Human School

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