  "There's a flow in that. There's a movement in that. It's no different than fighting... All of life is a rhythm. All of life is a dance. That's my belief."
  — Michael Lynn Thompson (18:58)

• On the ethic of violence:
  "Oftentimes there's an ethic associated with violence... Some violence is necessary... but violence is never acceptable as a trivial act... Violence without ethics is brutality. Walks on Top used to tell me that all the time."
  — Michael Lynn Thompson (25:09–26:40)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | | --------- | ---------------------------- | | 00:36 | On understanding history | | 03:23–05:19| Life on the reservation | | 05:38–08:45| Detailed childhood trauma | | 09:36–10:56| Mother's Letter | | 12:01–14:03| Meeting Walks on Top | | 16:48–17:40| Spiritual training, blood memory | | 18:05–19:30| Bull riding philosophy | | 19:44–21:48| Lessons in fighting, making it your own | | 23:24–27:00| Rodeo violence, ethics, and interconnectedness | | 27:10–27:45| Walks on Top’s last words, loyalty |

Tone & Style

The tone is reflective and unflinching, blending painful recollection with hard-earned wisdom. Michael’s storytelling is vivid and candid, marked by moments of dark humor, zen-like resignation, and a quiet reverence for the spiritual connections in his life. The host’s interjections are supportive but unobtrusive, letting Michael’s narrative unfold with weight and space.

Conclusion

Episode two of "Blood Memory" strips back layers of Michael Lynn Thompson’s tough exterior, offering an unvarnished look at the circumstances and relationships that shaped him. As his story unfolds, listeners are challenged to reconsider the nature of masculinity, the cycles of trauma, and the redemptive—if complicated—power of mentorship, culture, and memory. The phrase "the truth always rises" resonates as more than a ceremonial greeting: it’s a hard-won ethos forged from survival and self-discovery.