An Evolving Man Podcast

Epizódy

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  Why Former Boarders Become Perfectionists — And Burn Out | Piers Cross 16.09.2026 16min

  Why do so many former boarders struggle with perfectionism, overworking and the feeling that they are never quite good enough? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross explores the link between boarding school syndrome, perfectionism, the inner critic and burnout. At boarding school, mistakes can carry a social cost. Vulnerability may be hidden, everyone else can appear to have it “sorted”, and achievement becomes a way of proving our worth. Underneath can sit a much deeper bel...
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  Prince George Starts at Eton: Boarding School, Separation & Emotional Survival | Piers Cross 09.09.2026 14min

  What can the first day at boarding school feel like for a child? Following Prince George’s arrival at Eton College, Piers Cross reflects on his own first days at boarding school and the psychology of leaving home for a large residential institution. Drawing on the work of Nick Duffell and Joy Schaverien, Piers explores the “threshold moment” when a child begins to understand emotionally—not merely intellectually—that their parents have gone and they must now adapt to a new environment. ...
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  From Broadway’s Hamilton to a Heart Attack: Burnout & Transformation | Julian Reeve | AEM #171 04.09.2026 1h 4min

  What happens when reaching the top still isn’t enough? In Episode 171 of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross speaks with Julian Reeve, international keynote speaker, author and creator of the Perfect Equilibrium methodology. Julian worked across the West End and Broadway before joining the team behind Hamilton. In 2017, while Music Director of the show’s first US national tour, he suffered a stress-related heart attack at 43. A subsequent repetitive strain injury eventually ended his perform...
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  Boarding School Syndrome & the Inner Critic: Why We’re So Hard on Ourselves 02.09.2026 15min

  Why are so many former boarders relentlessly hard on themselves? In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross explores the brutal inner critic that can develop through boarding school and childhood trauma. Piers reflects on how being humiliated for showing emotion led him to begin attacking himself internally before other people could do it. What originally helped create protection and control eventually became an inner bully. Drawing on his own experience and the work ...
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  Why Your Child’s Behaviour Isn’t the Problem | Geoff Owen | AEM #170 28.08.2026 56min

  What if difficult behaviour is not something to control—but something to understand? In Episode 170 of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross speaks with Geoff Owen, founder of Biologically Aligned Parenting and author of The Parenting Assumption. Geoff argues that children are born with innate needs for safety, certainty, connection and regulation. When those needs are not sufficiently met, behaviours we label as defiant, aggressive, withdrawn or difficult may emerge as adaptations. Rather tha...
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  End of Summer Anxiety & Boarding School Syndrome | Piers Cross 26.08.2026 7min

  Why can the end of summer bring unexpected anxiety, sadness or unease for former boarders? In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross explores how late August and early September can unconsciously reconnect ex-boarders with the repeated childhood experience of leaving home and returning to boarding school. After weeks at home, children often had to prepare themselves to separate from family and “harden up” again for another term away. Decades later, seasonal changes, return...
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  Why We Stay Stuck in Addiction | Alcohol, Trauma & Grief with Colleen Clifford | AEM #169 21.08.2026 59min

  What is the story beneath addictive behaviour? In Episode 169 of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross speaks with commercial fisherwoman, health coach, speaker and alcohol-free living advocate Colleen Clifford. Colleen spent more than three decades working in Alaska’s commercial fishing industry. Months at sea without alcohol made it easier for her to believe that her binge drinking was under control—even when episodes of drinking continued to create consequences in her life. She also s...
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  I Didn’t Like Boarding School — So Why Did I Send My Children? | Piers Cross 19.08.2026 6min

  Why would someone who had an unhappy or frightening experience at boarding school go on to send their own children there? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross explores the psychology of intergenerational repetition and boarding school. Drawing on his own experience and material from Trauma, Abandonment & Privilege, James Blunt, Bear Grylls and Tina Brown, Piers examines the contradictions that can appear in former boarders’ stories: people may describe fear, bullying, l...
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  How to Rebuild Focus in a Distracted World | George Molakal & Brian Throckmorton | AEM #168 14.08.2026 1h 5min

  Can attention be trained like a muscle—and can technology help us recover the focus that technology itself is eroding? In Episode 168 of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross speaks with George Molakal, CEO and co-founder of MindSpring Innovation, and Brian Throckmorton, co-founder and board member. Their work began with personal experience. Both had watched their children struggle with focus, schoolwork and sustained attention. This led them to explore whether there could be another route alo...
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  Why Change Feels So Uncomfortable After Boarding School | Piers Cross 12.08.2026 4min

  Why can transitions feel disproportionately difficult for former boarders? In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross reflects on his own nervousness before leaving for a workshop and retreat—and explores how apparently ordinary transitions can activate much older emotional patterns. Drawing on the work of Nick Duffell and Thurstine Basset in Trauma, Abandonment & Privilege, Piers considers how leaving home repeatedly as a child can make later transitions—holidays, trav...
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  Attachment Wounds, Codependency and Rupture Repair | Nima Rahmany AEM #167 07.08.2026 1h 6min

  In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I speak with Nima Rahmany, nervous system and attachment specialist, transformational coach and founder of the Trigger Proof methodology. Nima works with high-achieving individuals, couples, parents and leaders to understand the deeper patterns behind reactivity, people-pleasing, trauma bonds, emotional shutdown and codependency. This is a powerful conversation about attachment wounds, nervous system regulation, rupture and repair, elegant boundarie...
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  Why High Achieving Leaders Can’t Switch Off | Burnout, Rest and Leadership 05.08.2026 12min

  Why do so many successful leaders struggle to switch off? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I explore why high-achieving leaders often find it difficult to rest, sleep, stop working, put the phone down or be fully present with family. This is not simply a time management issue. For many leaders, the nervous system has learned to stay permanently “on”. Drawing on Jim Collins, Brad Stulberg, Steve Magness, Cal Newport, Kelly McGonigal, Emma Seppälä, Nick Duffell and Thurstine Bassett,...
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  Why Conflict Can Deepen Love | Dr. Judith Wright on Emotional Intelligence and Relationships | AEM #166 31.07.2026 1h 1min

  In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I speak with Dr. Judith Wright, relationship expert, author and co-founder of the Wright Foundation for the Realization of Human Potential. Judith has spent more than 40 years helping individuals and couples transform conflict into connection, deepen emotional intelligence and create more meaningful lives. We explore why conflict is not necessarily a sign that a relationship is failing. Instead, when approached consciously, conflict can become a doo...
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  I’m Not a Leader? Why We Are All Leaders | Compassionate Leadership 30.07.2026 13min

  What if you are already a leader, even if you do not have the title? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I explore the belief many people hold: “I’m not a leader.” This often comes up in conversations about the Compassionate Leader Pathway. People say they are not in a senior position, not a CEO, not a manager, or not the kind of person they imagine a leader to be. But leadership is not only about titles, hierarchy or command and control. Drawing on Mike Manazir’s work in Learn How to...
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  Birthdays and Boarding School 22.07.2026 6min

  What were birthdays like in boarding school? Were they celebrated or ignored? Or did you get hazed or bullied on your birthday. Take care, Piers --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To p...
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  Why Do the Same People Keep Triggering Me? Leadership, Shadow Work and Boundaries 08.07.2026 13min

  Why do the same people keep triggering us? Why do certain relationships, colleagues, family members or situations seem to provoke the same reaction again and again? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I explore emotional triggers from the perspective of leadership, Jungian psychology, boarding school trauma, nervous system regulation and personal sovereignty. This is an important subject for anyone in leadership, coaching, relationships, parenting or personal development because the p...
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  Kindness in Schools: Creating Emotional Safety for Children | Masha Kastner & David Moss | AEM #165 03.07.2026 59min

  In this deeply moving episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I speak with Masha Castner and David Moss, founders and directors of Kind Waves. Kind Waves is a UK charity created to help schools build deeper cultures of kindness, emotional safety and positive relationships. The charity was born from the heartbreaking death of Masha and David’s 13-year-old daughter, Helena, known as Heli, who took her own life. Through their grief, Masha and David have become passionate advocates for changing the e...
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  5 Reasons We Need to Stop Sending Future Leaders to Boarding School 01.07.2026 11min

  Prince George is set to attend Eton College, continuing a long tradition of future leaders being educated in elite boarding schools. But is this really the best way to prepare someone for leadership in the 21st century? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I explore five reasons why we need to stop sending our future leaders to boarding school. Drawing on modern leadership literature, boarding school syndrome research, attachment theory and the work of writers such as Nick Duffell, Joy...
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  Porn Addiction, Shame & Mindfulness | Jeremy Lipkowitz on Breaking Free from Destructive Habits | AEM #164 26.06.2026 1h 1min

  In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I speak with Jeremy Lipkowitz, executive coach, meditation teacher, leadership facilitator and founder of Unhooked Academy. Jeremy works with high-achieving men who want to break free from destructive habits, porn addiction, compulsive sexual behaviour, shame and emotional avoidance. After overcoming addiction and depression in his early twenties through meditation, Jeremy left a doctoral programme at Duke University and spent time as a Buddhist mon...
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  Keir Starmer Resigns: What Britain’s Leadership Crisis Reveals About Emotional Intelligence 24.06.2026 10min

  For Thursday's leadership workshop: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1991361811785?aff=oddtdtcreator Keir Starmer’s resignation marks another major moment in British political leadership. If the UK is now heading towards its seventh Prime Minister in just over a decade, the deeper question is not simply who comes next. The deeper question is: What kind of leadership culture are we creating? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I reflect on leadership in the UK, the limits of command-and-...