Claim OwnershipBewildered
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© 2025 Martha Beck and Rowan Mangan
Description
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!
112 Episodes
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We’re in the middle of moving house (and Ro’s turning 45!) so our whole daily rhythm is being shaken up. But disruptions can be a great opportunity to consciously redesign your life. In this episode of Bewildered, we explore “day mapping,” staying responsive to nature’s cues, and letting your deepest yearnings guide you—instead of sticking to cultural rules or slipping into inertia. It’s about creating a life that’s structured enough to hold your dreams but not so rigid that it boxes you in. Join us! 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.
What does a text about chickens have to do with the meaning of life? We're glad you asked! In this episode of Bewildered, we examine how our culture teaches us to avoid touch, fear time, and forego relationships for transactions. We dive deep into how we’ve been pushed away from nature and each other by systems that value money most, and we explore the things that really make life worth living: genuine connection, sensory experience, and living in the moment (which includes cuddling chickens). Join us! 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.
Our culture believes that the only way to fix all the bad stuff in the world is to stare at it relentlessly, as if our sheer focus could solve things. (Or at least prove we’re not part of the problem.) However, there are more effective ways to be the change, ways that include beauty and joy. On this episode of Bewildered, we’re talking about how we can actively change the world without being consumed by what’s wrong with it—and how creativity might be more revolutionary than resistance. Join us! 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.
Do you find it difficult to share your unique offerings with the world? How about charging money for your work? In this “Best of” episode of Bewildered, we dive into a question from listener Rebecca who’s trying to find the courage to shine her light in the world—and get paid well for it. We share some of our own experiences with this issue too, and offer three magical little words that can banish shame and set you free to shine your light and charge what you’re worth. Join us! 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.
“QUICK! DO THIS NOW! IT’S URGENT!” Do those words spike your pulse? We're constantly pressured to do things that serve the system, and we’re trained to think of these things as urgent. But are they? In this “Best of” episode of Bewildered, we dive into the topic of urgency: How there’s a type that will crush your soul and a type that will grow it—and how you can tell the difference. If you often find yourself responding frantically to problems which may or may not be urgent, this episode is for you! 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.
In our culture we’re socialized to believe that if we suffer enough, we’ll be rewarded later—and our reward will be happiness. In other words, happiness is something we have to earn through suffering. On this “Best of” episode of Bewildered, we challenge this cultural belief, inspired by the words of 14th century mystic St. Catherine of Siena who said, “All the way to heaven is heaven.” To hear more about this idea—and how you can experience happiness right now—join us for one of our favorite episodes! 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.
Ever suffer from burnout? We certainly have, and we’re talking all about it on this “Best of” episode of Bewildered! Burnout is something our culture doesn’t allow because it expects us to be productive non-stop. However, our wild natures require “wintering” periods where we rest and reset. If you need to recover from burnout (or you want to preempt it), tune in for the full episode to hear our suggestions for getting ahead of burnout and resetting your body, mind, heart, and spirit. 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.
“Should I stay, or should I go?” It’s an age-old dilemma, and we’re exploring it in this “Best of” episode of Bewildered! To figure out when to stay or leave, we must first examine our thoughts. Often our struggles come from our thoughts about our situation, rather than the situation itself—and our thoughts can be shifted once we get to a place of peace. To learn how to ground yourself, shift your thoughts, and use peace as a compass to make the best decisions 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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3One way to deal with the constant, terrifying changes in all of our lives is to choose the worldview of a pilgrim—someone who doesn’t see life as a series of fixed positions but as a continuous, fluid process or journey. The journey itself is not what’s most important—it’s the way that the journey changes you that matters. In this episode of Bewildered, we’re talking about how to live your life as a sacred pilgrimage, let yourself be guided, and allow the journey to write the story of you. Join us! 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.
Did you know that the world needs your art? On this special episode of Bewildered, our friends Amie McNee and James Winestock join us to talk about Amie's new book, We Need Your Art—and why your creativity matters now more than ever. In this rollicking conversation, we discuss how making art is a revolutionary act, why art is needed in unprecedented times, and what it means to stay soft amid the hardness of the culture. If you've been looking for a spark to light your creativity, this episode is for you! 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.
Kindness. Our culture often frames it as something weak, naive, foolish, or passive—and there’s a reason for that. If we stay “nice” and subscribe to the culture’s idea of kindness, then we stay obedient and easier to control. So in this episode of Bewildered, we get ultra-revolutionary around kindness. We’re talking about the most radical type of kindness—kindness toward one’s self—and how it’s a force that can change our cultural systems of cruelty to create the revolution we want. Come join us! 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.
At the beginning of this game called life, we each get a human—a body that we get to steer through the world. In this episode of Bewildered, we’re talking about the idea of “training your human”—because you are not your body, mind, or personality, but rather a consciousness that inhabits your human form. If you can gently guide your human instead of forcing it to conform to culture, then your human can thrive while still being able to function in the world. Want to learn how? Tune in and find out! 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.
Have you ever been drawn into conspiratorial thinking? In this Episode 99 of Bewildered, we’re talking about how easy it is to get pulled into conspiracy theories because of a phenomenon called apophenia. It's the tendency to perceive connections or meaningful patterns between unrelated or random things—and it happens to feel delightful. Want to learn more about apophenia, conspiracy theories, fractured worldviews, and how we can all come to our senses? Join us for this episode of the Bewildered podcast! 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.
“Your money, or your life.” Those two things are very, very different, but in our culture, they tend to get blended together. That’s what we’re talking about on this episode of Bewildered. We explore how our culture is so focused on money it’s practically a religion. And how for many of us, this obsession with money can become an addiction because “you can never get enough of something that almost works.” Want to try shifting your central focus away from money and work? Join us for the full episode! 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.
Noise. It’s ever-present in our culture, and often it affects us in ways we don’t even realize. In this episode of Bewildered, we explore how different sounds impact the nervous system—from disrupting sleep to interfering with brain waves to triggering fear in the amygdala—and what we can do to heal. (Hint: Birdsong is a powerful antidote!) Tune in for the full conversation to learn about the physiological and emotional effects of noise and how to regain your equilibrium in an increasingly noisy world. 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.
This is a spicy time in history, and in between bouts of fear, we’ve been thinking about how to navigate through potentially dark and dangerous times. Want to know our go-to strategy? Trusting our intuition! In this episode of Bewildered, we talk about how intuition is heightened during uncertain and chaotic times, and how to recognize the messages your intuition is trying to send you. (Hint: It involves curiosity, synchronicities, and inexplicable joy.) Tune in for the full episode to find out more! 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.
Intuition is like a call from destiny that we often miss because we're always "on the other line" with culture. In this episode of Bewildered, Martha and Ro explore the concept of intuition and how to connect with it amidst all the noise of our cultural conditioning. They talk about how to tell the difference between intuition and anxiety, the reasons we tend to ignore intuition, and how to hang up with culture so you can listen to the messages your intuition is trying to tell you. Don't miss it! 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.
Martha and Ro are back with another episode of Bewildered, and it's a follow-up to their "Why So Anxious?" episode. This time they're talking about how not to be anxious, and why moving beyond anxiety is linked to creativity, your life’s purpose, and building a better society. You'll learn ways to retrain your brain to have a completely different experience of being human in community—and how lowering anxiety can help us all create a more beautiful, more just world together. Give it a listen! 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.
Do you suffer from the odd bit of anxiety? In this Bewildered, Martha and Ro are talking about Martha's new book Beyond Anxiety, which examines the causes of anxiety, its prevalence in our culture, and tried-and-true ways to overcome it. Martha says that moving more activity into the right sides of our brains is the only way to conquer anxiety—and the first step to getting there is curiosity. Tune in to hear more about cultivating curiosity to step out of anxiety and into a life of creativity and calm. 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.
In this Best of Bewildered episode, Martha and Ro answer a question from listener Josephine, who's trying to understand and overcome her resistance to doing things that are good for her. The culture tells us that if something is good for us, we should just do it! Otherwise, we need to punish ourselves. There's only one problem with that: Punishments don't work. To learn how Martha and Ro use kindness and creativity to get past inertia and move through transitions, be sure to listen to the full conversation! 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.
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Tilda Swinton quote link please
check out this for more details 9xflix web series
Love, love, love the laughter and fun these two have while demonstrating in real time bow to work through procrastination (or is it procrastibation?)
Hetero marriage and families are not going away, so best to figure out how to make them work better for women. I feel that it is in my nature to be married with children (and I am) but my husband and I are creative about making it work for me so that I'm rested and fulfilled. We need to make this easier for women at all income levels.
ooh, I'm listening at about 41 minutes, and my first thought is I don't agree. Institutions can deny individuals access to safety and sustenance. It's not feasible for large numbers of people to go off grid and sustain themselves without institution infrastructure. More personally (sample size of 1, lol), I have to (as do many chronic babes) engage with the institution that is the Australian health system because the alternative is death, and I'm not ready to shuffle off yet*. so, choice 1: live, precludes turning away from big ol' institutions. *less about fear of death than about having a long-arse list of fun things to do. 😃 🧡
Really helps me to figure things out! Love the fun notes on each episode. The insights are given with love and warmth, and these Teo have a lot of fun together.
Are we getting more episodes soon? Just found these and I love the practices you teach!
Wisdom aplenty and moments that had me laughing outloud in every episode! I think Martha and Ro have the BEST timing and energy, and this feels like sitting in on conversations between the two of them. It’s my favorite!! Thank you both! 💜 #gonadofgoat