The Earthly Delights Podcast

Steve Roberts is Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University, Melbourne. Steve is an internationally recognised expert in research in two areas: i) changes and continuities in boys and men's masculinity practices, and ii) inequalities in young people’s transitions to adulthood. I invited him onto the podcast because I think he’s providing a very important perspective on modern masculinity that is often neglected. That is, the relationship between economic reality and behavior. This conversation begins by exploring Steve’s early research on working-class masculinity and the myth that that working class men can’t adapt to the changes in job opportunities. In fact, his research highlights that the jobs that many working-class people did pivot to, chiefly service industry jobs, were poorly paid, insecure, and part-time, making the transition to moving out of the family home more challenging. This is a big part of his work, bringing attention to the wider forces at play, most notably a consistent decrease in attainable income for the average person over the last 2/3 decades and a big increase in wealth accumulation for the very wealthy. This economic and social reality has very real and painful consequences for people, and we talk about these consequences, firstly in relation to working-class communities and then more broadly for men overall – covering the rise in ethno-nationalism, smartphone use and, of course, the manosphere. We then move on to the disintegration of community, falling rates of belonging and why social enterprises will not fix misogyny in schools. This was a very enriching chat, and I really hope to record another one with him in 2027. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about Steve’s work, please see the links below: https://substack.com/@patriarchypowerviolencehttps://research.monash.edu/en/persons/steven-roberts/

Eamon Armstrong is an artist, podcaster, and as of this month, a published author. I’ve invited him onto the podcast because he’s a very deep, kind and relatable person. His journey towards self-connection and authenticity is very inspirational. I initially reached out to him after I listened to his podcast on the topic of an Inspirational Masculinity for the left which I felt uplifting and nourishing. After I reached out, he kindly sent me his memoir “Many- Minded Man” which I read in a week. This lengthy conversation begins around masculinity, the manosphere, Clavicular, Bad Bunny and then moves into some of the key areas of his memoir, namely; his problematic relationship to porn, its detrimental consequences on his sex life and his voyage towards self-compassion and sexually thriving through the help of kink and other resources. We also explore the role of psychedelics and men’s work in Eamon’s personal growth as well his exploration and embracing of more feminine parts of him. Shout out to Aim! His memoir is out now and I would highly recommend it to anyone. If interested, you can preorder the book here- https://www.eamonarmstrong.com

En este episodio nos adentramos en la experiencia íntima de emigrar: cómo la identidad se transforma cuando dejamos atrás el lugar que nos vio crecer, el peso dulce y doloroso de extrañar un hogar, y el desafío —a veces agotador, a veces hermoso— de construir uno nuevo en otro país. Hablamos de adaptación, de choque cultural, de las pequeñas victorias cotidianas y de la nostalgia que nunca desaparece del todo. Una conversación honesta sobre lo que significa vivir entre dos mundos y reinventarse en el camino.

Our guest this episode is Tatiana Fyodorov, creator of Deep Chats. Deep Chats is a community where people have...you guessed it...DEEP CHATS! It's a space where people feel open and comfortable enough to talk to absolute strangers about real, nuanced topics that create real connections. Tatiana talks to us about her upbringing and how it shaped her into being the type of person who isn't overly interested in small talk, but wants to get to know the real you immediately, and why this urge ultimately led her to create Deep Chats. Thanks for listening!You can follow on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/deepchatsx/

Our guest is Tom Hopcroft, founder of the "Guiris de Mierda" community. Seb talks to Tom about his unconventional path to Madrid, Spain, and how slowly but surely he went from being a primary school teacher teaching English to creating his own community, hosting events in various cities in Spain, allowing people to connect and create their own community, something he himself was missing at the time. We talk about the idea of shame and fear holding you back, and once you rid yourself of those shackles, as Tom has so clearly done, you are free to live the life you want to! Find more about him here: https://www.instagram.com/tomcharliedesign/https://www.instagram.com/guirisdemierda/Thanks to Tom for making time, and thanks to you all for listening.