The case for male vulnerability with Luke Bateman

Women are frequently disenfranchised and discriminated against by systems that favor men, but these same systems hurt men, too. Luke Bateman is a former professional rugby player who has gained a following online making videos about his love of fantasy novels and the hidden costs of patriarchy for men and boys. In this episode, Luke opens up about how narrow ideals of masculinity led him into a cycle of addiction, and how he pulled himself out by deconstructing his beliefs about what it means to be a man. Luke and Adam discuss the psychology of “precarious manhood,” the power of vulnerability as a skill that builds resilience, and the strategies for helping men express their emotions and evolve their beliefs. Luke also reframes when it means to be a protector and provider, and encourages men and boys to find themselves in books. Follow our podcasts! ReThinking with Adam Grant: https://link.mgln.ai/kdYcyx The TED Podcasts is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Podcasts videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

Luke BatemanguestAdam Granthost

Oct 1, 202643mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: October 1, 2026
Duration: 43m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Women are frequently disenfranchised and discriminated against by systems that favor men, but these same systems hurt men, too. Luke Bateman is a former professional rugby player who has gained a following online making videos about his love of fantasy novels and the hidden costs of patriarchy for men and boys. In this episode, Luke opens up about how narrow ideals of masculinity led him into a cycle of addiction, and how he pulled himself out by deconstructing his beliefs about what it means to be a man. Luke and Adam discuss the psychology of “precarious manhood,” the power of vulnerability as a skill that builds resilience, and the strategies for helping men express their emotions and evolve their beliefs. Luke also reframes when it means to be a protector and provider, and encourages men and boys to find themselves in books. Follow our podcasts! ReThinking with Adam Grant: https://link.mgln.ai/kdYcyx The TED Podcasts is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Podcasts videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

SPEAKERS

Luke Bateman
guest
Australian former professional rugby player and advocate for male vulnerability, discussing masculinity, addiction recovery, and feminism.
Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and author who hosts Re:Thinking and frames discussions using social-science research.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Luke Bateman and Adam Grant, The case for male vulnerability with Luke Bateman explores male vulnerability as strength: redefining masculinity beyond protect-and-provide myths Luke Bateman recounts how growing up in rural Australia and playing professional rugby trained him to suppress softness and emotion, creating a split between his public persona and private inner life.

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