"Everybody wants to eat, but Few Will Hunt."

Today on the podcast with Joey Bowen and Drew Beech, co-founders of the apparel brand and community Few Will Hunt.

Joey and Drew spent their daily commutes through the gritty streets of Philadelphia on the phone for a year straight.

On these calls, they discussed business and life — especially the trends of self-entitlement and shortcut-seeking they witnessed in society.

These trends made them feel alone in an ever-softening world. “Are we the only ones that still believe in the power of hard work?” Drew asked. Joey responded, “It’s like we say at my hunting cabin — everybody wants to eat, but few will hunt.”

This statement perfectly summed up their frustrations with society. It became their mantra.

ZACHARY WAGNER is a writer, researcher, and ordained minister–a thinker of thoughts and a feeler of feelings. Originally from Chicagoland, he lives in Oxford, England, pursuing a DPhil (Ph.D.) in New Testament studies at Keble College, University of Oxford. He also serves as the editorial director of the Center for Pastor Theologians, where he co-hosts the CPT Podcast. His research interests include economics in the ancient world, divine wages in Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity, Pauline epistles, the Gospel of Matthew, and New Testament masculinities. His first book, Non-Toxic Masculinity: Recovering Healthy Male Sexuality, was published in 2023 with Intervarsity Press. Zach’s other writing interests include evangelical and “post-vangelical” Christian discipleship, theological formation, and speaking against church-based abuse.

In today's podcast, we are continuing our discussion on AI art. We covered more technical ground last week but barely scratched the surface of what people are worried about on the ethical side of this new technology. As with any new technology, there will be growing pains, and in the world of art, many living artists have voiced concern about being drowned out by the flood of AI-generated pieces that could pass off as originals. So join us as we wade into this complex and evolving topic of AI art!

Today, my friend, Joe Jackowski, joins me on the podcast. Joe now holds a bachelor's in biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience from the University of Michigan.

As he finished up his degree, he took it upon himself to continue exploring where his interests had taken him, specifically in psychology. He's been exploring two influential psychologists and psychotherapists, Erich Neumann and Camille Paglia.

In today's episode, my friend, Jordan Criss. This podcast is a little bit special in that Jordan was actually in person for this episode.

We talk about the difference or the effect of workouts and mindfulness slash meditation. Highlighting what we think about this first year of the pandemic lockdown and how different life feels one year later or one year of living through this situation.

My guest today is Nick Buegel, who is returning to the podcast. In this episode, Nick and I go deep into what he's been exploring during the pandemic. As we all know, the pandemic has put unique stress on almost all of Nick and us. But what Nick decided to do was, in many ways, make the most of the situation.

He spent many days and hours outside nature, walking around different parks. Over time, that sparked his interest to explore what is happening within climate change and the broader environment as a movement and what's going on at a policy level. What's going on at a technology level? How do people think about the environment?

My guest today is Mike Hagensick, who is returning to the podcast. Mike is the co-founder of the E3 collective. The vision of the collective was sparked while Mike was a special education teacher working with children with complex needs. During this time, he worked with many great teachers, paraeducators, physical therapists, and occupational therapists through close collaboration and a shared vision of opportunity.

Students could access unique experiences and opportunities, leading to improved quality of life as Mike transitioned into his new role. He started the Panther Academy for Water Safety to promote evidence-based learning to swim and water safety instruction to individuals with diverse abilities by integrating high-level teaching and community. PAWS strives to deliver excellent programs for children regardless of their individual needs.

Brian is an experienced B2B technology executive and entrepreneur who has spent 25 years building startups and early-stage companies in different roles, including as a founder and C-level executive. Throughout his journey, he has seen great success and devastating loss but has been fortunate to be mentored, supported, loved, and coached by some of the most talented people.

Currently, he is serving as the President of SafetyChain Software, a fast-growing SaaS startup in the manufacturing sector, and also as the President of a 501 (c)3 non-profit founded by his kids, The Tower of Niceness. This non-profit provides "niceness for those in need"”

When he's not busy building his own company and teams, Brian is dedicated to helping others achieve the same through his writing on his blog (Help & Hustle) and hosting his podcast (High-Performance Happiness). Both his blog and podcast are aimed at helping leaders find a balance between building better companies and living better lives.

In today's episode, we discuss the dangers of social media and how we interact with it.

By the end of this conversation, we hope listeners understand the tricks being played on users to get them to spend more attention than they should with their devices. Though this podcast centers around the negative aspects, we discuss ways to use these platforms more productively.

Feel free to share your thoughts and insights about how you view social media and what you think are possible solutions to function better!

On today's podcast. I am joined by my friend Joe Jackowski. In this episode, we discuss what has happened at the University of Michigan as this pandemic unfolds. The university's different policies are put in place. Beyond that, the discussion shifts to how to think about the pandemic issue. It seems to come down to this idea of safety and autonomy for the individual.

Jessica Matat is an Egyptian-American freelance producer with a Bachelor's degree in film and television from Boston University. She also studied filmmaking and fashion photography at the New York Film Academy.

Erich shares some ideas that he's been working through. The weight of the world's problems and chaos has almost felt insurmountable in the last few weeks. At its worst, how can one person make a real difference in the chaos?

In this episode, I am joined by two of my closest friends Jordan Criss and Joe Jackowski. With both of them here, we dive into making sense of the events over the last few weeks.

Some topics we cover:

Jordan's experience at the Chicago Protest

Learning from the Surgeon Code of Ethics and Normative Errors

Daryl Davis as an example of breaking through racism

Dunbar's Number

Dave Chappelle and much more!

In this conversation, we are joined by Corey McCarthy. I wanted to have a conversation with after watching the film Just Mercy. At the time, I was interested in learning more about the prison system and someone who was a part of the prison system. After setting up to record, COVID-19 swept the world in about a week. This shifted our discussion to talk about the work Corey has done to change his mindset and, in many ways, start over.

In this episode, Erich wanted to check in with each of you! In the wake of the response to COVID-19, the world seems to hold its breath. In this short podcast, Erich shares how he's dealing with the quarantine in effect.

Clint Pulver is known as “The Millennial Speaker,” he works with organizations that want to retain, engage, and inspire the younger generation. As one of the most sought-after Keynote speakers, Clint travels the world every year, helping educators to remember the power and significance of the teaching job and that how they choose or choose not to teach in the classroom changes lives.

Derek Sivers(@sivers) is a creative thinker who is quite hard to pin down when explaining who he is: musician, producer, circus performer, entrepreneur, TED speaker, and book publisher. If I could sum up who Derek is, I would say he’s a philosopher and introspective person looking to push his thinking in ways he hasn’t explored yet. He won’t hold any belief or assumption too tightly.

My Thanksgiving was unorthodox this year, with my mom having to work and other family matters that have been weighing on me over the last few months. So, in this short bonus episode, I hit record and let my thoughts come out about holidays and relationships. This episode is raw, emotional, and vulnerable.

Jordan Criss joins us for this conversation, which started with a discussion around The JOKER starring Joaquin Phoenix. We concluded the film is much more of a social commentary than only for entertainment purposes. Jordan gives clear analogies of what he believes the film was trying to accomplish, and for him, it was an unsettling film because of how real it felt. From there, the conversation expanded into questions about our modern world with subjects of friendship, connection, communication, and mental health. Finally, we wrap up with a discussion on what we are working on personally. Jordan's latest goal is to be more positive, facilitated by being as present as possible.

Joe Jackowski is back on the show! We recap what Joe has been up to over the summer and the upcoming school semester.