{"id":191775,"date":"2025-12-02T08:47:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=191775"},"modified":"2026-09-06T16:26:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T21:26:57","slug":"podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a lot of debate these days about what it means to be a man. But maybe the answer is simpler than we think, and a lot of masculinity just comes down to confident competence. A broad set of know-how. The ability to get stuff done. The capacity to move through the world with purpose and skill.<\/p>\n<p>As someone who&#8217;s lived several lives in one, Elliot Ackerman certainly embodies that ethos. He&#8217;s a decorated Marine, a former CIA paramilitary officer, a National Book Award-nominated novelist, and now the writer of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/w\/elliot-ackerman\">A Man Should Know<\/a>,<\/em> a column at The Free Press that explores the small but significant skills that shape a man\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p>Today on the show, Elliot and I talk about why young men are struggling, how intention, discipline, and competence can change the way a man carries himself, and a few of the specific skills a man should know \u2014 from how to wear a watch to how to give a eulogy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a lot of debate these days about what it means to be a man. But maybe the answer is simpler than we think, and a lot of masculinity just comes down to confident competence. A broad set of know-how. The ability to get stuff done. The capacity to move through the world with purpose [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[502,42387,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character","category-manhood","category-podcast"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.4 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence | The Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence | The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There\u2019s a lot of debate these days about what it means to be a man. But maybe the answer is simpler than we think, and a lot of masculinity just comes down to confident competence. A broad set of know-how. The ability to get stuff done. The capacity to move through the world with purpose [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T14:47:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-06T21:26:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brett &amp; Kate McKay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brett &amp; Kate McKay\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brett &amp; Kate McKay\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"headline\":\"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T14:47:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-06T21:26:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":171,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/1095.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Character\",\"Manhood\",\"Podcast\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/\",\"name\":\"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence | The Art of Manliness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/1095.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T14:47:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-06T21:26:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/1095.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/1095.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manhood\\\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Art of Manliness\",\"description\":\"Men&#039;s Interest and Lifestyle\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\",\"name\":\"Brett &amp; Kate McKay\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence | The Art of Manliness","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence | The Art of Manliness","og_description":"There\u2019s a lot of debate these days about what it means to be a man. But maybe the answer is simpler than we think, and a lot of masculinity just comes down to confident competence. A broad set of know-how. The ability to get stuff done. The capacity to move through the world with purpose [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/","og_site_name":"The Art of Manliness","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness","article_published_time":"2025-12-02T14:47:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-06T21:26:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Brett &amp; Kate McKay","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@artofmanliness","twitter_site":"@artofmanliness","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brett &amp; Kate McKay","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/"},"author":{"name":"Brett &amp; Kate McKay","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"headline":"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence","datePublished":"2025-12-02T14:47:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-06T21:26:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/"},"wordCount":171,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095.png","articleSection":["Character","Manhood","Podcast"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/","name":"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence | The Art of Manliness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095.png","datePublished":"2025-12-02T14:47:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-06T21:26:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1095.png","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/podcast-1095-masculinity-as-confident-competence\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Podcast #1,095: Masculinity as Confident Competence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/","name":"The Art of Manliness","description":"Men&#039;s Interest and Lifestyle","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3","name":"Brett &amp; Kate McKay","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}