Join Editor-in-Chief Joshua Heston and Ethan Grubaugh along with guest Joshua Stafford of Staffford’s Barber Shop & Shave Company.

Podcast Partners: Josh Huxtable, SOTO Patron, Christine Riutzel, Beauty from Light; Shepherd the Musical: Rediscovering America’s Story, Stafford’s Barber Shop & Shave Company: The Place for Men in Downtown Branson, Taney County Health Department: Creating Opportunities for Healthy Lives in Our Community, and Blue Rock Print Company: Upgrade Your Look!

Vulnerability, masculinity, tough stuff and cake.

It may sound cliché — and maybe even troubled — in today’s politically charged culture, but the question of what it takes to be a man is real. And sometimes difficult. And, what can I say, being that I am a man, these are questions that concern me.

But in a society increasingly polarized, these are questions that should concern all of us.

As editor-in-chief (and sometimes editor-in-chieftain), whose job it is to give the Ozarks people a real voice in an increasingly loud and incoherent world, I believe this story narrative makes sense.

You can also expect StateoftheOzarks narratives on local food and agriculture (#SustainableOzarks), dark magic and mountain folklore (#ArcaneOzarks), and the hardships of living locally in the Ozarks (#BreakingBransonPoverty).

But for this week — and for this Monday’s podcast — it’s #ManlyOzarks, a story narrative about what it means to be a man.

Consequently, this week we have one of my favorite articles chronicling Terry Sartin, one of the greatest men I’ve had the privilege to meet and train with. And we also have a long article about the dorkiest man I know — myself. Hence the aforementioned vulnerability in the title.

Live — and love — strong, y’all.

Terry Sartin #CancerWarrior

An Ozark Workout