The Scholars & Iron Podcast

#35 "Teaching the Iron" - Michael Dalton

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!

#34 "Philosophize with a Barbell" - Kyle Keough

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.

#33 "Iron Sharpens Iron, II" - Swede Burns

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.

#32 "Iron Sharpens Iron, I" - Swede Burns

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.

Women Empowered (2021)

Chris Praml of Precision Video Solutions [https://www.precisionvideo.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 [https://pullyourheartout.org/], 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 [https://www.patreon.com/scholarsandironprecisionvideosolutions?fan_landing=true] to find out more.