This isn’t just a recap — it’s a challenge.

After nine episodes exploring fatherhood, adventure, survival, digital safety, spiritual growth, food, and masculinity, Josh steps back to reveal the bigger mission behind The Last Easy Mile. This episode is both a call to action and a field guide — an invitation to act, learn, and live more intentionally.

🎯 What You’ll Get in This Episode:

• Why The Last Easy Mile exists
• Josh’s personal story: rural roots, urban grit, and midlife reckoning
• Behind-the-scenes lessons from each of the first 9 episodes
• Action steps, gear, books, and mindset shifts from every guest
• How to get started with hunting, stargazing, real food, off-roading, and digital parenting
• What’s coming next (spirituality, psychedelics, big ideas…)
• How to join the community

🧭 Resources + Mentions by Episode:

(Full links + guides available in the newsletter)

Ep 1 – Josh Kirchner: Learn to hunt as an adult, recommended gear + mindset

Ep 2 – Fraser Cain: Stargazing with your kids, meteor shower maps, beginner telescopes

Ep 3 – Kute Blackson: Surrender, letting go, emotional growth, book recs

Ep 4 – John Barklow: Cold weather survival, preparedness mindset, “possibilities pouch”

Ep 5 – Nick Melillo: The ritual of cigars, building a creative life, Foundation Cigars

Ep 6 – Dr. Bill Schindler: Eat like a human, ancestral food, raw milk, food chain awareness

Ep 7 – Keenan Campbell: Overlanding with intention, gear, dispersed camping, healing through nature

Ep 8 – Chris McKenna: Digital safety for kids, router security, app filters, real tools for dads

Ep 9 – Matt Beaudreau: Raising strong kids, redefining education, masculinity through action

🧠 Follow-Up Actions:

→ Join the newsletter: thelasteasymilepodcast.com

→ Rate + review the podcast if you got value

→ Send the episode to someone who’s stuck in routine

→ DM Josh with your personal action from this episode

In this episode of The Last Easy Mile, Josh sits down with Matt Beaudreau—father, entrepreneur, educator, and founder of Apogee Strong—to unpack what’s gone wrong with modern education, masculinity, and fatherhood… and how to fix it.

Drawing from his experience as a former public school teacher, private school administrator, Stanford University staff member, and now leader of a national mentorship and educational movement, Matt shares how Apogee Strong is helping families reclaim their values, design their own educational paths, and raise young men and women who are emotionally strong, physically capable, financially literate, and spiritually grounded.

They dive deep into topics like the failure of conveyor-belt schooling, the dangers of mediocrity and digital distractions, and why strong, present fathers are the cornerstone of a thriving society. Matt also shares insights on rites of passage, legacy-building, and how to raise children who are prepared for real life—not just to pass tests.

This is a wide-ranging, deeply honest conversation about building resilient families, rethinking what it means to be educated, and leading a life rooted in values, not fear.

Topics Covered:

• Why traditional schooling is broken—and what Matt saw inside California public schools

• The power of homeschooling, co-ops, and alternative education

• What Apogee Strong really is: mentorship, campuses, and full-life family education

• Meta-skills your kids actually need to thrive in the future (hint: it’s not algebra)

• Masculinity redefined: not alpha posturing, but sovereign leadership and service

• How to raise self-aware, spiritually grounded, physically capable young men

• Why rites of passage and family traditions are essential—and how to build your own

• Real stories from the front lines: Stanford, school systems, and starting over

• How fathers and sons can learn together—and why most men need a community too

• Book recommendations and challenges that transform lives, not just check boxes

• Building resilient families that lead with values in an upside-down world

Books Mentioned:

• Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill

• • Atomic Habits by James Clear
  • The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman

• 
  

  Resources:

  👉 Learn more: www.apogeestrong.com

  👉 Follow Matt on Instagram: @mattbeaudreau

  👉 Check out the Apogee Men’s & Father-Son Mentorships

The digital world isn’t waiting for our kids to grow up. It’s coming for them now.

In this episode, Josh is joined by Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes, to uncover the hidden risks kids face online—and the habits every parent needs to put in place to protect what Chris calls “this one precious childhood.”

Chris’s story is powerful. Trained as a CPA, he thought he’d spend his life in business. Instead, his journey led him from accounting to youth ministry, where he saw first-hand what happened when smartphones landed in the hands of middle schoolers. In 2015, long before most parents realized the dangers, Chris launched Protect Young Eyes to shine light on how devices, apps, and algorithms are reshaping childhood—and what we can do about it.

Together, Josh and Chris dig into:

• How smartphones changed childhood overnight—and why the iPhone 5 marked a cultural turning point.

• The Five Habits of Digital Parenting: modeling, connecting, encouraging work & play, delaying addictive tech, and preventing harm.

• The Pyramid of Protection: five layers every parent must know—relationships, routers, devices, locations, and apps.

• The Toxic Trio: why bedrooms, boredom, and darkness are the perfect storm for temptation and digital harm.

• Why video games can be both a danger and a surprising opportunity for father–child connection.

• How predators, porn, and algorithms exploit curiosity and dopamine—and why most apps are far riskier than they appear.

• Why schools, churches, policies, and parents must all take responsibility in this fight.

Chris also shares practical, step-by-step strategies: how to set up your router to prevent early exposure, how to “test drive” apps with the seven-day rule, and how to model calm connection when—not if—your child makes a digital mistake.

As Josh points out, this is the parenting challenge of our generation. And Chris doesn’t leave dads and moms with fear—he gives them a playbook. His message is clear: we can’t eliminate every risk, but with the right layers, habits, and conversations, we can raise kids who thrive in the digital world without being crushed by it.

👉 Explore more resources, guides, and practical tools at ProtectYoungEyes.com. The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Routers

👉 Follow Protect Young Eyes on Instagram and Protect Young Eyes on Facebook for ongoing updates and tips.

Because our kids only get one childhood. It’s worth protecting.