Episode 2 · Solo episode
A Movember conversation on men's mental health
What Movember actually funds beyond the mustache, and why men in Canada are taught silence instead of language for what they're feeling.
In their words
Pull quotes
"Men are expected to be the rock. Emotionally stable, financially stable, mentally stable, and always okay. But what happens when that rock starts to crack?"
"Movember was created because men around the world were dying too young, not because of violence or accidents, but because of silence."
Watch the episode
What this one is about
What this episode is about
A solo episode where host Ashish breaks down what Movember actually funds beyond the mustache, and walks through why men in Canada, especially in immigrant and South Asian households, are taught silence instead of language for what they're feeling.
He covers the specific ways struggle shows up when it doesn't look like "I'm depressed" (anger, overwork, a messy room, going quiet), and closes with concrete ways to check in on the men in your life.
Good for anyone who was raised to just "handle it," anyone worried about a man in their life who won't say he's struggling, or anyone looking for the vocabulary they were never given.
Key moments
Listen for the part where…
- you didn't know how many men this actually kills▸ 1:35
- you were taught to shut it down, not talk about it▸ 2:38
- you were raised with pressure, responsibility, and silence and never questioned it▸ 3:09
- you're in your 20s, supposedly building a life, and quietly drowning▸ 3:40
- you're expected to be the strong, stable one and don't know what happens if you crack▸ 3:40
- you show up angry or irritable instead of admitting you're anxious or lonely▸ 4:12
- your culture actively discourages you from being emotionally open▸ 5:45
- you don't want to be a burden, or you just don't have the words for it▸ 6:17
- you're withdrawing, exhausted, and it doesn't look like what "depression" is supposed to look like▸ 7:20