Episode 23 — Wake Up, Guys: A National Conversation on Men's Mental Health

Doug and Ian open with gardening-as-therapy talk and a comedy show gone sideways before diving into the heart of the episode: a real conversation about men's mental health, masculinity, and why so many men wait until they're drowning to ask for help. Along the way they touch on community, self-awareness, and the small moments — a sauna conversation, a friend's "I love you" — that say more about connection than people expect.

Inspired by CBC's The Current and host Matt Galloway's segment on the federal government's new national strategy for men's health, Doug and Ian unpack toxic masculinity, vulnerability as actual strength, and why "I love you, man" might be the most important thing you say to a friend this year.

In this episode:

• The therapeutic benefits of gardening and connecting with nature, plus surviving the seasonal "thaw"
• A sauna-comedy-show story that did not land
• Doug on his friend Rory Scovel, currently out on the "Know Your Enemy" tour
• The real conversation: toxic masculinity, embracing vulnerability, and Doug's "Alone" TV show monologue
• Value-based parenting and the "rhinoceros in the room" anxiety metaphor
• Why a friend saying "I love you" over car-buying advice hit different
• Sauna Stories: lacrosse kids, felony resumes, and trades culture
• Which Side of the Border: pharmacy body cams, hot glue thieves, and Gordie the dog

Referenced this episode:

• The Current (CBC) — "A 'national conversation' about men's health," hosted by Matt Galloway (March 4, 2026)
• Rory Scovel — comedian, Religion, Sex, and a Few Things in Between (HBO), currently on the "Know Your Enemy" tour (roryscovel.com)
• NY Post — Walgreens body cam pilot program in NYC stores (March 5, 2026)
• Vancouver Police — hot glue break-in targeting method (March 2026)
• The Dodo — Gordie the dog's rescue from the Detroit River, near the Gordie Howe International Bridge
• NY Post / amNewYork — "Sauna Comedy" at Othership Flatiron, NYC, a concept that started in Toronto in 2022 (November 2025)

Got an article, a men's mental health story, or your own sauna story? Send it our way — we might read it on the show: hitylpodcast@gmail.com

Topics: mental health · masculinity · comedy · gardening · societal issues · sauna stories · self-awareness · community · personal growth