There is a wealth of content on the Internet offering men and boys rigid, restrictive and harmful ideas about masculinity and gender relations – from the Manosphere, to pornography, to mainstream news and entertainment featuring narrow models of manhood. By contrast, there remains a relative lack of material seeking to engage in positive, empowering ways with men and boys in order to strengthen their participation in debates and action in relation to gender equality and feminism. With some notable exceptions (listed here on XY), this includes the world of podcasting. Two years ago, Sandy Ruxton and I, men and masculinities researchers based at Durham University in the UK, decided to contribute towards addressing this gap, by creating our own podcast called ‘Now and Men’. We wanted to make the lessons learnt from research, practice and activism accessible to wider audiences, whilst retaining the depth and nuance of expert analysis. Podcasting provides an exciting medium through which to communicate in this way, and since we started it in July 2021, Now and Men has been going from strength to strength.
A new hour-long episode comes out every month, and we have recorded over thirty so far. As illustrated in the list below, we have discussed a vast array of topics – from fatherhood, to men’s violence against women, to men’s health and wellbeing, to the climate crisis, to war and militarism. For example, in our most recent episodes, we have talked to creator of XY Prof Michael Flood about violence prevention work, Prof Sanjay Srivastava and Dr Romit Chowdhury about masculinity in the Indian city, Dr Kadri Aavik about veganism, and Prof Jonathan Scourfield about suicide. We welcome ideas for future episodes too, because there are so many different topics to which a men and masculinities lens is relevant. And we’re increasingly keen to consider gender issues more broadly, whilst always thinking about how these connect to the lives of men and boys. We also try to vary our geographical focus, with our attention ranging from the UK, to Europe, to countries around the world, and listeners in 130 different countries thus far. If you’re interested, you can listen to all of our episodes for free at now-and-men.captivate.fm, or on any major podcast app on your device, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts – and feel free to make use of them in your own work.
Together with colleagues, we are also interested in the role that podcasts more broadly can play in engaging with men and boys about feminism, gender equality and masculinity. As a result, Dr William McInerney and I have recently written an article for the journal Masculinities and Social Change, exploring the opportunities, challenges and risks posed by pro-feminist podcasting. Look out for another piece for XY by Will coming soon, which will examine this further.
Now and Men podcast – Episodes so far
- Dr Martin Robb - Men, Fatherhood and Caring for Children
- Nikki van der Gaag - Men, Feminism and Care Work
- Dr Mike Ward - Young Working-Class Masculinities in the South Wales Valleys
- Owen Thomas - Working with Marginalised Young Men
- Dr Fiona Vera-Gray - Men’s Violence against Women, Street Harassment, and Pornography
- Men Marching Against Violence Against Women
- Peter Baker - Improving Men's Health and Wellbeing
- Prof Bob Pease - Masculinities, Climate Change, and Men’s Relationships with Nature
- Olivia Dickinson - Let Toys Be Toys: Gender Stereotypes and Boys
- Prof Jason Arday - Being Young, Black and Male: Challenging the Dominant Discourse
- Prof Paul Higate - Militarism and Military Masculinities: Why Do They Matter?
- Prof Raewyn Connell - Making Sense of Men and Masculinities in the 21st Century
- Prof Nicole Westmarland - Men’s Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls
- Luis Lineo - Masculinity, the War in Ukraine, and Refugees: Swedish Responses
- Sé Franklin - Older Men, Masculinities in Ireland, and ‘Inner Work’
- Dr Stacey Pope - Building Gender Equality in Football
- Dan Boyden (Safe Ground) - Reimagining Masculinities in the Prison System
- Sebastián Molano (Oxfam America) - Men at Work, Men at Home: Advancing Feminist Social Change
- Dr Jade Levell - Boys, Domestic Abuse and Gang Involvement: Eliciting Men’s Stories Through Music
- Sandy Ruxton and Stephen Burrell Talking to Yaz Brien - Now and Men: One Year On
- Gary Barker (Equimundo) - Promoting Nurturing, Non-Violent Masculinity in Times of Political Upheaval
- Dan Guinness (Beyond Equality) - Working with Men and Boys for Gender Equality
- Prof Lucy Delap - Exploring the History of Feminism and Men’s Engagement with It
- Dr Demet Aslı Çaltekin - Refusing Militarism: Conscientious Objectors and Masculinity in Turkey
- Dr Katarzyna Wojnicka - Men, Migration and Masculinities in Europe
- Andrea Simon (End Violence Against Women Coalition) - Tackling Misogyny and Abuse in the Police and Beyond
- Jackson Katz - Democracy, Authoritarianism and Violence: The Politics of Masculinity in the United States
- Prof Jonathan Scourfield - Suicide, Social Work, and Masculinities
- Dr Kadri Aavik - Masculinity, Meat-Eating, and Vegan Men
- Prof Sanjay Srivastava and Dr Romit Chowdhury - Masculinities and City-Life in India and Beyond
- Prof Michael Flood - Engaging Men and Boys: Theory and Evidence