When the NABJ gave Stephen A. Smith a "Thumbs Down" award for a pattern of disparaging Black women, it reopened a question I keep coming back to: how do I feel when Black people criticize Black people through mainstream media?

In this episode I sit with the discomfort of intracommunity critique. The difference between White criticism of Black figures and Black criticism of Black figures, the moments that stuck with me (Jason Whitlock on Serena Williams still lives in my head), and why the same words land differently depending on who's saying them and who's watching.

Host: JD Ferrell

Produced by: JD Ferrell

Presented by the Modern Podcast Network and themodernHQ.com

Follow us on Instagram: @ThemoderntherapistJD & @theModernHQ

We're taught to conquer fear, overcome it, push through it. But what if that's backward? In this episode, we explore what happens when you stop fighting and start listening—when a move, a new relationship, or professional uncertainty becomes information rather than an obstacle. We examine the universal symbols of fear, trace where it shows up in our lives, and ask: what is your fear actually trying to tell you?

Host: JD Ferrell

Produced by: JD Ferrell

Presented by the Modern Podcast Network and themodernHQ.com

Follow us on Instagram: @ThemoderntherapistJD & @theModernHQ

Anger is one of the hardest emotions for me to sit with as a Black man. It comes loaded with a stereotype I've spent my life trying not to feed.

In this episode I get honest about how anger actually shows up for me, where I learned to bury it, and the difference between reacting to it and understanding it. I talk through how I try to model and process anger not perform calm, but actually feel the thing and ask what it's pointing to.

If you've ever been told your anger makes you dangerous, or swallowed it until it turned into something else, this is for you.

Host: JD Ferrell

Produced by: JD Ferrell

Presented by the Modern Podcast Network and themodernHQ.com

Follow us on Instagram: @ThemoderntherapistJD & @theModernHQ

My friend Stephen joins me to talk about something that genuinely unsettled us both. During a controlled safety test in July 2026, two of OpenAI's AI models sought to cheat on a cybersecurity exam and broke out of their sealed testing environment, reached the open internet, and hacked into another company's systems to steal the answer key. No human told them to.

Experts are calling it the first real-world AI "loss-of-control" incident. Stephen and I sit with what that means.

Host: JD Ferrell

Produced by: JD Ferrell

Presented by the Modern Podcast Network and themodernHQ.com

Follow us on Instagram: @ThemoderntherapistJD & @theModernHQ

The death of Nolan Wells, the Black teenager who didn't come home from a July 4th boat trip with his mostly white friends has sparked a national conversation. For JD, it hit somewhere personal.

In this episode, he reflects on his own life as the only Black man in white friend groups: how those friendships differ from his Black ones, what navigating them requires, and why he's made peace with the difference.

Host: JD Ferrell

Produced by: JD Ferrell

Presented by the Modern Podcast Network and themodernHQ.com

Follow us on Instagram: @ThemoderntherapistJD & @theModernHQ

Intersectionality is has been relabel, repackaged, and sold in several forms, but the meaning stays the same. In this episode of A Modern Man, we dig into the concept of Intersectionality: examines how various social identities such as race, gender, class, and sexual orientation interact to shape individual experiences and systemic inequalities. We explore intersectionality through the lens of my experience.

What areas of your identity experience power/privilege and where do you feel oppression?

Host: JD Ferrell

Produced by: JD Ferrell

Presented by the Modern Podcast Network and themodernHQ.com

Follow us on Instagram: @ThemoderntherapistJD & @theModernHQ

There's a difference between being considerate and being a doormat — and most men have blurred that line without even realizing it. In this episode of A Modern Man, we dig into the concept of problematic accommodation: what happens when making space for someone else's feelings starts crowding out your own values. We explore where healthy empathy ends and quiet self-betrayal begins, and what it actually looks like to hold your ground with integrity

What areas of your life have you been accommodating?

Host: JD Ferrell

Produced by: JD Ferrell

Presented by the Modern Podcast Network and themodernHQ.com

Follow us on Instagram: @ThemoderntherapistJD & @theModernHQ

In this episode, JD discuss how springtime brings new beginnings and fresh starts, yet many of us still feel ungrounded. While spring is often associated with positive change, it can also leave us feeling unsettled as winter fades.

I encourage everyone to take a moment to identify where in your life you may have become ungrounded. By finding that awareness and acknowledging those feelings, we can sit with the discomfort and find a way forward.

What areas of your life have felt ungrounded?

Host: JD Ferrell

Produced by: JD Ferrell

Presented by the Modern Podcast Network and themodernHQ.com

Follow us on Instagram: @ThemoderntherapistJD & @theModernHQ