This week we sit down for a discussion with Robyn D. Walser, PhD. 

Robyn  is a clinical psychologist, author, and internationally recognized trainer in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), often described as a clinician’s clinician for her deep emphasis on therapeutic presence and connection. 

She is the author and coauthor of several influential ACT books, including The Heart of ACT, where she invites therapists to move beyond technique into a more heartfelt, process-based, and relational way of working — treating therapy as a shared human experience rather than a set of tools. Her work highlights how psychological flexibility is cultivated not just through cognitive shifts, but through courage, compassion, and an open-hearted stance with clients.

In recent years, Robyn has been reflecting on questions of feminism, masculinity, and the impacts of cultural narratives on our sense of self, intimacy, and vulnerability, especially in the context of trauma and moral injury. She invites a more nuanced, inclusive conversation about gender—one that honors pain without vilifying whole groups, and that makes space for men and women alike to live with greater authenticity, responsibility, and heart.

https://robynwalser.com/

Goodpain Podcast Season 02, Episode 016: Robyn D. Walser, PhD – Making Space for Masculine Vulnerability

In this episode, Jeremy and Tyler explore the past as a means for informing how we can more consistently remember to make active choices. But choosing takes practice: it is easy to forget, including the ways we convinced ourselves we are certain of what will make us happy. While the word is not used, "regret" is one that could also be applied here; however, rather than use it as something to avoid, the co-hosts explore how the fact that we will at times regret, acceptance of that fact can invite us into more active remembering of who we want to be and who we are becoming. 

All of this is discussed, and more, as we continue to excavate the topic of mature masculinity.

Goodpain Podcast Season 02, Episode 015: Male Maturation over Time – Remembering to Choose Intentionally

We will return next week with more long form conversations, however, this week we continue borrowing from another voice to explore the notion of sacred inconvenience, or staying present and aware to living right now. This week we borrow the 2005 commencement address delivered to Kenyon College. The author and speaker is the late author David Foster Wallace, and the address is titled, "This is Water."

To watch a creative version of the speech, please visit the following link: This is Water, by David Foster Wallace [https://youtu.be/eC7xzavzEKY?si=gohh_2brwMuMDA06]

Goodpain Season 02 Episode 014: Sacred Inconvenience Pt. II, David Foster Wallace

This week we are taking a short break from our long form conversations to reflect on the idolatry of convenience. 

Following a short introduction from Tyler, we share a 2004 address by author Kurt Vonnegut confronting the costs of convenience where he entreats us instead to "embrace the vitality of struggle."

Goodpain Podcast Season 02 Episode 013: Sacred Inconvenience – A Reflection Under 20 Minutes

This week we sit down with Chef Jay Anthony Irizzary of Cabo Rojo Cocina Caribeña [https://www.caborojococina.com/], a Puerto Rican-inspired culinary brand based in Reno, NV, offering bold, authentic Latin Caribbean food and desserts.

I met Jay while I was in Reno and found his restaurant my first night there. My waiter took my order, delivered my drink and my food. He was also the owner. And the chef. We swapped brief stories as Jay hustled around the restaurant that night and extending our conversation produced this week's episode. The flavor and soul is clear in Jay's food and reflects his desire to create home. The food was awesome, and it was clear Jay was puring his heart into the restaurant and risking much to create a unique experience. 

I went back the second night. 

Goodpain Podcast Season 02, Episode No. 012: Chef Jay Anthony Irizzary and Puerto Rican Flavor

Jeremy and Tyler take a break from their conversations to share a discussion with Amanda Jepson, Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Sex Therapist, Board Certified Diplomate of Sexology [https://cosprismcollective.org/provider/amanda-jepson/]. Amanda is an expert in sexuality including better sex intimacy and sexual trauma and instead of sex therapist hacks, she engages with a balance of maturity and fun that is approachable and honors our shared humanity. 

In this discussion we use the PLISSIT Model [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLISSIT_model] to guide our conversation on relationships, sex, intimacy, and masculine maturity. While we use men's sexuality as a target, the conversation extends to relationships of all types. 

Goodpain Podcast Season 02, Episode No. 011: Maturity in Men's Sexuality & Intimacy with Amanda Jepson, LPC, CST, ACS

We're back! After a nearly two-month hiatus, we have a number of interviews and discussions ready as we run out the remainder of this season. 

In this return episode Jeremy and Tyler consider the statement "A mature man doesn't need to prove his strength; he creates safety for others to discover theirs." Multiple questions are explored in this conversation, and relies on some current conversations to inform it including the recent Netfflix released documentary, Louis Theroux's Inside the Manosphere alongside the literary classic, Lord of the Flies.

Questions Explored:

 * "What does it mean to be strong enough to be gentle without being weak?"
 * "How do you know when your actions come from mature power versus the need to prove something?"
 * "What would change in your relationships if you stopped trying to fix or save people and started trusting them to find their own way?"
 * "When you think of the legacy you want to leave, what qualities matter more than achievements?"

Goodpain Podcast Season 02, Episode No. 010: The Maturity Difference

Jeremy & Tyler are back in the studio to how culturally rewarded patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting can function like addictions for men, keeping them trapped while believing they are powerful and "in control."

The cost? Over time, they diminish the man himself, shrinking his humanity, robbing his authentic relationships, mystery, interdependence, and the possibility of a larger, more truthful life. 

Goodpain Podcast Season 02, Episode No. 009: Cultural Seductions of Men & the Hooks of Addiction

We return to the topic of grief as our starting point and shared story, however, this discussion goes beyond that. In it we sit down with Bill O'Melia, who was thrust into role as an advocate following the passing of his son, Drennan in 2010. Bil and his wife, Melissa, with their two surviving sons were upheld by a sudden community that rose up around them. And a couple years later, Bill found himself using his family's story on stage. 

This year, Bill & Melissa came to the decision with their  board to suspend operations for Drennen's Dreams Foundation [https://www.drennensdreams.org/]. We discuss the journey toward that decision here and the emotions and experience that came along with it. Bill is also involved in supporting the Families United to Prevent Drowning [https://www.familiesunitedtopreventdrowning.org/] organization, a union of families focused on "No more drowning."

Goodpain Podcast Season 02, Episode No. 008: Bill O'Melia – Grief as a Father, Sharing Grief as Men

This week we speak with Fletcher Galeano, author of Letters to a Living Ghost, [https://a.co/d/6XtP7kZ] a memoir of his personal journey that explores themes of identity, grief, and healing. His journey involved emotional abuse, parental neglect, mental illness, family estrangement, and trauma and he shares the vulnerable details in this discussion. 

Fletcher Galeano's Amazon Author Page [https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0FN79GDZZ?ccs_id=579eb3b0-eca9-47cb-81fe-53cb3a47b422]

Goodpain Season 02 Episode No. 007: The Masculine Principle – Fletcher Galeano, Finding Self within Estrangement

Goodpain Podcast is an invitation to reclaim the space for honest, candid conversations about our struggles, about not knowing, about the wisdom found simply in enduring.. Like the ancient tribes, gathering around a fire to share hard-won wisdom, we'll talk about life's true intensities: the raw realities of parenting, the relentless demands of careers, the shattering impact of tragedy, the quiet burden of pain, and the unexpected moments of joy that flicker in between. Because whether your struggle was a sudden storm or a slow erosion, your story is meaningful. 

Tyler Martin

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