Podcast
The Iron John Podcast
Hosted by Minnesota Men's Conference · EN
The Iron John Podcast is a production of the Minnesota Men’s Conference (MMC).
The Minnesota Men's Conference was founded by poet, author, and storyteller, Robert Bly in 1984. In the past decades, the conference as reached out to men of all ethnicities, orientations, nationalities, backgrounds, life experiences, and ages. Any person who identifies as a man is welcome to participate. We welcome men from all over the country, from large cities to rural communities, and from all over the world. In general, the men who attend our conferences are interested in living the question of what it means to live a mythically-informed life of depth and purpose, a life of soul.
10episodes
Episodes
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The Iron John Podcast, Francis Weller talk: At the Heart of All Our Sorrows
Nov 1801:17:54Tap to summarizeIn this talk from the 2025 Fall Minnesota Men's Conference—Men Who Stand Atop the Old Mound of Miracles, author, psychotherapist, and soul activist, Francis Weller speaks on emptiness and on the great sense of what is missing when the desires of the soul are not addressed. Francis is the author of the bestselling essay collection, The Wild Edge of Sorrow, and of the recently released book, In the Absence of the Ordinary.If this podcast speaks to you, please consider joining us at one of our events for men. Go to www.minnesotamensconference.com for more information
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1988 MMC Poetry by Thomas R. Smith and Roy McBride
Sep 1700:18:33Tap to summarizeThe 1988 Minnesota Men's Conference was especially potent for me, Timothy Young. I was one of the organizers and our headliners that year were Robert Bly, James Hillman, Robert Moore, and Etheridge Knight. Bly's main presentations were on the deeper meanings of William Blake's poetry. Etheridge's poems shook our hearts, and I was able to invite Roy McBride and Thomas Smith to read on our evening of poetry,
Transcribe →Joel Glazberg Interview, 2025
Aug 2500:57:43Tap to summarizeWelcome to the Iron John Podcast! In this episode, writer, activist, and publisher of InRoads Magazine, Anthony Signorelli interviews tracker, writer, and permaculturist Joel Glanzberg on permaculture, men’s wrk, the environment, and the role of human beings in the web of being. Joel will be one of the presenters at the 2025 Fall Minnesota Men’s Conference—Men Who Stand Atop the Old Mound of Miracles, October 7 through 12, 2025. To get more information about the fall conference or future Minnesota Men’s Conference events, go to www.minnesotamensconference.com.
Transcribe →The Iron John Podcast, Francis Weller Interview
Aug 1500:53:50Tap to summarizeHello, And welcome to the Iron John Podcast! In this episode, Minnesota Men's Conference Board member, Tyler Schueffner Interviews author, ritualist, and psychotherapist, Francis Weller on grief, healing, responsibility, and the alchemy of becoming a fully-cooked human being in connection with the web of being of which we are a part. Francis will be one of the presenters and facilitators at the 2025 Minnesota Men'’s Conference—Men Who Stand Atop the Old Mound of Miracles, October 7-12, 2025. To learn about upcoming Minnesota Men's Conference events, go to: https://minnesotamensconference.com/
Transcribe →The Iron John Podcast—Interview with Dennis Merritt
Jul 3000:47:30Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we speak with Dr. Dennis Merritt, a Jungian analyst and author of the four-book series on Jungian Ecopsychology: The Dairy Farmer's Guide to the Universe. Dennis will be one of the presenters at the upcoming 2025 Minnesota Men's Conference—Men Who Stand Atop the Old Mound of Miracles, (October 7-12, 2025)For more information about the Minnesota Men's Conference, go to www.minnesotamensconference.com
Transcribe →Paul Bendix and Two Decades at the MMC in a Wheelchair
Jul 1600:21:17Tap to summarizeIn 1996 Paul Bendix attended his first Minnesota Men's Conference. He continued to attend the annual conference for nineteen years and has continued support the conference and its mission. This episode has a number of the memories he carries for his time with the men.
Transcribe →The Iron John Podcast: Literacy from Oral Traditions-- A conversation between Ben Dennis and Robert Bringhurst
Jul 200:51:29Tap to summarizeMythologist and storyteller, Ben Dennis speaks with the author, poet, and translator Robert Bringhurst, about why oral and written traditions should work together and not displace one another. Both men will participate in the 2025 Minnesota Men's Conference.If this podcast speaks to you, please consider joining us at one of our events for men. Go to www.minnesotamensconference.com for more information.
Transcribe →The Iron John Podcast: Replanting Story Seeds—Asher Packman and Walton Stanley Discuss Story and Soul
Jun 1800:47:30Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Walton Stanley of the Minnesota Men’s Conference and Asher Packman of the mythopoetic community Fifth Direction discuss stories and the role that story and myth have played and continue to play, in men’s soul work.If this podcast speaks to you, please consider joining us at one of our events for men. Go to www.minnesotamensconference.com for more information.
Transcribe →The Iron John Podcast: Poetry, Our Companionable Animal
May 2700:59:27Tap to summarizeIn preparation of the 2025 Minnesota Men's Conference, October 7-12, 2025, Timothy Young spoke with poets, Jonathan Stensland and Jesse Dermody, about the importance and value of poetry at the conferences and how poetry is our "companionable animal", personally and communally at the conference and in our daily lives. This conversation wanders through many landscapes of language and the sources of poetry.
Transcribe →The Iron John Podcast: Watering the Ring of the Conference Tree
Mar 31, 202501:03:41Tap to summarizeSince 1984 the Minnesota Men’s Conference has seen its presence and Robert Bly’s influence on men wax and wane a few times in the public eye. That is not necessarily a bad thing. New generations of men are finding Bly’s work and our conference’s continuing evolution to be trustworthy, helpful, and soulfully moving for their personal and communal lives. This podcast provides examples given in 2012 by longtime participants and teachers, whose interior lives have become richer, and whose souls have deepened. To learn more about the work or to register for an event, go to www.minnesotamensconference.com
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