Typology

In this episode of Typology, I sit down with therapist and author Joe Nucci for a thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation about the Enneagram, mental health, and the growing misuse of therapeutic language in our culture.
Joe—an Enneagram Three—shares his own journey with the Enneagram, the hidden shame dynamics of Threes, and how public success can quietly pull us toward performance instead of integrity. Together, we explore why tools like the Enneagram work best as maps, not MRIs—helpful for self-awareness and empathy, but dangerous when they turn into rigid labels.
We also dig into Joe's new book, Psycho Babble, discussing how clinical terms like narcissist, OCD, and trauma have become everyday adjectives—and what it costs us when labels replace discernment, curiosity, and real relationship.
This is a grounded, honest conversation about growth, character, and what it actually means to become a healthier version of yourself—without turning self-awareness into self-avoidance.
 
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ABOUT JOE NUCCI
Joe Nucci is an expert in breaking down how people talk about mental health. He's a psychotherapist who corrects widely misused terms, adds valuable nuance and explains complex ideas in ways anyone can understand. He can take a mental health lens to any hot button issue. Anyone who listens to him will walk away knowing themselves and others a little better. Joe reached over 10 million people in his first 6 months of posting content. His book "Psychobabble" explores why mental health information is so confusing to navigate and how to more easily understand different perspectives about mental health. He also has an upcoming podcast, being produced by Luminary Podcasts, where he will take deeper dives into the different mental health topics that he explores on Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @joenuccitherapy
Pscyhobabble: Viral Mental Health Myths & the Truths to Set You Free

What happens when Enneagram Eight energy grows up, softens its edges, and learns to lead with both strength and soul?
In this episode of Typology, Ian Morgan Cron sits down with restaurateur, entrepreneur, and conscious capitalism advocate Dan Simons, co-owner of Founding Farmers, for a wide-ranging, deeply human conversation about power, protection, and what it really means to build a culture of care.
Dan is brand-new to the Enneagram—and quickly discovers he's an Eight with a strong Nine wing, a compelling combination that blends moral clarity with empathy, decisiveness with nuance, and fire with calm. Together, Ian and Dan explore how Eights aren't just challengers—they're often defenders: leaders shaped by early experiences of injustice who instinctively stand up for the vulnerable.
Along the way, they talk candidly about:
Why anger can be a tool rather than a liability when it's consciously harnessed

How leadership failures are often listening failures (and the three most powerful words a leader can say)

How putting emotional well-being on equal footing with profit actually increases performance, retention, and long-term value

What a healthy workplace should feel like when you walk through the door (hint: think Labrador retriever, not shark tank)

This is a masterclass in evolved leadership and a hopeful vision of capitalism done with conscience. If you're a leader, an Enneagram Eight, or someone longing for work cultures that don't crush the human spirit, this conversation will leave you both challenged and encouraged—in the best possible way.
Listen in and pull up a chair. There's a seat for you at this table.
 
 
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About Dan Simons
Dan Simons is regarded as a leading voice in mission-driven business practices, known for championing people-centric culture and responsible industry standards while developing systems that deliver profitability. He and his partner, Michael Vucurevich, are Co-Owners of Founding Farmers Restaurant Group in partnership with the North Dakota Farmers Union. Their goal is to generate profits for American family farmers, earn farmers a larger share of the food dollar, and influence the sourcing decisions of suppliers and others in the hospitality industry. They operate eight sustainably run restaurants, one DC-based distillery, and a full service catering and event design company. He teaches courses at The George Washington University, hosts a podcast (Founding DC), and sits on the advisory boards of the DC chapter of Conscious Capitalism, OpenTable, and the Health Action Alliance Women's Health at Work Program. He blogs at www.DanSimonsSays.com and can be found across most social channels @DanSimonsSays. Visit https://www.dansimonssays.com/ to learn more.

What happens when the worst thing you've been afraid of actually happens—and you're still standing?
In this episode of Typology, I sit down with songwriter Brad Warren—an Enneagram Six, a man in long-term recovery, a husband, a father, and someone who has walked straight through unimaginable grief and come out the other side with humility, humor, and hard-won wisdom. Brad is the kind of person who tells the truth without posturing, who can laugh at himself without diminishing himself, and who understands—deeply—that fear doesn't disappear just because you name it. But naming it does change the game.
We talk about the Enneagram Six's instinct to scan the horizon for danger, to rehearse conversations that never happen, and to catastrophize not because they're weak—but because they care. A lot. Brad shares how losing a child forced him to face his worst fears head-on, and how recovery, faith, and accountability helped him learn the difference between imagined catastrophe and lived reality. There's a kind of quiet courage in the way he describes trusting God—not a God who's looking to smite him, but one who's patiently inviting him to rest.
Along the way, we explore humor as both a survival strategy and a spiritual practice, the surprising connection between humility and laughter, and how Sixes learn to move from fear-driven vigilance to faith-filled presence. We also touch on marriage, loyalty, religious deconstruction with gratitude instead of bitterness, and the life-saving power of people who are willing to tell you the truth when your mind is lying to you.
This episode is funny, tender, honest, and deeply human. It's about fear—but it's even more about trust. And what it looks like, day by day, to choose it anyway.
 
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About Brad Warren
Brad Warren is a Nashville-based songwriter and artist best known as one half of the hitmaking Warren Brothers. He has co-written major country hits recorded by Tim McGraw, Toby Keith , Keith Urban, Faith Hill , Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean and more.
Brad is also the host of the Good Grief Good God podcast. He and his wife Michelle lost their oldest son Sage in 2020 and the podcast is in honor of him. Brad covers an array of other topics (recovery, God, mental and physical health, and The Music Business) as well as grief. Guests have ranged from Sheryl Crow and Amy Grant to Scott Hamilton and Charles Esten.

What happens when the need to appear competent becomes the very thing that disconnects us from others—and from ourselves?
In this deeply honest and surprisingly funny conversation, Ian welcomes author, speaker, and Enneagram Three, Steve Cuss for a wide-ranging dialogue on anxiety, performance, false self, and the quiet freedom that comes with becoming more human-sized. Drawing from Steve's experience as a hospital chaplain, pastor, and leadership consultant, they explore why our most polished coping strategies often come from fear, how predictable patterns keep us stuck, and why anxiety is so contagious in families, churches, and organizations.
Along the way, they unpack the Enneagram Three's drive to succeed, the exhaustion of self-presentation, the difference between ambition and authenticity, and why true maturity looks a lot like being relaxed—no masks required. Expect stories, laughs, hard-earned wisdom, and a refreshing reminder that you don't have to win the room to belong in it.
If your nervous system needs a deep breath and your soul could use some permission to stand down from proving itself, this episode is for you.
 
 
About Steve Cuss
Steve Cuss, M.Div. is a pastor, former chaplain, and founder of Capable Life, which helps people lower internal and relational anxiety in the workplace and homeplace. Steve is a Spiritual Care Professional in the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, holding 1600 hours of supervised ministry in CPE and a Masters degree focusing on Family Systems Theory and Theology. Steve, his wife, Lisa, and their two sons and a daughter live in Erie, Colorado.
Connect with Steve at:
Website: https://capablelife.com and https://stevecusswords.com
Soul Care Intensives: https://capablelife.com/pages/intensives
Podcast: Being Human with Steve Cuss
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What if your most meaningful work begins after you stop striving to prove yourself?
In this warm, wide-ranging conversation, I sit down with old friend, songwriter, filmmaker, and Enneagram Two Andrew Greer for a heartful exploration of loneliness, love, boundaries, creativity, and what it really means to live a good life.
Andrew opens up about the hidden sadness behind the Enneagram Two's gift for connection—the ache that often fuels the desire to help, anticipate, and care for others. Together, we unpack how pride, control, and fear of being a burden can quietly shape relationships, and how learning to receive may be the most courageous spiritual practice of all.
We also dive into Andrew's new book, More Than a President, and explore Jimmy Carter as a quintessential Enneagram One—principled, disciplined, justice-driven, and far more impactful after the presidency than during it.
This episode is a meditation on personality, vocation, and maturity—on shifting focus from résumé to soul, from achievement to love, from striving to rest. It's thoughtful, funny, deeply human, and quietly challenging.
Pull up a chair. This one stays with you.
 
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About Andrew Greer
Author, musician, and filmmaker, Andrew Greer has published three books, released multiple chart-topping recordings, and directed the PBS documentary Plainspoken, a film inspired by the lives of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and their neighbors in Plains, Georgia. A Texas native, and longtime Nashvillian, Greer now makes his home in Plains.
Website: https://www.andrew-greer.com/
New Book: http://sundayswithjimmycarter.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewbgreer/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agreermusic