The Scholars & Iron Podcast

I sat down with high school Spanish teacher and natural bodybuilder, powerlifter and strongman--Mr. Michael Dalton (or if you're not his student, just Dalton). We had a great time talking about his high school powerlifting club and what it's like to teach young adult the fine art of the barbell. Plus, I have some updates for the podcast you won't wanna miss!

The knowledge of using tools is effectively the knowledge of how we extend our bodies beyond are given physiology. Kyle Keough is a powerlifting coach and a student of philosophy, and writes about the barbell in a similar manner. We discussed philosophers like Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Michel Foucault, and what they can tell us about powerlifting and its own evolution.

Continuing on from our previous episode in Iron Sharpens Iron, Part I, Swede discusses his new calling as a Christian and the need to help others. We also discussed faith under quarantine, and why sometimes political divisions need not be so emotionally-charged.

What does it mean to have faith under the bar? And how does Christianity relate to a support where risking it all means injury—if not certain death? I recently had a conversation with Swede Burns, elite powerlifter, father of the 5thSet methodology, published poet, and devout Christian. He told me about his narrative of coming to Christ, what that means for him. We managed to get into the weeds with the topic of allegory in the Bible, to the performativity of the angry lifter—in fact, we got into so many discussions we decided to make this into a two-part series called Iron Sharpens Iron.

Chris Praml of Precision Video Solutions and I are teaming up to bring you high-quality content on the cultural, social, and philosophical disposition of physical strength in our society today. The first in the series is Women Empowered (2021) which looks at at the changing perceptions and challenges of women powerlifters. Issues such as normative expectations of the female physical aesthetic as well as strength output, are brought out in discussion. 

Chris and Joe use the film to raise awareness about these issues, as well as raise money for the Pull Your Heart Out organization, a nonprofit dedicated to change the narrative on women in strength. Learn more about them by clicking here, and consider making a financial contribution.

As Part I of our series, also consider helping us continue to make great and even better video content, by becoming a Patreon member today!  Click here to find out more.

How do we view fitness in our lives? Today, there is a small, but significant population who have shirked its hobby-like status and have transformed fitness into veritable outlook on life itself. They seek to embody what writer and journalist Kunitz calls, the practicing life. But is this just another cultish byproduct of late modernity, or does being physically have deeper roots than we might expect? I recently spoke to Daniel, whose book, Lift:  Fitness Culture from Naked Greeks and Acrobats to jazzercise and Ninja Warriors, explores the social dynamics of what it means for humans to be physically fit.

Blaine Dulin is a National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified personal trainer and a powerlifting coach here in Northern Virginia. He’s trained numerous champs in powerlifting of all ages, and has observed the differences when it comes to gender as well as age. Most of Blaine’s athletes have been trained from the ground up, and understands how some of the bigger factors like age and genetics play. We spoke about those, as well as obesity

Indigenous strength sports have been around for hundreds of years—if not a millennia—with nearly every culture claiming their own. Most, if not all, of these sports are centered on lifting or throwing ancient agricultural equipment, such as stones, oxcarts, and axes. As our modern economy continues to evolve and change, it's worth asking the question—what will become of these ancient sports under a changing and unpredictable economy? I spoke with Maeve Eguzkia, a Basque-American, who’s a competitor in powerlifting, Scottish Highland Games, as well as Herri Kirolak—or Basque popular sports, to learn more about the Basque and their national games.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States today. In 2018, suicide attempts were estimated to number around 1.5 million cases alone. Dr Marilia Coutinho is a member of the Ronin Institute, a Brazilian academic trained in both the natural and social scientists—and she’s also an elite powerlifter. Scholars & Iron had Dr Coutinho on the show in January, and we’re having on her again because she will be releasing a book on suicide and its relationship to lifting, entitled “Lifting and Suicide:  How Lifting and Strength Sports Help the Hopeless” published by the Ronin Institute. The topic itself strikes close to home to Dr Coutinho as a suicide attempt survivor herself, but also for the show, as Mike, one of our original members, is active with veterans struggling with suicide and societal alienation. We discussed Dr Coutinho’s motivations for writing the book, whether or not suicide, as a social phenomenon, is more than just a mental health issue, and how lifting can play a preventive role, but the culture may have some pitfalls for those who are prone to it.

Swede Burns is an elite powerlifter, author of the famous 5th Set, and he is also a published author in his own right, his first collection called “Clues About Ghosts” poems of intimacy and despair”. Swede has been compared poets like Charles Bukowski, touching on the kaleidoscope world of romance, love-loss, miscommunication, in a very contemporary, relatable manner. We discussed cultural divides, poets, and even had him read a few of his poems, one from his upcoming book, The 13th Ghost.