Human School

"They said, 'We need you to stop.' And I said, 'I need me to stop, too.'" 

Grammy-winning country artist Ashley McBryde joins Miles for a deeply moving, unfiltered conversation as she reflects on her roots in the Ozarks, the complexities of generational trauma, and what it truly means to be seen.  

Ashley opens up about her long relationship with alcohol, the terrifying night that led her to treatment, and how getting sober allowed her to finally hear her own voice and recognize the person in the mirror. This is a powerful discussion on unlearning old programming, re-parenting your younger self, and why true art doesn't require a dark place. 

If you’re ready to begin a new chapter, Onsite offers transformational experiences to help you live the life you deserve. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04zdx0K0 

Episode Chapters: 

00:00 – Introducing Ashley McBryde

05:00 – Growing Up in the Ozarks & Early Musical Roots

17:00 – Nervous System Responses, Childhood Trauma, and Inner Child Work

44:00 – Generational Trauma, Religion, and Re-framing Family Dynamics

56:00 – The Reality of "High-Functioning" Addiction & Stepping Into Recovery

1:18:00 – Finding Pure Joy in Sobriety and Making Art Without Suffering

Stay Connected to Human School 

Human School Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04zdtB60 

Miles Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04zdw7Z0 

Subscribe on Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04zdt6t0 

Onsite: https://hubs.la/Q04zdx0K0 

What happens when the mental health expert becomes the one navigating a family crisis?

In this deep and deeply personal conversation, therapist and author Matthias Barker sits down with Miles at the Transform Trauma Conference –– Europe’s largest mental health and wellness conference in Oxford, England –– to open up about his own journey through family estrangement, grief, and reconciliation.  

Together, they break down the real-world stuff we all deal with: why healing must come before forgiveness, the difference between setting a healthy boundary and running away, the traps of modern pop psychology, and what it actually takes to find "peace with what's possible."

Whether you're a mental health professional or just trying to navigate your own family system, this conversation offers real tools for real life.

Learn more about Transform Trauma and other Master’s Events: https://mastersevents.com/ 

Are you unfurling your own stories around family, trauma, and mental health? Onsite offers transformational experiences to help you live the life you deserve. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04xQ6_l0 

Episode Chapters: 

00:00 - Welcome to Human School... LIVE!

01:45 - Meet Matthias Barker: From drama kid to building a platform

05:00 - The Family Crisis: Addiction, divorce, and estrangement

07:00 - Learning from Grief Expert David Kessler

11:00 - The Intersection of Trauma and Grief in Family Conflict

15:30 - Peace with What’s Possible: Rethinking reconciliation

26:30 - The Research on Contempt and Emotional Abuse

31:30 - Boundaries vs. Avoidance: When to engage and when to step back

39:30 - The Danger of Pop Psychology and Weaponized Therapy Speak

49:30 - The Trap of Rumination vs. True Psychological Healing

55:30 - The Hardest and Most Meaningful Parts of Being a Helper

Stay connected to Human School 

Substack: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ71f0 
Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ6Y40 
Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ71f0 
Onsite: https://hubs.la/Q04xQ6_l0 

What if the secret to improving your own life, health, and happiness had nothing to do with self-care and everything to do with giving back?

In this episode of Human School, host Miles sits down with long-time music industry veteran and philanthropist Rondal Richardson to flip the script on how we think about generosity. Because you don't need millions of dollars or a massive platform to make a real impact.

Today, Rondal shares remarkable behind-the-scenes stories from his 40-year journey in the music business—working alongside legends like The Judds, Garth Brooks, and Naomi Judd—and how an "almost Oprah moment" changed the trajectory of his life.  

You’ll also discover practical ways to get involved in charity, how to know which organizations and causes to align with, and why the best way to heal your own life is often to show up for someone else. 

If you're in middle Tennessee, join the Music Community Foundation for a Give Like Dolly event this weekend: https://www.giving9to5.com/

Stay Connected

Follow Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04xQ4Zt0

Follow Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ50V0

Subscribe to Our Substack: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ55q0

Looking to dive deeper into your own story? Onsite offers the opportunity to come back to yourself. Learn more here: https://hubs.ly/Q04xQ53Z0

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction to Rondal Richardson and entertainment philanthropy 

00:54 – Meet Rondal Richardson, founder and executive director of the Music Community Foundation 

00:03:00 – The story of meeting Miles through Naomi Judd 

00:15:30 – The Oprah Winfrey connection

00:23:40 – Rondal’s origin story: starting on the road at age 17 

00:32:15 – Touring with Garth Brooks and country music history 

00:40:50 – Making the pivot from the music industry to philanthropy 

00:46:00 – The psychological and physical benefits of service 

01:03:40 – Vetting charities: Charity Navigator, 990s, and finding your cause 

01:17:40 – The impact: Raising $350M+ and the work of the Music Community Foundation 

01:30:30 – Purpose through pain, community support, and looking forward 

We spend an enormous amount of energy trying to learn how to be healthier, less stressed adults – but what if the answer isn't learning something new, but remembering what we knew before we got so complicated? 

In this special solo episode of The Human School Podcast, host Miles Adcox hands the microphone to his seven-year-old daughter, Birdie Rose. With zero media training and absolute honesty, Birdie shares her thoughts on art, missing teeth, strawberries and ketchup, and what makes her feel closest to the people she loves.

In this conversation and reflection, Miles unpacks four unexpected lessons on stress, curiosity, presence, and connection that children carry naturally — lessons that adults spend a lifetime trying to find their way back to.

In this episode: 

00:00 - Introducing Birdie Rose: The 7-Year-Old Podcast Guest  

01:20 - Lesson 1: Curiosity Over Certainty (The Power of "I Don't Know")  

04:00 - Lesson 2: Presence Over Productivity (Why Play Doesn't Need a Reason)  

05:50 - Lesson 3: Expression Over Impression (Strawberries in Ketchup and PR Filters)  

07:45 - Lesson 4: Relationship Over Performance (What Kids Actually Want From Us)  

09:40 - Finding Courage: How We Regulate Fear Inside Relationships  

11:45 - Final Encouragement from Birdie (And How to Keep Showing Up) 

If you’re looking for ways to connect back to yourself, Onsite can help. Learn more about our experiences: https://hubs.la/Q04xcj150

Follow Human School: https://hubs.la/Q04xcj450

Follow Miles: https://hubs.la/Q04xch_N0

Subscribe to Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04xcj3y0

Are you living the life you actually want, or are you just trying to please everyone around you? 

In this episode of Human School, Miles sits down with world-renowned author, sociologist, and life coach Dr. Martha Beck for an exceptionally honest and deep conversation on human nature, breaking free from anxiety, and finding your true path. 

Martha shares her personal journey — from her time writing for Oprah’s Magazine and earning degrees from Harvard, to radically transforming her life by committing to a full year of total honesty. Together, Miles and Martha explore the biological roots of anxiety, how societal expectations force us to sell out our true nature at an early age, and how simple creative acts can serve as a direct antidote to mental distress. 

In this episode, you’ll discover: 

• The Root of Modern Anxiety: Why our current educational and social systems conflict with human evolution.  
• The "Visual Cliff" Study: How children learn to judge their own worth by watching the adults around them.  
• The Power of Caving Early: Why learning to apologize quickly and drop ego heals relationships faster than anything else.  
• Creativity vs. Anxiety: How engaging the creative parts of your brain actively shuts down panic and stress.  
• The "One-Degree Turn": How making tiny, honest shifts in your day-to-day choices can completely realign your life.  
• The K.I.S.T. Method: A practical, step-by-step tool using Kind Internal Self-Talk to navigate intense panic attacks and internal conflict.  

Whether you’re feeling burned out, stuck in people-pleasing patterns, or simply searching for more peace in your daily routine, this episode provides a compassionate roadmap back to your whole self. 

Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more at www.experienceonsite.com  

Episode Chapters: 

00:00:00 Welcome Martha Beck 

00:02:46 What Comfort Means Today  

00:04:41 Root Causes of Modern Anxiety  

00:07:08 How Kids Learn Self-Worth  

00:13:21 The "Cave Early" Practice  

00:15:53 Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain  

00:21:05 The Real Curriculum of Life  

00:24:00 Ancestral Wisdom & Magic  

00:28:13 African Hospitality & Ubuntu  

00:34:52 Finite vs. Infinite Games  

00:44:03 Using Art to Fight Anxiety  

00:47:38 Guided Visualization Exercise  

00:54:02 Finding Magic in Technology  

01:00:52 Humanizing High Performers  

01:08:18 Living One Year Without Lies 

Connect with Human School: 

YouTube: https://hubs.la/Q04wFHGz0 

Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04wFHPK0 

Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04wFJHn0 

Follow Human School on Substack: https://hubs.la/Q04wFJZt0 

What happens when life completely rewires your timeline overnight? 

Six-time Grammy winner Amy Grant joins the show for an exceptionally raw and vulnerable conversation about navigating back-to-back life-altering health crises — from emergency open-heart surgery to a traumatic brain injury that forced her to pause everything. 

Amy candidly opens up about the physical reality of memory loss, the emotional weight of starting over at 65, and why she ultimately decided to write a eulogy to her younger self. She also breaks down the worst advice she received early in her career, and how letting go of control allowed her to finally embrace the gift of unplanned interruptions. 

Whether you are navigating your own unexpected life shift, recovering from trauma, or searching for margin in a chaotic world, this episode is a masterclass in grace, resilience, and true freedom. 

Key Takeaways from This Episode 

• Interruptions are often invitations. Real growth happens when you stop viewing life's disruptions as obstacles and start viewing them as redirections. 
• Release past versions of yourself. Holding onto who you used to be prevents you from accepting and healing who you are right now. 
• Margin isn't extra time — it's intentional space. Recovery and peace require actively protecting your energy from external expectations. 

Are you looking for support after your own season of change? Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more at www.experienceonsite.com 

Episode Chapters: 

00:00 - Dragging Old Suitcases: Amy Grant’s New Season 

00:38 - "Don't Talk So Much, Just Sing" 

06:01 - The First Recording at Age 15 

08:24 - Overcoming Limits 

12:22 - The "River of Life" & Facing the Waterfall 

20:56 - Health Scares: Open-Heart Surgery & the Bike Accident 

27:17 - Living with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) 

31:02 - The Assignment: Writing a Eulogy to Her Younger Self 

35:57 - Undoing Childhood Scripts and Deconstructing the Past 

40:15 - Finding "Margin" and the Story of the Good Samaritan 

45:24 - Morning Rituals: Unplugging from Autopilot 

50:13 - Turning Pain into Grace and Finding Identity 

01:10:53 - Rewiring the Brain: Neuroplasticity and Healing 

01:12:24 - "Lead Me to Those I Need": Surplus and Need 

01:19:00 - Post-Traumatic Growth and Repurposing Your Story 

01:24:24 - Navigating Fame, Criticism, and Living off the Screen 

01:31:17 - Collaborative Music and Embracing a Life Reset 

01:37:19 Breathwork  

01:40:09 Marriage is the Great Rock Tumbler 

01:47:59 Closing Prayer Sendoff 

Connect with Human School: 

YouTube: https://hubs.la/Q04vZlYs0 

Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04vB96T0 

Miles on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04vB9CJ0 

When life throws loss, grief, and change your way, how do you allow the pain to transform you rather than destroy you?  

In this episode of Human School, host Miles Adcox sits down with Judah Akers and Brian Macdonald of the alt-folk band Judah & the Lion on the release day of their album, Process. Together, they walk through a raw and vulnerable conversation about what it truly takes to heal.  

Judah opens up about losing family members to mental health struggles, navigating divorce, and working through addiction while performing on major stages around the world. Brian shares his perspective on stepping into fatherhood while on tour, keeping the band's brotherhood intact through dark seasons, and learning to redefine identity. From the metaphor of a caterpillar in a cocoon to learning how to stop harsh self-judgment, this conversation is a grounded reminder that transformation is messy, but hope is always available.  

In this episode, we discuss: 

• The Cocoon Metaphor: Why real emotional growth requires letting go of who you were.  
• Grief & Mental Health: Processing tragic loss, addressing addiction, and separating the symptom from the disease.  
• Self-Compassion: Overcoming shame, letting go of control, and learning to speak kindly to yourself. 
• Parenting & Growth: Navigating big life transitions and raising kids while working through your own past.
• Behind the Songs: The spontaneous origin story behind their track "Prism".  

Memorable Quotes: 

"The caterpillar has no memory of wings." — Judah Akers  

"We're not through the pain, but we're in it together, and there's hope." — Brian Macdonald  

"Addiction is a symptom. Shame, guilt, and not knowing yourself... are the disease." — Judah Akers  

"It's okay to be scared and brave at the same time. You can actually do both." — Miles Adcox  

Episode Timestamps: 

00:00:00 – Meet Judah & The Lion

00:04:42 – The Metaphor of Transformation

00:11:42 – Fatherhood & Evolving Identity

00:15:39 – Unpacking Rock Bottom & Vulnerability

00:21:44 – Growing Up & Early Influences

00:36:34 – The Band’s Origins & Personal Loss

00:47:31 – Brotherhood & Supporting Each Other Through the Storm

00:50:23 – Addressing Addiction, Shame, and Grief

00:00:21 – Mentors, Support Systems, & Encouraging Voices

01:07:33 – The Meaning Behind "Prism"

01:11:46 – "Open Your Eyes, Kid"

01:24:20 – "Scared and Brave at the Same Time"

Links & Resources: 

Stream Judah & the Lion's Music 

Learn more about emotional wellness intensives at Onsite Workshops 

If you loved this episode, please rate and review Human School on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to help us reach more people who need these conversations! 

Follow Human School 

Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04v8Q7K0

Follow Miles: https://hubs.la/Q04v8QcZ0

Human School YouTube:  https://hubs.la/Q04v8Qdh0

It seems like everyone is talking about stress. How to manage it. How to get rid of it. How to avoid it at all costs.

But maybe in our journey to eradicate stress from our lives, we’re losing something far more valuable. 

In this solo conversation, Miles Adcox reframes our entire relationship with stress. Instead of treating stress like an opponent to beat, what if we treated it like a system trying to protect us?  

Join Miles as he shares the importance of building capacity over elimination, why meaningful living requires being stretched, and how to become a trusted partner to your own nervous system. 

In this episode, we explore: 

• ​Why "trauma" can feel clinical, but stress is universal  
• ​ Stress as the body's brilliant system for adaptation
• The difference between removing stress and building capacity 
• ​ How curiosity replaces shame when looking at our nervous systems  

Looking to go deeper into your personal growth journey? The conversations on Human School are shaped by the work happening at Onsite Workshops. If you're looking to slow down, break patterns, and do the inner work, visit experienceonsite.com 

Episode chapters:  

00:00 Intro: Is stress really the enemy?  

00:40 The room that changed how I view trauma vs. stress  

01:45 How burnout and emotional exhaustion actually begin  

02:35 Why modern wellness tools miss the mark  

03:15 Stress is an adaptation system, not a design flaw  

04:15 Every meaningful thing in life asks something stressful of you  

05:10 Increasing capacity vs. eliminating stress  

05:55 Everyday pressure vs. profound adversity  

06:45 Stress is an experience, not an identity  

07:20 Why modern nervous systems are carrying more than ever before  

07:50 Swap shame for curiosity: Becoming a student of your nervous system  

08:35 Stop playing tug-of-war with your body 

Follow Human School on Instagram: https://hubs.la/Q04tfRwT0

What do you do when you go from singing at local bars to millions of video views, playing at Madison Square Garden with Morgan Wallen, and hearing 20,000 people sing your lyrics back to you? If you’re Larry Fleet, you still shop at Ace Hardware. 

Larry Fleet writes the kind of country songs that feel like your own memories — jumping railroad tracks in a truck bed, learning how to tell stories in a barbershop chair, the sound of truck tires in the gravel. In this conversation, Larry opens up about the “simple” mistakes we’re making in modern storytelling, what fatherhood has changed in his songwriting, and how he's managed to tour and write with Willie Nelson, Morgan Wallen, and other heroes of the genre without losing the guy from White Bluff, Tennessee. 

The conversations we have on Human School are shaped by the work happening every day at Onsite. If you feel stuck in the same patterns, Onsite's Living Centered Program helps you slow down, go deeper, and do the inner work that changes things. If you’d like to learn more about Onsite, visit us –– experienceonsite.com

In this conversation: 

• Why “clutter” might be the enemy of great storytelling 

• The $5-a-head night Larry still keeps close, and why he never lets himself forget it 

• Why he built his newest record with zero radio in mind — and what happened when it hit anyway 

• The ways fatherhood has changed him, including teaching him new ways to communicate with others 

• The surprising place his storytelling voice actually comes from  

• What it actually takes to stay a person instead of becoming a product once people start paying attention 

• How to build a songwriting career one bad song (then a hundred more) at a time 

• How to stay "a normal dude" while touring arenas with Willie Nelson and Morgan Wallen 

• Why simple, honest storytelling can reach people that polished products can't 

Episode timestamps: 

 00:00:00 — Welcome to Human School 

00:06:30 — Small-town origins

00:25:30 — Another Year Older — the new record 

01:01:30 — The true story behind "5:25" 

01:04:00 — Why Larry stopped writing for the radio 

01:07:30 — What We Can Learn from Kids

01:15:00 — $5 a head in North Georgia 

01:19:30 — The Radio Said "No" to "Where I Find God"

01:20:30 — The call from Morgan Wallen, and Madison Square Garden 

01:38:30 — What it means to stay human when you're a "product"

01:47:00 — The barbershop that taught him how to tell a story 

01:51:30 — What "Where I Find God" means to the people who needed it 

01:59:00 — Scotland, and the tears neither of them expected 

02:07:30 — Larry on prison ministry and San Quentin 

Follow Human School 

YouTube:  @humanschoolofficial 
Instagram:  @humanschoolofficial 

TikTok:  @humanschoolofficial 

Why does being right feel so much better than being curious? And is our obsession with certainty the cause of our greatest divides?

This episode breaks down the psychology behind certainty — why our brains default to it, what it costs us in our relationships, and why curiosity might be the more reliable path to actually feeling connected to other people.

What you'll learn

• How confirmation bias shapes what we believe is true, without us noticing it happening
• What the illusory truth effect is, and why repetition can make an opinion feel like fact
• How to tell the difference between healthy disagreement and contempt
• Why algorithms and media incentives reward certainty over nuance — and what that does to us over time
• A mindset shift for staying curious under pressure, borrowed from an unlikely place: horsemanship
• Why feeling understood does more for anxiety than winning an argument ever does
• How to hold strong beliefs without needing everyone around you to agree

Building your curiosity muscles? Onsite offers a range of experiences to do life-changing work around your story and what your body might be holding onto. Learn more here.

Timestamps

• 00:00 — This might be why you're feeling lonely

• 02:30 — Illusory truth effect and confirmation bias
• 05:30 — Making content in the age of outrage
• 07:00 — The real product is Identity
• 09:45 — A horse changed everything
• 13:00 — Understanding vs. "winning"
• 15:00 — Becoming harder to recruit

Stay connected with Human School:

YouTube - https://hubs.la/Q04rLNLl0

Instagram - https://hubs.la/Q04rLNVX0

Threads - https://hubs.la/Q04rLP6D0

TikTok - https://hubs.la/Q04rLPfY0