Season 6 Episode 7: Every Man: A Candid Conversation on Male Violence and Social Change with Jackson Katz
About This Episode
What if ending violence against women isn’t just about asking men to stop bad behavior but also inviting them to embrace a more meaningful definition of strength and leadership? This question forms the heart of our powerful conversation with Jackson Katz, Ph.D., one of the world’s foremost male voices in the movement to prevent gender-based violence.
Katz joins us to discuss his groundbreaking new book Every Man: Why Violence Against Women is a Men’s Issue—the first book published by a major publisher addressing men’s violence with men as a primary target audience. With decades of experience pioneering bystander intervention training and educating on these issues, Katz offers profound insights into why this particular moment demands men’s full engagement with ending violence against women.
Together, we explore how masculinity is “policed” through social mechanisms that keep thoughtful men silent. The modern lexicon of shame—terms like “simp,” “cuck,” and “beta male”—serves to isolate men who might otherwise speak out against misogyny or violence. Yet Katz argues persuasively that true strength isn’t demonstrated through domination but through moral courage, resilience, and standing against injustice.
We delve into how traditional mental health approaches often fail to address violence, how some of the most prominent voices speaking to men today actively undermine healthy masculinity, and why institutional accountability must accompany individual leadership. Particularly riveting is Katz’s argument that prevention work must be framed as a leadership expectation, not merely an optional hope.
This conversation doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable truths—including how patriarchal systems harm men themselves through what Katz calls “the triad of men's violence”: violence against women, violence against other men, and violence against themselves. Yet it ends with an affirming vision of how men and women, with their fundamentally similar emotional makeups, can find connection instead of conflict.
Whether you’re a survivor, a male ally, or someone seeking to understand these issues more deeply, this episode offers invaluable perspectives on creating a world where all people can live without violence or threat.
Read more about Jackson’s work at https://www.jacksonkatz.com/.
Additional Resources
David Mandel’s book Stop Blaming Mothers and Ignoring Fathers: How to Transform the Way We Keep Children Safe from Domestic Violence
Safe & Together Institute’s domestic abuse–informed trainings
Safe & Together Institute’s upcoming events