
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.

In this episode of The Iron John Podcast, Walton Stanley, Ian MacKenzie, Trevor Mervyn, and Miguel Rivera discuss mythopoetic men's work, and the upcoming Cascadia Men's Conference: Courting the Divine Spark. The Cascadia Men's Conference draws from the same mythopoetic lineage as the Minnesota Men's Conference and is a brother conference to the Minnesota conference. The Cascadia Men's Conference: will be held August 6-9, 2026 in the Squamish Valley of British Columbia, Canada. More information can be found at: https://www.cascadiamensconference.com/The Minnesota Men's Conference has two scheduled events ahead: The Iron Earth, Iron Soul Conference in Queensland Australia and the 2026 Fall Minnesota Men's Conference—Crossing the Torrent, Facing the Cannibal Self. To get more information on Minnesota Men's Conference events, go to www.minnesotamensconference.com

In 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

The 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,

Welcome 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.

Hello, 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/

In 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

In 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.

Mythologist 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.

In 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.

In 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.