EP 24: Are You Asking Your Partner to Be Your Peace?
Are you expecting your partner to be responsible for your peace? We hear “I just want someone who brings me peace” all the time. But what does that…
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PODCAST
Learned the Hard Way with Kier Gaines
Hosted by
iHeartPodcasts
No fluff. No judgment. Just real talk. Licensed therapist Kier Gaines brings over a decade of insight to break down what it really means to be a man today the pressure, the innovation, the grief, the joy, the grind, and the opportunities to thrive. With honest stories, actionable tips, and unfiltered insights, this is the space to level up, heal, and grow. On your terms. Edited and produced by Idea to Launch Productions
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25 Episodes
Latest Episodes
EP 23: Your Job Is Not Your Identity ft. Jason Rosario
What happens when the thing you’ve always used to measure your value starts disappearing? For a lot of men, work has never just been work. It’s how we…
EP 22: Who Told You You’re Behind?
It’s hard to appreciate your own life when you’re constantly measuring it against somebody else’s. Their career is moving faster. They bought the house. They got married. Their…
EP 21: I Love My Kids… But I Don’t Love Being a Parent
You can love your kids with everything in you and still not love being a parent all the time. The pickups. The drop-offs. The schedules. The sleepless nights.…
EP 20: Why Men Are Afraid to Say “I Don’t Know” ft. Dr. Dakotah Tyler
What if the smartest thing you could say is, “I don’t know”? In this episode of Learned the Hard Way, Kier Gaines sits down with astrophysicist and former Division…
EP 19: You Can't Fix People You Love
Sometimes the people we love are carrying more than we can see. A new baby. A growing career. Depression. Anxiety. Burnout. The pressure of leadership. The weight of…
EP 18: Money Won't Make You Feel Safe ft Tiffany Aliche (The Budgetnista)
Money isn't just something we earn, spend, or save. It's something we feel. For a lot of us especially men money quietly becomes the measure of our safety,…
EP 17: Don't Trade Peace for Pleasure ft. KevOnStage
Everybody talks about cheating like it's a morality issue.This conversation asks a different question: What are you actually risking... and what are you really chasing? In this episode of…
EP 16: The Performance Tax: The Price Black People Pay to Succeed (Ft. Savon & Antoinette from the Can’t Afford Therapy Podcast)
Some rooms don't just ask you to show up.They ask you to perform. To soften your voice. To shrink your personality. To make yourself "easier" to digest. To…
EP 15: You Can Be a Good Person... and Still Be a Bad Partner
Being a good person doesn't automatically make you a good partner. In this episode of (L)Earned The Hard Way, Kier Gaines unpacks one of the biggest misconceptions about…
EP 14: Imposter Syndrome Is Lying to You Ft. Jess Hilarious
How do you know the voice in your head is lying to you? In this episode, Kier Gaines sits down with comedian, media personality, Jess Hilarious, for an…
EP 13: Are You Leading... or Just Controlling?
Are leaders born... or do they become one decision at a time? In this solo episode of Learned The Hard Way, Kier Gaines challenges one of the most…
EP 12: How Much Should You Care? Ft. Crissle West
What happens when being the person everyone depends on becomes the thing that's breaking you? In this episode, Kier Gaines sits down with media personality, cultural critic, and…
EP 11: The Truth About Feeling Unheard in Your Relationship
Why do so many relationship problems feel impossible to solve… even when both people care? In this special mailbag episode of Learned The Hard Way, Kier Gaines answers…
EP 10: Anger Isn't What You Think It Is
Everybody says anger is a secondary emotion. But… what if its not that simple! In this episode of Learned The Hard Way, Kier takes a deeper look…
EP 9: The Invisible Load Nobody Talks About ft. Noémie Gaines
How do two people build a healthy relationship… when both of them are carrying invisible weight the other can’t fully see? In this episode of Learned The Hard…
EP 8: Are You Living… Or Just Performing Survival? ft Dustin Ross
How do you know when you’re becoming yourself… instead of just surviving? In this episode, Kier Gaines sits down with media personality, comedian, and podcast host Dustin Ross…
EP 7: What Depression Looks Like When You’re The “Strong” One
How do you know you’re struggling… when your life still looks “fine” from the outside? In this episode, Kier Gaines opens up about being clinically diagnosed with depression…
EP 6: Built In Public: The Cost of Being Seen ft. Ryan Clark
What happens when the life you worked for finally arrives… and suddenly everybody is watching? In this episode, Kier Gaines sits down with Super Bowl champion, ESPN analyst,…
EP 5: Why You Joke About Your Pain (And Why It’s Keeping You Stuck)
What are you protecting every time you make yourself the punchline? In this episode, Kier Gaines breaks down the psychology behind humor as armor and how something that…
EP 4: Are You Listening… or Just Waiting to Respond?
You want to have the answers. You want to be solid. You want to be the one people can rely on. But here’s the question most men don’t…
EP 3: Why Men Stay Loyal to Friends Who Don't Really Know Them
Why Men Stay Loyal to Friends Who Don't Really Know Them You'd go to war for your boys. You've known them for years, maybe decades. But here's the…
EP 1: The Hidden Cost of Being the Man Everyone Needs You to Be
You’ve been doing it so long you don’t even notice anymore. Adjusting your tone, softening your edges, shrinking yourself just enough to fit the room. And at the…
EP 2: This is What Patriarchy Actually Does to Men (And Why Nobody's Taking About It) (Ft. Tripp Fontaine)
Everyone’s heard the phrase “toxic masculinity.” But the moment a man hears it, his walls go up and honestly? That reaction makes sense. Because nobody ever sat us…
Introducing: (L)earned the Hard Way with Kier Gaines
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