The Hushed®
By Men, For Men and Those Who Love Them
The Hushed isn't about advice or easy answers. It's a place where men leave their professional accomplishments at the door and talk honestly about life as they've experienced it. Mental health often sits somewhere in these stories, but it is rarely the whole story. The conversations can be heartbreaking, funny, irreverent and surprising, with room for the serious and the absurd.
Proudly independent and crafted in Switzerland, less than a year after launch, The Hushed is now heard in over 60 countries across Europe, North America, Australasia and beyond.
Each season brings together men from around the world. Different countries. Different cultures. Different experiences. English is the common language. Being human is the common ground. The Hushed is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Why We Made This
For generations, many men have learned to carry things quietly. To keep going. To cope. But silence has never helped anyone understand themselves or each other. When men speak honestly about the things that don't fit neatly into everyday conversation, something changes. They realise they're not the only one carrying it.
For women, partners, sisters, friends and daughters, those conversations offer a window into what so often goes unsaid. The Hushed® grew out of that belief. A space to be heard, not fixed. A podcast for men, by men and for everyone who wants to better understand, support, and walk alongside them.
Who’s behind The Hushed?
The Hushed® is created and hosted by Martin Coul, founder of OTII®.
Through OTII, Martin works with organisations and schools to understand where pressure is building, why it happens, and how earlier, more human conversations can help people before they reach crisis. The Hushed® sits alongside that work, offering a different kind of insight: not through surveys or statistics, but through stories.
The podcast is deeply personal. After losing his mother to chronic schizophrenia at a young age, and later navigating his own experiences of depression and PTSD, Martin came to see that the conversations which matter most are often the ones we never have. As he puts it, "Mental health chose me, not the other way around."
The Hushed® began as an independent passion project and continues to be guided by curiosity, compassion and quiet conviction. If these conversations resonate with you, and you'd like to help them reach more people or explore a collaboration, we'd love to hear from you at hello@otii.swiss.
LATEST REVIEWS
Beyond ‘I’m fine’
“Such an amazing, open discussion on how we need to always check in our mates and partners/ kids/ family and not accept the default ”I’m fine.” Loved it.”
danzen360
Thought-provoking and genuine
“As someone who has spent the last few years trying to understand and support a loved one through depression, so this podcast really means a lot to me. There still isn’t enough open conversation about men’s mental health, and The Hushed approaches it in an honest and down to earth way.”
ADa-C
Real conversation with real people
“…raw conversations with men who have dealt with the challenges life throws at us. And it deals with topics most people don’t feel comfortable talking about mental health, pressure and masculinity. Guided conversations with gentle touch by Martin.”
Pipsy JP
Worth tuning in
“Thought provoking, honest and deeply human. The Hushed proves that meaningful conversations about men’s mental health can be powerful and create. Highly recommend this podcast!”
Swiss Jersey
The Invisible Pressure to Succeed
“The pressure we put on ourselves to succeed can be invisible until it becomes overwhelming, and hearing Gilles and Ewald share their journeys was deeply moving.”
mariaohong
Open minded conversations
“The Hushed breaks the discussion about what too few men speak openly. You can be tough and still cry. You can be rugged and still hug your son. You can be “the man” and still say it is too much for you to carry alone.”
BackstageSupport
Real connections, deep conversations
“Do you sometimes feel like talking to someone, but are not sure to/with whom? This podcast is for you.”
The River Crosser
A true, honest conversation between men
“I’ve just finished episode 1 and WOW!!! I think this is the first time of my entire life that I can heard a true, profound and honest conversation between mens and I really loved it!! Their life stories, their differents experiences, their accomplishment! Very inspiring! Can’t wait to listen to the other episodes !! Thank you guys for sharing and thank you Martin! ❤️”
Aurélie Brizzi
Inside suicidal thoughts
“What a powerful and a wonderful discussion. To have someone explain the reasons of his suicidal attempts and what crossed his mind this and there was so eye opening. Wishing them both healing and a long life.”
assia.morris
I recognised myself in this conversation
“What a terrific podcast and one to share. Thank you for facilities such a rich discussion, some of which I can truly identify with.”
Emotional Alchemist
Real stories that helped me connect
“Wow great start I was hook from the simple introduction to the personal perspective. Great facilitation and real life stories that helped me connect. Thank you for sharing.”
1198087774
This changed how I see the men in my life
“Loved this. As a daughter and a mother of two boys, it’s been eye opening to see how they struggle, too…”
EHaussmann
This feels like a podcast men actually need
“A fantastic and much-needed podcast that will inspire men to be more open, more vulnerable, and better able to navigate life’s challenges – for their sakes, and for their loved ones. I can’t wait to listen to the next episodes.”
Andy Ryan
Courage & candour
“Such an important topic with so little genuine personal testimonies like this. A huge thank you to you Ewald and Gilles for your courage and candour!”
Jay
EPISODES
What do a drag queen, a man rebuilding his life after multiple stays in a psychiatric clinic, and a father who lost one of his sons to suicide have in common? Quite a lot, it turns out.
They’re just some of the voices you’ll hear in Season 2 of The Hushed®. After finding listeners in more than 40 countries during Season 1, The Hushed® returns with a new season of conversations about the things men don’t always say out loud, but perhaps should.
We hear a lot about toxic masculinity, but far less about what healthy masculinity actually looks like. In this opening episode, we explore how men can redefine strength, self-worth, and emotional honesty in a world where the rules of manhood are shifting. Joined by George and Pete, we reflect on the expectations many men inherited, the pressures they still carry, and what it means to model something different for the next generation.
Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among men, yet it’s still a subject many struggle to speak about openly. In this episode, we hear from two men, Dale and Tim, whose lives have been shaped by suicide in very different ways: one who has survived multiple attempts, and a father who lost one of his sons. Together, they reflect on the warning signs that are often missed, the quiet battles many men fight alone, and the conversations that might help save lives.
We all play different versions of ourselves depending on where we are. But what happens when performing becomes the place you feel most like yourself? In this episode, stand-up comic Teddy and Mikey, whose weekends are spent performing in drag as Oh! Beverly, explore masculinity, humour, confidence and belonging. They talk about using comedy to fit in, finding freedom on stage, and the surprising ways performance can become both a mask and a safe space. Funny, warm, occasionally absurd and unexpectedly revealing, The Roles We Play asks a simple question: how much of who we are is real, and how much is just the role we learned to play?
Many men spend years building a career, supporting a family, chasing success and ignoring the warning signs. Until the wheels come off. Ewald and Gilles appeared successful from the outside, while quietly unravelling beneath the surface. Together, they reflect on insomnia, the pressure to keep going, seeking help, life inside a psychiatric clinic and the difficult truths they had to confront along the way. Their honest conversation helps demystify an experience many men fear and shows that recovery is not about going back. It is about rebuilding.
Many men are praised for knowing how to keep going. Far fewer are taught when to stop. In this episode, Tom & Martin talk about strength, caregiving, fatherhood, humour and the quiet cost of carrying too much alone. From staying calm when panic is not an option to bottling things up until someone close notices first, this is a conversation about understanding your limits before you reach them, and learning how to hold your ground without shutting yourself down.
Alcohol is often woven into male identity, celebration, coping, connection, routine, even belonging. In this episode, Steve and Shane reflect on their changing relationship with alcohol, what drinking once gave them, and what sat beneath it. From Irish pub culture to nights that slowly stopped feeling social, the conversation explores masculinity, avoidance, loneliness, and what happens when men begin questioning the role alcohol plays in their lives.
We open the series with a conversation about why so many men struggle to talk about what really matters, not because they don’t care, but because they’ve been taught not to. This first episode sets the tone: open, human, and unpolished. We explore why silence isn’t strength, and how honest conversations, even the messy ones, can help us feel more connected, understood, and less alone.
What does it mean to be a man? In this episode, we look at the early blueprints we were handed from dads, coaches, media, or mates, and how those roles shaped us. We explore how bravado can mask vulnerability, and what it takes to step outside the stories we were taught and find our own way.
Being a dad is often framed as provider first, person second. This episode brings together three fathers to explore the joys, worries, and unspoken weight of raising children. We talk about identity, guilt, pride, and the invisible pressures that come with wanting to be a good dad. From neurodivergence to legacy, we ask: what do we pass on, what do we carry, and what does ‘showing up’ really mean?
From “provider first” to the quiet pressure to always deliver, this episode explores why so many men still measure their value in work, and what happens when that stops feeling enough. Three voices, American, British, and Finnish share how success, stress, and self-worth collide, and what they learned when stepping back became the only way forward. At its heart, we ask: if you’re not what you do, who are you?
Many men have mates, but few they can be fully open with. This episode explores the gap between banter and real connection – and why isolation can persist even in a room full of people. We ask why male friendships so often feel passive compared to the way women tend to nurture theirs, and what it might take for men to move beyond surface-level camaraderie toward deeper, sustaining bonds.
As men move into middle age, the body becomes a quieter, more complicated place. This episode explores how men think about appearance, ageing, and the things we tend to avoid – from unspoken dress codes to check-ups we delay. We look at how denial shows up, why so many men downplay what they notice, and what it might take to stop treating our bodies as afterthoughts. It’s an honest conversation about noticing change, paying attention, and learning to show up before something breaks.
Gay men often move through the world carrying stories they’ve never said out loud – about rejection, desire, trust, and the search for a love that feels like home. In this episode, they share those quieter truths: what intimacy costs, what it gives back, and how masculinity can expand when you’re no longer performing for it. These are stories about connection, heartbreak, healing, and the power of being seen as you really are.
#8: Anger, Fear & Grief
Some emotions are easier to show than others. For many men, anger, fear, and grief are learned early as things to manage, suppress, or carry alone. In this episode, two men reflect on what happens when those feelings are buried for too long, how they surface, how they shape relationships, and what it takes to give them space without causing harm. These are honest conversations about restraint, release, and the quiet strength that can emerge when men learn to face what they’ve been taught to hide.
From testicular cancer to vasectomies, this episode explores what happens when men are forced to confront their bodies, sometimes by choice, sometimes without one. It’s not about oversharing. It’s about how illness, surgery, and survival can shake identity, surface fear, and quietly reshape how men see themselves. Caring for your health doesn’t make you less of a man. It means you’re planning to stick around – and to understand what comes after.
What do you want to be remembered for? This episode explores meaning and the quiet choices that shape how we live. We talk about the legacies three men hope to leave behind, not just through work or family, but in the everyday impressions that stay with others. It’s about what we carry, what we pass on, and how priorities shift as we move through different stages of life. We ask what it means to let go, and what comes into focus when the goal is no longer achievement, but peace.
All season, the questions have been put to men. In this episode, those same questions are answered by a small group of women. They reflect on the questions that have shaped The Hushed so far, noticing where they land, where they don’t, and what shifts when familiar questions are heard through different voices. This is the first part of that conversation.
This episode continues the conversation started in Episode 11. A small group of women return to the same questions that have been put to men throughout the season, staying with what emerged last time and noticing what deepens when there’s more space to listen. Together with the previous episode, this conversation brings Season One of The Hushed to a close.
